19th Century Steinbeck Family Papers

101

May 17

morning. Also to be drilling & dress parade daily.

Sunday May 18. Inspection of arms in the forenoon. Also an excellent sermon by our Chaplin the Rev. Mr. Duvall. I believe it is the best sermon, or at least the best one that I could most sympathize with. His text, “Ye will not come to me that ye may be saved,” was indeed a apropriate one. Our Regement indeed needs the saving grace of Jesus. Men of all [inclination?] & I fear a great many that never gave one serious thought the welfare of their soul. It is a sad thing to see so many man who are in that dangerous condition of us, who be sides the natural uncertainty of life may any moment be engaged in murderous warfare, when so many of us are loth[?] to be sent down about to a certainty

107

May 29

About 2 o clock this morning we were woke up & told to fall into line. After that it was ordered to have one days provision cooked & be ready for a march at day light. Where to nobody knew. We accordingly got ready & about 5 oclock marched to the wharf ariving there the Col. rode up & gave the order to go back to quarters & wait till further orders. This we did. About 11 oclock the order to march was given again & we went to the wharf again & went aboard the same steamer that brought us to Mobile, the “Mary Wilson.”

Our tents, cooking utensils were all left in Mobile & also all the sick. We only took our knapsacks, [equipment?] only we heard the Federals were advancing

109

May 31

the depot when we arived & he confessed he took it, but the [clothes?] from the knapsack were gone. There were three [offensive slur] in cohort & at last after having there black skin preptly[?] severely riddled with the paddle they confessed that for fear of detection they had burnt them. We hear of nothing new. The Mobile paper of to day reports from the Sav. Rep that Gen. Leuis[?] the Military Comander at St. Augustine made ladies & children of the age of seven years take the oath of allegiance.

Saturday May 31. Still at Pollard but I suspect we shall leave to day. Memories crowd thick & fast upon my mind to day

June 6-7 115

could not buy me to serve two years more if the war should last so long, but that if I could find no way to get out, that I would serve as a concript by force. As then, I would have that satisfaction that if my wife & children had to perish for want, I would not be by my fault, whereas if I should serve voluntarly my conciense would reproach me all the time. But I hope for the best. At four o clock had battle drill & dress parade. I feel very much debilitated & week.

Saturday June 7. Nothing new to day. I forgot to mention that Private George Coole[?] & Frank Arnau[?]

119

June 12-13

very dangerously wounded in the chest & hardly expected to recover. A brother of Capt Mikler of our Reg. was killed. Also Marine Papy of Jackson ville is killed. The slaughter was awful. We also got boards to floor our tents to day.

Friday June 13. Every thing quiet to day. Indeed nothing different is heard. The Press is completely [mussled?]. Nothing from the armee near Corinth or Virginia is published at all. Am detailed again to go on Police gaurd in the City. It is not a very agreeable duty but still it must be done. At three o clock we started from the camps & after a very wery & hot walk arived in town & relieved

121

Sunday 15, 16, 17, 18

Thank the Lord I am well thus far.

Sunday 15. Nothing new. [Very?] hot. Time presses hardly[?] & slow it seems to me, that 4 months before did seem as four to me as four weeks now do.

Monday 16. Nothing new.

Tuesday 17. On guard today. Towards evening it began to rain thoughout the night it kept sprinkling & in the morning it rained hard.

Wednesday 18. It rained very hard this morning. The Fourth Fla regiment is also at Mobile expecting to join Beauregards armee at or near Corinth. Letters from Jacksonville were to day recieved by some of

June 18-19 122

Companie & others in the Regiment. Some bring the report the St. Augustine is evacuated, & others say they are strengthening it with a view of buying it as long as they can. Guerilla parties are reported to be on the east side of the St Johns river under Muhler[?] & Brave Liut Fernandino is also reported evacuated. & gen. Beauregard in Mobile today.

June 19. Today we had to alter our camps & make the space smaller on account I suppose that we shall not need quite so many sentinels. Go to town again on city police. It makes time go faster it seems.

136

July 2-3

Wednesday July 2. We had a good deal of rain since a few day past. I am on gard today & it rained a good deal the sentinells have not go to stay in the rain but are taken in but as soon as it stops they go out again. We have but two gard tents & these are most of the time filled up with prisoners. I got two boards out of my tent & laid them on the ground & on them I slept. Some men slept on the wet ground. Reports continue about the tremendous victoree near Richmond over McClellans grand Armee.

July 3. Do not feel very well this morning. Had a sleight fever last night. The phisican Dr. L. M. Carn[?]

July 21-22 148

About 5 oclock the last of our Reg. left the camp Jackson Mobile, all deserted. About 8 oclock we left Mobile with a large Steamer (it has no name at present) for Montgomerie but not the way we came at first, but entirely by water. The steamer has a steam organ which on having began to play several pieces it is splendid musik. It exceeds anything I ever heard before, very much enjoyed[?] on board.

Tuesday July 22. Last night a man fell overboard. He was drunk it is believed, if he succeeded in swimming ashore is not known. Some say that they saw him pass the wheelhouse & others say that the wheel caught him. A good many plantations on the banks of the Alabama river. Hardly any cotton & the corn looks bad as much as we have seen of it at present.

July 22-23 149

Afternoon. The river is very low at present. Old water [meters?] show that it sometimes overflows all its banks now 10-15 feet high. On the banks a good deal of land is cleared but not much cultivated. It may be different other years. We passed quite a number of guns which were mounted on the banks to comand the river. Montgomerie is distant from Mobile by the route we take now about 500 miles & they say it will take us till Thursday to get there. It is dreadful hot.

Wednesday, July 23. In the morning. The night was dreadful hot & [stowed?] away almost as thick as herings in a barrel. It is very bad. Very difficult to assend the river. A great many times the steamer is fast on the mud. Even now we are fast & it seems about impossible to get off. About 10 oclock we we ran on a shoal & we had all