1862 July 7 near Warrenton, Va.

[from the diary of Ephraim Wood of the 13th Massachusetts]


          Monday, July 7th  1862

I was supernumery of the Guard
this morning.  After Guard
mounting I went to the brook
and had a bath.  I then went
and got all the Cherries that
I wanted to eat.  I took a walk
around the Country.  On my travels
I came to a mill, the owner of
which was close by sitting, on a
stone wall talking with a couple of
Soldiers.  He seemed anxious to
have our forces whip the Rebels
at Richmond, and that the
War would end as soon as possible.
The opinion I formed of him was,
that he sympathized with the
South, but that he thought it
was useless for them to hold
out any longer and was in hope
our forces would conquor as soon

as possible.  He denounced the
Rebel Leaders.  The next house I came
to I stoped and took dinner, as
it was after two Oclock.  I had
been away from Camp ever since
eight Oclock.  I found the people
here very pleasant and kind.
There was two persons in the House,
one a Lady of about the age
of Fifty, and her daughter, who
was about twenty five or six years
of age.  Here I met two Soldiers,
one from this Regt, and one from
the New York Ninth.  The Youngest
Lady entertained us for nearly three
hours.  She said that she had
three brothers in the Rebel Army,
whose time of enlistment had
expired some time ago, but the
Conscript Law that was passed,
held them in Service over their
time.  She thought that Law
very unjust, and denounced the

the Rebel Leaders more severly,
then the Miller did.  She tried
to prevent her Brothers from
joining the Army in the first
place.  When the Rebel forces were
at Manassas, she said that Gen
Johnsons Wife boarded in Warrenton
The Slavery question was brought
up.  She thought that they were
better off with their Masters, then
they would be if free.  She said she
did not approve of selling them.
She had cried many a time at
seeing an infant separated from
its Mother and sold to the
hightest bidder.  I got back to
Camp a little before six Oclock, just
in time to escape a heavy shower
It was said that the thermometer yesterday
in the shade stood at a hundred
and ten degrees.  To day one hundred
and three.  Very Warm Weather.

MSS 12021