1862 June 20 Staunton, Va.

[from the diary of Joseph Addison Waddell, civilian employee of the Quartermaster Dept.]

Friday night, June 20, 1862.

The town very quiet to-day. A report that 

the Federal army has crossed the Blue Ridge from 

Front Royal. Jackson said to be at, or on the 

way to, Gordonsville. On Sunday last, the Sac-

rament was administered in the army, near 

Port Republic, after the old Scotch custom, in 

the open air. I moved from the Quartermas-

ter's Office into my private office to-day, to have 

a more quiet place for making off the quarterly 

returns. Having been in a bustle for so many 

months, the quietness was rather oppressive to 

 me. John Hendren came in and spent an hour 

or two with me. Legh called in the evening. A great 

many of the soldiers, principally Marylanders, were 

at his house while the troops were here, to get 

milk, butter, eggs +c. Some of them brought coffee, 

which had been issued to them, as a present, in re-

turn for articles they had received. There has been 

no mail from Richmond for several days. Banks 

reports to his government that he lost only 911 men, 

of whom 200 were killed and wounded and the remain-

der taken prisoners, in his late "retreat" from the 

Valley — We took to Lynchburg about 3000 of his 

men who were captured. Our army captured none 

of his wagons, he says — Legh saw at least 

50 of them with our army at Port Republic, + 

and Yankee wagons and ambulances have been 

very familiar sights in Staunton since the 

famous "retreat." Fremont falsifies, almost 

to the same extent, in his report of the battles 

near Port Republic.

[transcript by the Valley of the Shadow project]

MSS 38-258