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

Post image for Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes.

Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes.

December 12, 2012

Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes

Camp Maskell, near Gauley, December 12. — Ninth to twelfth bright, warm days; cold nights; snow scarcely melted at all on the north side of the hills. The river is low and freezes in the pools clear across. A single very severe night would close navigation on the Kanawha. Nothing will save us from this calamity but a mild winter or a freshet in the river. With this low water a cold winter will bother us exceedingly. Well, well, our camp is growing; a few nails have come to us; no sawed lumber yet.

Yesterday (11th) received a good letter from Lucy. She has read Wendell Holmes’ “Search After the Captain” in [the] December number of [the] Atlantic and thinks I must not laugh at her any more about her efforts to find me — I being at Middletown and she at Washington searching the hospitals for me.

Today got news of the capture of a brigade of our troops in Tennessee by four thousand of John Morgan’s men! Either a surprise or a disgraceful thing of some sort! Also the crossing of the river at Fredericksburg after heavy cannonading.

Previous post:

Next post: