Monday, May 21, 2012

May 21st. The regiment drilled to-day for the first time since we left Yorktown; the colonel put us through many movements, completely tiring the men out. Towards evening while enjoying our otium cum dig, after the fatigue of the drill, and laying out plans for the evening sport, orders came to strike tents and march at once. By five o’clock we were en route, and to our surprise and disgust, marched till twelve o’clock, over circuitous, poor wood roads, mostly running through dark pine woods. At midnight we debouched into an opening, at the junction of two railroads and bivouacked for the rest of the night. Just as we were preparing our bivouac, an order came for the regiment to go out on picket duty, in front of the division, so we fell in again, and marched out about a mile in front, and established a line of pickets just inside the cavalry videttes; reserves were posted at convenient distances, and then selecting an immense tree, on the side of a hill, near a house, for headquarters, we posted a sentry, wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and went to sleep. At daylight our people built a fire, and the cook served a good breakfast. The colonel and I rode out immediately afterwards, inspected the whole line, and made a sketch of the country, dotting down the picket line upon it. At the foot of the tree, our headquarters, there is the finest spring I ever saw; the water is as clear as crystal, and cold as ice, so cold in fact, one cannot wash in it; it bubbles out in great volumes; rushing down the hill, emptying into a fine brook, in which I counted six trout. When the colonel and I came in from the inspection of the lines, he proposed we go down to the spring and take a bath, I got undressed first, and jumped in and was almost frozen, so the colonel concluded not to try it, contenting himself with a good sponging. In the course of the day the colonel, McKim and I called at the house and looked over it, and also the garden, which is a very fine one. All the white people were gone, leaving the place in charge of negroes; they told us the cavalrymen had been there and carried off almost everything of value, but we thought the house had been very little disturbed. It belongs to a doctor, and is luxuriously furnished throughout. There is an excellent library, containing many standard works, and lots of Latin and Greek books. The beds in some of the rooms were covered with silk and satin covers, and hung with silk curtains. Many of the cabinets had been broken open, but perhaps the niggers had been at them themselves. In the garden, were beds of asparagus, onions, lettuce and peas; plenty of currant and gooseberry bushes, and delightful beds of flowers. We stationed a guard at the house, to keep the men away. One of the colored women gave us some fresh milk, and on our return home, the doctor made it into a punch. At two P. M. a terrific thunder shower came up, soaking us to the skin before we could find shelter. It lightened terrifically, making it mighty dangerous to be near the lines of stacked muskets. It soon cleared off, however, and was very hot afterwards. Just before turning in for a little sleep, we received orders to be ready to march at eight o’clock in the morning. There is a mile stone at the railroad junction, which says fourteen miles to Richmond, so we cannot make many more marches without coming in front of the forts.