1861 October 15

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

I was to see the wire
bridge to day I never
saw sutch a nice
bridge before it is fore
hundred & fifty feete long
and cost 35,000 dollars
but it is in ruins now
Gov Wise retreated acrost
it and attepted to cut
it down but did not
he then fired it but
but[sic] it did not burn
mutch but the high
watters layed it in
rewins[[sic] it was once
a nice bridge but cannot
cross it now they ceepe
a guard on it now for
to warn people
the boy that I was
takeing care of Is
getting so he can
get a bout he was
up to camp to day
I was talking to a
fellow to night that
was in the secech
army he is now
in the virginia sixth
he foght two or three
battles he dose not
know how many
men he shot but
sayes he never shot
to kill any one
he was wonded in
the thigh be low
Charleston and
was taken to Charlest
to be taken care of
and good care taken
of him by a secesh
woman he sayes
he will fight for
virginia till the last
he says he thought
the Yankees cold
not shoot but he
foun out different
for at one battle
there was fore of
them a gainst one
yankee and he
run all fore for
he give them a Yankee
trick he was be hind
a tree they was be
hind a log the
yankee would hang
out his coat and they
would fire at it and
then the yan kee would
stepe out and give
them a round he
hit him in the leg
when he got hit
he got up and secesh
for mister yankee
was too mutch for
them he think that
the secech will
be in to charleston
be fore long
last night there was
two of our boys deployed
on a nig ger woman
and forst her and
took fifteen cents
out of her pocket
their will be a fuss
about it ex pect
for it is to be before
head quarters
and then we will
be under strict
orders and double
guard I ex pect
we go to bed to night
with the expectation
of being called up
at any hour for
we are expecting
an actacted every
hour in the day
or hour there is rumors of thirty
thous and of secech
coming down big sandy
to brake up
court that is in
sesion here now
our hospittal is in
Clarkston hous he
is a capt of a
secech company
he took a man that
had no munitions of
war shot him and
knocked out his brains
after war with his gun
I did not learn the
perticlars of it
he fired a boat here
to and killed a
woman
he is a captain of a
cavelry company in
Jinkenses Command
and a very bad man

The Special Collections Dept. would appreciate further information from any one who knows more about the incidents described in this diary, particulary in today's entry and that of October 12.MSS 13405