1862 December 24 New Bern, N.C.

[from the diary of Jesse Calvin Spaulding, Co. F.,  25th Massachusetts]

Wednesday
Dec 24
Thursday night was one of the most
uncomfortable nights I ever spent
and I did not sleep any it was so cold, but
Friday morning I got up and ate a little breakfast
and then started on again.  We passed by Kinston
about noon and stopped to eat dinner
about two.  The boys shot a pig and I broiled
a piece and ate it with some hard tack, and
drank some coffee and pricked my blisters
and started on.  We stopped about five and
encamped near the forks of the roads in a
good place.  Here we found quite a number
of dead rebels.  Saturday we went as far as
the woods about eighteen miles from Newbern
where we staid that  night.  It was very cold
so that it froze hard.  I ate a little piece of
raw salt beef for supper with some hard tack
and coffee and got through the night after
a fashion.  Sunday morning we started in good
spirits and reached Newbern about two o'clock
and there found a mail had come in
and were sorry to hear that Burnside had
been defeated at Fredericksburg.  I got two let-
ters from home, and about five we had to go back
to our picket camp which we did with rather
hard feelings that we were obliged to march
so far for nothing, but I was glad to get back
and George and I thanked God together.
Monday I did not do much but fix up a
little and Tuesday we moved our camp into camp
Oliver and Wednesday were fixing up our
tents.  The eighth boys had used our things
pretty hard and cut a hole through the top of
our tent but we sewed it up and put a patch
over it.

MSS 11293