1863 January 4 Staunton, Va.

[from the diary of Joseph Addison Waddell, former newspaper publisher and civilian employee of the Quartermaster Dept.]

Sunday night, January 4, 1863.

Returning from the cemetery this morning, Va and I walked over the hill and through the ground where deceased soldiers are buried. The number of graves has greatly increased since I was there last. It was almost appalling to see the rows of graves recently dug, waiting with gaping mouths for still living victims [deleted: who are to fill them]. The sight brought before us visibly the sufferings of the soldiers dying in military hospitals, far from home and kindred and all the horrors of a time of war. The small pox cases are buried elsewhere.

[transcript by the Valley of the Shadow project]

MSS 38-258