Sunday, March 8, 1863. Strength of Purpose

"March 8. A very pleasant day. It is one of the most quiet days that I have seen for Sunday." ~ Diary of Oliver A. Browne, Co. K, 15th Regiment.

"Sunday 8th On picket at Bull Run. Day lowery, but not rainy; night showery & finished up rain by thunder storm. By proper disposition of shelter tents & rubber blankets, we kept dry & comfortable. Stood 6 hours in the 24. On post with Sergt. Tennant & Lieut Waite, Co A. Pleasant time, on the whole." ~ Diary of Horace Barlow, 89, Co. C, 12th Regiment "Camp Near Wolf Run Shoals, Va. March 8, 1863. "Dear Free Press: "The Twelfth is now in the seventh week of its occupancy of its present camp,--a longer stay in one spot than it has yet made. We have formed no such intense attachment to our camp at the Shoals that we shall not be pretty well content to leave it, wherever we may be ordered. The region about us is a dreary one; the camp is less pleasant than our former ones; the time we have thus far spent in it has been during the most trying season of the year; snow, rain, frost and mud have told on the health of the regiment, and we have more sickness than ever before, among both officers and men; out picket duty--in pleasant weather the pleasantest duty of the soldier--has been severe; and though out situation here might be worse in a thousand particulars, we should all be satisfied to run the risk of not bettering our condition by a move. "You are not to understand that we are disheartened--not at all. "The Red, White and Blue," sung by an extemporized quartette, with a stiff chorus of manly voices, coming to my ear as I write, tells a different story from that. We carry a stiff upper lip under all circumstances. About a tenth of the regiment are off duty from measles, fevers, and ailments of one sort or another. The balance are, I think, more resolute in the great purpose of the war than ever. ""There is more fight in me," said one of our men yesterday, "than ever before. I supposed when I enlisted that nine months in the service would give me enough of war, and I remained of that opinion till quite lately. Now I am in for the war, be it long or short." The man who said this had no lack of fight in him at the start, mind you, and I believe he represents a majority of the regiment. "Fuller acquaintance with the temper and purposes of the rebels, discussion of the issues involved, and especially the news we get from home of the sayings and doings of the miserable "copperhead" journals and their followers at the North, have stirred to the bottom the fountains of honest indignation, and given strength to the purpose and patriotism of us all. The army is unanimous in this feeling, so far as I can judge. Having enlisted to fight traitors, the soldiers as a mass propose to fight them through, and would like to give those at home the same treatment they do those at the south."~ Lieut.  G.G. Benedict, Company C, 12th Regiment, Letter to the Free Press of March 8, 1863 in Army Life in Virginia.

Fairfax Station. Saturday March 7, 1863. Three officers arrested past curfew.

"March 7. The orders of yesterday have been countermanded, and news has come that the programme is changed, and instead of an advance movement by Stuart, he has retreated across the Rappahannock with his whole force."~ J. C. Williams, Corporal, Co. B, 14th Regiment, Life in Camp, 86 (1864)

"Saturday, March 7th: Again we have an illustration of the fickleness of March, for it commenced raining last night, and has rained moderately ever since, so there is no particular likelihood of our having a drill this morning. ...

"The company turned out at least fifty men for dress parade last night, besides the usual details for guard and fatigue duty, the cooks and the sick. The orders in camp now are that no man shall be out after taps at 8 p.m. But last night the guards picked up three of the officers of the regiment, one captain and two lieutenants, and marched them up to the guard house. One of the guards was from our company, and he said they looked crestfallen enough; and the officer of the guard was a lieutenant at whose expense the other officers have had a great deal of sport. Even he laughed over it all right, and told the boys that it was worth five dollars to him.

"All is quiet and still just now, with nothing to relieve the monotony of camp life except an occasional rumor of moving, which probably has no foundation except in the minds of the circulators. The greatest excitement we have had lately was over a piece in the paper from Adjutant General Washburn saying that our time would be out in nine months from the time we were mustered in. Some of them were inclined to believe it would not be out sooner. H G D" ~ Hezron G. Day, pvt., Company C, Sixteenth Regiment, Letter of March 7, 1863 

"March 7. Rained all day and is raining now. Mud not more than eight inches deep. One of the boys just fell into a sink which was made for to throw slops into, and they are having quite a time over it. Wet him through and through."~ Diary of Oliver A. Browne, Co. K, 15th Regiment.

The Resolutions passed by the 16th

"Fairfax Station, Virginia March 6th, 1863

"Dear Parents,

"March with its uncertainties and fickleness is upon us, and is flying rapidly away. One day it is balmy warm and spring like, and the next is cold and stormy, and only a day or two ago we had a good smart thunder shower. Quite Spring fashion, isn't it?

"I have been engaged in the captain's office all the week until yesterday, and I guess there is no more to do there now. Adelbert Bartlett stayed here with us last night. He looks hale and hearty and tough. He is going back to the 12th today. His company is stationed down 1/4 mile from the rest of the regiment at a ford on Occoquan River, with the 2nd Connecticut Battery.

"You have no doubt read the Resolutions passed by the 16th some time since and we have the response, offering to take care of the Copperheads at home, and tendering us their sympathies, and promising the Vermont Volunteer regiments to keep their ranks full, if need be at the point of the bayonet. All very well in its place, but it seems to us that instead of their sympathies, we shall have themselves out here before long. Won't the order for a draft make a sensation among some of these self-same sympathizing patriots such as were so anxious to avoid it last Fall?"  ~ Hezron G. Day, pvt., Company C, Sixteenth Regiment, Letter of March 6, 1863 

"March 6.  A rumor is afloat that old Stuart is again in this vicinity, and marching orders have been received. If this is the case, we shall doubtless have some fun before morning."   ~ J. C. Williams, Corporal, Co. B, 14th Regiment, Life in Camp, 86 (1864)

March 5, 1863. A suicide at Fairfax Station

"March 5. Nothing had happened of any consequence, excepting Corporal Bacon cutting his throat, cause, love-craze or some other foolish thing. He was from St. Johnsbury, Vt. , and was supposed to be a good steady fellow, but something went wrong somewhere, which caused him to commit suicide in cutting his throat from ear to ear. It was done well and I guess he did not want to live more than three hours after the act." ~ Diary of Oliver A. Browne, Co. K, 15th Regiment.

March 4, 1863; Spring cleaning.

Camp of 13th Vt
Wolf Run Shoals
Winter 1863

"March 4. Quite windy and cold. Froze quite hard last night and continues to grow cold. Think we shall have some more snow before the cold weather gives out. Yesterday we had a snow and hail rainstorm, and quite a number of other kinds of storms, and the ground has dried and froze up some, which makes it quite comfortable under foot." ~ Diary of Oliver A. Browne, Co. K, 15th Regiment. 

"March 4. The whole day is spent in cleaning the camp. The streets are swept, brush picked and burned, sinks filled up and new ones dug, cook stands and tents examined by the surgeon, and censured or praised, according to their neatness...." ~ Lt. Edwin Palmer, 13th Regiment,  The Second Brigade: or, Camp Life, By a Volunteer (1864) 

"Wednesday 4th To-day completes 5 months of our term of service. This A.M. I put on a new pr. of Pantaloons, wh I drew some time since. Also went to John Dwyer's & came out minus my alarming growth of Whiskers."  ~ Diary of Horace Barlow, 87, Co. C, 12th Regiment

Monday, March 2, 1863. On the Alert at Wolf Run Shoals

"Monday 2nd.  Regiment engaged on fort & on roads. Dress Parade at night, which I attended. Played Whist in the evening. Went to bed, immediately after "tatoo" & had just got nicely settled, when the Capt came around & gave orders for all "to be ready, with 40 rounds of cartridges, to fall in, at a moments notice". So we got up & put on our overcoats & equipments & laid down again. The cause of the alarm was that a large force was reported at "Gates' ford" on the Bull Run. We slept, (perhaps unnecessarily) with our equipments on till morning. No further alarm. I forgot to state, in yesterday's space, that an operator for our telegraph came up here Sunday, about Midnight, so, now, we are in telegraphic communication with W. by way of Union Mills." ~ Diary of Horace Barlow, 86-87, Co. C, 12th Regiment

"March 2. Since we came here, there has been no drilling, on account of the snow and mud. To-day there was battalion drill. At night, after most are lain down, orders were sent through the camp for all to be ready to march. There is not much of a stir. All place their guns and equipments where they can get them quickly in the dark. Soon the soldiers are asleep, and never knew why the orders came, only that there were rumors of the enemy near us."~ Lt. Edwin Palmer, 13th Regiment,  The Second Brigade: or, Camp Life, By a Volunteer (1864) 

Sunday, March 1, 1863, Muster roll

"Fairfax Stations Virginia,

"Sunday, March 1st, 1863

"Dear Parents,The weeks are flying rapidly, and each one is supposed to have a Sunday, and lately the Sundays are all of them rainy enough to kill knapsack inspection, though the rain has not saved me from duty, even this Sunday. I have had to work on the muster rolls all day, as Levi Moore is not able to work, and it is necessary to have them done by a certain time....It is expected that we are to be paid off again soon, and it is thought that this time we will receive four months' pay which will bring us up to the first of March."  ~ Hezron G. Day, pvt., Company C, Sixteenth Regiment, Letter of March 1, 1863