Bright and pleasant. About one hundred and twenty-five Nigs were set to work this morning to open the old levee and let the water in. We were ordered out of our house this morning. Had dress parade at 4 o'clock. The sentences of F, Co. A and W, Co. C, were read. The charges were attempted desertion. The sentence was the forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and to be confined in the military prison at Alton, Ill., with a ball attached to the leg by a chain four feet long, to serve out the remainder of the time of their enlistment, and at the end of the three years to have "D" branded on their right hips, their heads shaved, and to be drummed out of service. Some letters were read from the parents of the boys, counselling them to desert.
SOURCE: Seth James Wells, The Siege of Vicksburg: From the Diary of Seth J. Wells, Including Weeks of Preparation and of Occupation After the Surrender, p. 44
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