July 30—Still in camp. Hugh Sample and myself were out on a forage and milked a cow in his hat, the only thing we had.
Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier By Louis Léon [53d North Carolina Regiment, infantry]
July 29—Left at 7, marched until 3, camped one mile from Madison Court House. Marched ten miles to-day.
July 28—Left at 6 this morning, marched ten miles and halted on the mountain.
July 27—Left this morning at 5, crossed the Blue Ridge at Thornton Gap. We camped one mile from Sparrowsville. Marched thirteen miles to-day.
July 26—Rested to-day. William Eagle and myself went up the Blue Ridge to gather berries, and were lost in the woods for one hour.
July 25—Left this morning at 7 o’clock, halted at 3 in the afternoon—sixteen miles.
July 24—Marched two miles up Chester Gap, when we were about faced and marched through Front Royal again. We here took the Strasburg road at daylight. We resumed our march, and halted at 3 in the evening. We have been on a forced march three days and nights, waded rivers, fought skirmishes, and marched in that time forty-five miles. We are camped in an apple orchard in a village called Milford.
July 23—Left at 5 this morning, went through Front Royal—seventeen miles to-day. Waded the south and north prongs of the Shenandoah River. We then took the road to Mananas Gap, marched three miles, when we met the enemy and had brisk firing until dark. Their line is very strong. They advanced in two lines in very fine order. When they got within range of our guns we opened on them, and they scattered like bluebirds. We had a beautiful view of this fight, as we are on the mountain. Neither of the armies can move without being seen by the other. Our corps of sharpshooters has been formed again since a few days ago. We were sent to the support of the other corps. We were within twenty yards of the enemy’s line until midnight, when we fell back in good order.
July 22—Left this morning at 5, marched through Winchester three miles, and halted.
July 21—Went through town at 5 this morning, to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with Johnson’s division and part of Hampton’s Legion, to tear up the railroad. We destroyed six miles of it and returned to our camp at Darkesville—fifteen miles to-day.
