August 25th, 1864.
We have sent away all our sick and wounded, and expect to follow in the morning. I do not like the idea of getting so far from our base, as it is likely to interfere with our rations. However, we will probably not remain very long. With field hospitals, change is the order; here today, there tomorrow. We have no patients; nothing to keep my mind from realizing its utter loneliness. At such times my heart reaches out to my family with unutterable longing. But, be still, fond heart. Two years of banishment are past, but one remains. God is good, and kind, and merciful. Let me gather consolation from tha past, and look with confidence and hope into the future.
I have said that I am lonely. I would be much more so were it not for the comradeship of my friend, Mr. Collier. We take long walks together, talking over old times and future plans until we get to some high point overlooking Petersburg and its fortifications. We then sit down for an hour or two and enjoy the cool evening breeze, and witness the grandest pyrotechnic display the mind can conceive of. I saw William Dunham today; he has been promoted to sergeant. There is no better or braver soldier in the Seventeenth Regiment than he.
