At four o'clock this
morning "all was wrong." We were aroused from the most miserable
attempt at sleep our boys ever dreamed of trying. It was a mercy to awaken us;
only we were so stiff, sore, cold, and hungry, that it was most impossible to
get up at all. We were covered with dirt and frost. Our guns were in fearful
condition, and we were ordered to clean them and be ready for the road in half
an hour. That was good; no chance to eat anything or clean up ourselves; but
such is the luck of war. At six A.M. we started on our second day's tramp. Had
you asked any of the company, they would have said, "We have been tramping
a week." Our colonel gave us a good word this morning, in passing, saying
we had done well. We are satisfied; for although "Rawle's Mill" was
not an extensive affair, but very few men being engaged, it was an ugly
encounter for raw material, fired upon, as we were, while up to our waists in
water; the unknown force of the enemy, apparently on top of the hill, under
cover, and having a perfect knowledge of the "lay of the land.”
After a steady march
of about twelve miles, we entered Williamston, where we halted, broke ranks,
and had a picked-up dinner, and made ourselves comfortable for two hours or so.
Williamston is a pretty little town on the Roanoke. We foraged considerably;
most every man having something. The gunboats here effected a junction with us,
bringing extra rations, &c.
We visited the
wounded, calling on Charley Roberts, who was hit last night. He looks pretty
white, but is doing well, and will probably be sent to New Berne on one of the
boats. A few of us found a piano in one of the houses, and after moving it to
the piazza, Ned Ramsay played, and we sang home tunes for a while, having a
large audience on the lawn. Soon after the officers broke up our fun, by Fall
in E," and as that was what we came for, we "fell in," and
recommenced our walk at three P.M., marching about five miles, when we pitched
camp for the night. Parsons has been made sergeant for his coolness and bravery
in taking prisoners.
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. 19
