Following the American Civil War Sesquicentennial with day by day writings of the time, currently 1863.

Post image for Downing’s Civil War Diary.–Alexander G. Downing.

Downing’s Civil War Diary.–Alexander G. Downing.

February 14, 2013

Diary of Alexander G. Downing; Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry

Saturday, 14th—A heavy rain all night stopped our digging for a time, and the fatigue party did not begin work on the canal until 1 o’clock in the afternoon. It is terribly muddy and the water hinders our digging; we wheeled out more water than mud. The following strange epitaph I noticed on a tombstone in a cemetery located in a grove near the town of Lake Providence:

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“Remember man, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I,
As I now am, so you must be,
Prepare for death and follow me.”

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