1862 August 19 on road to Warrenton

  [from the diary of Private Ephraim A. Wood,  Co. c, 13th Massachusetts]

 Tuesday  Aug 19th 1862

Last night at eleven Oclock we were
call up and marched two miles
towards Culpepper where we haulted till
nine Oclock next morning.  We then started
and marched through Culpepper
and towards Rappahannock station
on the road to Warrenton Junction.
We did not know what to make of this,
backward movement,  When about three
miles this side of Culpepper.  Our
Brigadier Gen Hartsuff told us
that we were in the centre of a
long column, and we had to march
as they marched, that before the
march was ended, it would be the
hardest march we have yet born, So
far we had done it well and he
hoped that we would continue on
till the end,  The Brigade gave him
three cheers,  The roads were very dusty,
about nine Oclock in the evening

we crossed the Rappahannock and
bivouacked,  The distance we had
marched was twenty miles.  We did
not think it was too hard a march as
we have done before  The recruits
got along very well,  The Company
teams it seems went to Warrenton
Junction and therefore I got not yet
my Knappy.  I had to beg half of
one of my Companions blankets.

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 12021