Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, September 1, 1863

We lay here at Bayou Mason all day to rest. The boys are very tired after marching for twelve days, with the weather much of the time so fearfully hot. Then on account of the bad water, exposure and fatigue, a large number are sick, many of them not able to carry their accouterments, while others are too sick to walk and have to be hauled. The boys made the sweet potatoes suffer today. Received orders to start tonight at midnight and march to the Mississippi river.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 139

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