"Union Mills, Virginia, June 20, 1863
"... The old brigade is not more than 8 or 10 miles from us now. They stayed nearer than that one night and a good many of the boys went over there to see them and some of them came over to see us. ... There are no troops now between us and Richmond now, unless they be Rebel troops. All have either fallen back or gone to Maryland. ...
"I cannot believe that Lee is foolhardy enough to take his whole army or the greater portion of it north of the Potomac. If he does, I am afraid that he will never get back again without getting it all cut to pieces. We expect that a heavy force from Hooker's army has gone up to meet them there; while another good part of it remains within the defenses of Washington ready for any emergency.
"As the army fell back this time, it did what ought to have been done long ago, viz: cleaned out the country as they came along. I do not suppose that every house is burned, but they have purified a good many Sesesh kennels and left the inhabitants thereof to go either north or south as they felt inclined, though it is more than probable that most of them chose to go beyond the Rebel lines.For several days we could see immense clouds of smoke looming up from the direction of the Rappahannock, but hardly knew what to make of it.
"As the army fell back this time, it did what ought to have been done long ago, viz: cleaned out the country as they came along. I do not suppose that every house is burned, but they have purified a good many Sesesh kennels and left the inhabitants thereof to go either north or south as they felt inclined, though it is more than probable that most of them chose to go beyond the Rebel lines.For several days we could see immense clouds of smoke looming up from the direction of the Rappahannock, but hardly knew what to make of it.
"At last we learned that the cavalry were cleaning out the country as they came along. At Bealton they burned all the station buildings and at Catlett did the same thing, but at Warrenton Junction they did not burn a single thing for the simple reason that there is nothing there that will burn. Neither is there at Manassas, except the water tank, and at Bristow there is nothing left worth burning, for we used up the buildings pretty much for shanties to live in. ..." ~ Hezron G. Day, pvt., Company C, Sixteenth Regiment, Letter from Union Mills, June 20, 1863
Saturday 20th. Home to Camp about 10 o'clock. Day lowery & but with only an occasional shower. Report says we are to remove to the "Graveyard", to-morrow at 6 A.M. Alas! Alas!" ~ Diary of Horace Barlow (UVM), 132, Horace Barlow, Pvt., Co. C, 12th Regiment
"June 20. We are once more in a new camp, and to-day the regiment is busily engaged in pitching tents. Another member of Company B, by the name of Caleb Fisk, died last night." ~ John C. Williams, Corporal, Co. B, 14th Regiment, Life in Camp 130 (1864).
Saturday 20th. Home to Camp about 10 o'clock. Day lowery & but with only an occasional shower. Report says we are to remove to the "Graveyard", to-morrow at 6 A.M. Alas! Alas!" ~ Diary of Horace Barlow (UVM), 132, Horace Barlow, Pvt., Co. C, 12th Regiment
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| Caleb P. Fisk (1837-1863) died June 19, 1863 at Wolf Run Shoals |
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