1862 May 4 Lynchburg, Va.

[from the diary of William M. Blackford of Lynchburg Va., bank officer, editor and former diplomat, with five sons in the Confederate Army]

Sunday 4  clear in the morning
but it clouded over in the evening
of the day & became cool--more rain
ahead doubtless--Large congregation
and communion.  Rumor, apparently
well authenticated, that our army is
falling back from York Town to the
line of the Chickahominy--This of
course was expected and is a good
move.  The tactics of McClellan we
imagine never[?]  in all history do
we read of an entrenched camp be
-ing besieged by an enemy, and the
approaches made to it, as if it was
a fortified town--by falling back
he renders useless all the labor McC
has performed, and got rid of the an
noyance of his gunboats on our flanks.
I suppose the evacuation of Norfolk
will follow as a matter of course--this
is bad indeed, as our loss of material
will be enormous[?]  What will become
with the Merrimac--I fear she draws
too much water to get up the James as
high as our new line.  Kate Robertson
came to dinner and staid all night--Jackson
at Harrisonburg pressing on the enemy
--corps of cadets gone to join him

MSS 4763