April 15—Raining very hard. We have a blanket spread over poles to keep us dry. We got orders to march this evening. Went five miles through mud and water, and it raining like fury. I shall long remember this march, as well as a few others of my company. We fell in the mud several times, and were certainly beautiful objects to look at with our suits of mud, for we were completely covered with it.
Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier By Louis Léon [53d North Carolina Regiment, infantry]
April 13—Up to date they are firing at Fort Hill and Washington all the time.
April 14—Nothing.
April 10—Got to our line at 6 this morning. The Yankees had fallen back. They had nineteen regiments and twenty-one pieces of artillery. They left in a hurry. One of their colonels was killed and I don’t know how many men. We left Blount Creek Bridge at 4 this evening, marched nine miles on our way back to Bellevue. We met the Bethel regiment, and I met several friends of my old company.
April 9—We were relieved this morning by the 32d Regiment, and marched to Bellevue, where the balance of our brigade is. At 11 o’clock to-night we were ordered to march. We went fifteen miles. There was a fight there to-day. Marched all night without resting.
April 8—This morning Tom Tiotter, Katz and myself went with Captain White to meet three Yankees with a flag of truce; but they would not come half way, so Colonel Owens ordered us back. We then— we three—went to our siege-gun and saw the town very plainly. They fired at us while we were there. The fire was returned, and we could see the Yankees dodge.
April 7—To-day the firing was very heavy. We hit the Yankee gunboat again to-day, and made the dust fly out of their breastworks.
April 6—A little firing to-day. Went to the river to throw up breastworks. Worked all night. We put up one piece of cannon right on the river bank, but had to work all night in the swamp to do so. We carried sandbags for breastworks to protect the artillerymen.
April 5—Everything is quiet on our line to-day.
April 4—Firing at intervals all day. The reserve was sent to the river to support our artillery. The colors went with them. It is raining hard. We laid in line two and a half hours in an old field. It is very cold. The Yankees are firing all the time. Then the 43d Regiment came and relieved us. Katz came in to-day and reported Henry Wortheim dead—he died Monday, March 30.
April 3—Little Washington is on Tar River, and as one of the Yankee gunboats was trying to get in, one of our cannon gave them a ball, which caused heavy firing all day, and, in fact, the shells came very close to our flag, which made us dodge pretty smart. We have Washington besieged. At 8 o’clock to-night Colonel Owens called for volunteers to go as near the Yankees as they could, to see what they were doing. Tom Tiotter and myself went. We got to within two hundred yards of Washington, when we were compelled to halt, as we were near the bridge, where we could hear the Yankee sentinels walking their beats very plainly—so we returned to camp and reported.
