1862 June 14 near the Chickahominy River, Va.

[from the diary of Captain Jonathan B. Hager of the 14th U.S. regulars as copied by him at a later date]

June 14th  The reveille came at 3 oclock this morning
                 but not so did the order to move; hour after  hour
                 we waited until about 8 a. m. the order was
                 countermanded and we laid down to rest.
                 For me the rest was of short duration, at 11 a.m.
                 I was ordered to take charge of a detail of 500 men,
                 to go about four miles to work on the
                 Woodbury Bridge on the Chickahominy. I shall
                 never forget this march. The heat beat upon us
                 at about sixty pounds per square inch. Our route
                 lay along the edges of the swamp which borders
                 the Chickahominy, and at the base of a range
                 of sand hills, which excluded every vestige of
                 air which might have been stirring above. I
                 was sick, had a severe headache, was tired
                 & sleepy when I started, but the work was to
                 be done and  I had to help to do it.
                 This famous bridge furnished the means of
                 escape to the greater portion of the Army of the
                 Potomac as will soon be seen, and in the
                 famous change of base I walked over the
                 same logs I helped that day to lay. I little
                 thought of it then. We worked there until 7 P.M.
                 when we were permitted to turn our faces
                 campward which we reached about 8.30. oclock.
                 I was refreshed on my way home with a glass of
                 fresh sweet milk, the first I had tasted for months.

                MSS 9044