1861 September 18

[from the diary of Francis G. Hale of the 34th Ohio Zouaves]

This morning is foggy
some but we do not
run very fast now
they are wateing for
the other boat to com
up there is a great
comotion on the boat
this morning about
the secech but if
they do they will
be lots of the boys
scard all most to
death for fear they
will be shot
we have stopt at
scary creeke where the 12th had
their first fight in
the mud of the river
there is a great
lot of stone thrown
we can see them from
where we are
I was mistaken about the
stone it is what is
called the fall at
the mouth of scary creeke
scary creeke is a small creeke has a
mill or shop on the
point of the bank
we have past it now
and going with full
steame the mill at scary
creek turned out to
bee a cooper shop the
log cabbin just be hind
it has got a cannon
ball hole through it
you can see from the
river

The first slaves I saw
was in sight of Charlst
on there was 6 nigers
and a driver & two dogs
they stood on the bank
and cheered for the
union they looked like
they was greesed
you can not see any
houses a long the river
at all it looked like
no body lived here
the Kanawy doe not
look to be mut larger
than big Miama
there is a good many
riffles in it 'a long her' wee ar just going
over one now a long
these riffles they make
necks out of stone to
throw the watter high
enough so a boat can go
up
we stopt at Charleston
and got of and marched
around town and
came back and got
on the boat and are
now of for 10 miles up
the river
there was a fellow at
Charlston Camp that had
a hat that was shot
through on a nothers
head while the fellow
was standing a g ainst the
fence it killed him and
he never fell but rema
ined standing a g ainst
the fence at Boon ville
we have come to the
coal regions of virgine
a long the Kanaway
a bove Charlston
I was mistakeing they
are salt pits or salt
works
we saw one boat that
the secech burnt up
be low Charleston a
man by the name of
Clarkson burnt it
there is the lar gest
hills here that I ever
saw in my life they
are small mountains
we arived at camp [?]
this evening and encamped
found three companeys
of the first Kentucky
Reg three are wounded
in the hospittle now
there was one died
yesterday from a
wound in the shulder
from a double barrel
shotgun we have not
got ourr cooking uten
sils yet our mess
and we have not
any plesure a geting
our meals but we
do get a long some
way and contrive to
get a long a mazeingly
the second boat has
not come up here
yet we do not know
what has be com of her

MSS

MSS 13405