Civil War Diary of Charles H. Lynch.

September 24th. This morning details were made for picket duty and working on the railroad and the telegraph lines, doing the work laboring men ought to have done. The enemy destroyed about everything connected with the railroad. I was detailed, with twenty men, to report at the station to the road-master. Our equipments were left at the station, while we loaded telegraph poles on flat cars, distributed them along the road, and helped to set them. We were obliged to throw the poles off from the slowly moving train. It was hard and very dangerous work for inexperienced men who were so near used up from hard service during the year. We were thankful when night came and we could return to our camp to rest and sleep.