Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier By Louis Léon [53d North Carolina Regiment, infantry]

May 25—Resumed our march this morning at 6. Got six miles and halted. We pitched our camp here on a hill two miles from Fredericksburg.

May 24—Laid here all day, it being Sunday.

May 23—Marched fifteen miles and halted. On our to-day’s march we saw any amount of dead horses, which did not smell altogether like cologne.

May 22—Marched twenty miles to-day, and halted at 6 P.M.

May 21—Left this morning, marched twenty-one miles, halted at 5.30. It is a very hilly country, warm and dusty.

May 19—Left here at 5 this morning, got to Richmond at 8, and are stationed at Camp Lee. We will have to march to Fredericksburg. Our brigade is transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia. William Cochran, myself and several of our company ran the blockade to-night, went uptown to a theatre, and got back to camp at 2 o’clock. We had a fine time while uptown.

May 17—Up to to-day nothing. But this morning at 4 we were ordered to cook up all our rations, and be ready to march in one hour. We left Kinston by rail at 12 M. Got to Goldsboro at 3, went through to Weldon, left here at 5 P.M., and got to Petersburg, Va., on the morning of the 18th; left there at -6 P.M. Katz and myself went uptown—ate two suppers. Had a very good time while in town. We camped all night on Dunn’s Hill.

May 9 and 10—Resting.

May 11—We moved our camp to the north side of town. Then we were marched to an open field this afternoon, and drawn up in line to see two men shot for desertion. After they were shot, we marched by them and saw one was hit six times and the other four. Their coffins were by their sides, right close to their graves, so that they could see it all.

May 8—We left here at 8 A.M., to return to Kinston, and got there at 3 P.M.—ten miles—awful road. Waded through mud, water and sand the whole way. My feet are cut up pretty badly.