We were up and at it
at the usual time this morning, on the home tramp, which kept up the spirits of
many. About ten o'clock we came in sight of our first day's fighting ground. We
found that several of the graves of our men had been opened by the rebels.
After repairing them we kept on, taking the Neuse Road, which we steered clear
of in coming up on account of the heavy entrenchments and barricades the rebels
had placed on it. Every little while we had to leave the road and take to the
woods to get by their obstructions, which continued for four or five miles from
Kinston; some of them were very formidable.
About three o'clock
we marched into a large field on the left of the road to receive rations, which
we understood had been brought to us on the cars from New Berne, and it was
about time; our larder was getting low. We received a little bread, but not
enough to satisfy both stomach and haversack, so we filled the former and
stowed away the crumbs that were left in the latter. The report is that the
bread and beef were left at New Berne, and soap and candles shipped to us,—an
explanation which did not soothe our feelings entirely.
We marched about
five miles farther and then camped for the night.
SOURCE: John Jasper
Wyeth, Leaves from a Diary Written While Serving in Co. E, 44 Mass.
Dep’t of North Carolina from September 1862 to June 1863, p. 29
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