“The enemy could not have a more accommodating foe than we, since we give them all the time they want for preparation, and advertise everything we do.” –Diary of Josiah Marshall Favill.

May 14th. Weather magnificent. Providence, this time, is surely on our side, and why we do not take advantage of the splendid roads and close quickly on the rebel army, I cannot understand, nor do I find any one who can; the enemy could not have a more accommodating foe than we, since we give them all the time they want for preparation, and advertise everything we do. The great campaigns of history were not conducted on this plan, and one cannot help thinking our general a little slow; luckily, the rebs are about as slow, or something very disagreeable might happen. This part of the country is better cultivated, and more interesting than any we have seen before; there are more large houses, and the soil seems better, but nowhere yet have I seen a grass field. Most of the houses are occupied by women, and in such cases they are quite safe, but where they are abandoned, the soldier makes himself free with whatever suits his fancy. The colonel inspected the regiment during the morning, and in his opinion, it never looked so well before. It turned out just six hundred muskets, every man fully equipped, well armed, and clothed; the men’s boots and brasses shone like burnished steel, and every one felt and looked his very best. General French was enthusiastic in his praise, and said no regiment of the old army ever made a better appearance. We ought to be as good as any, of course, having worked, and drilled, and studied, every day for almost a year, and have with us more than a hundred men, who served many years in the old army before enlisting in the Fifty-seventh; moreover, the colonel is a thorough soldier, maintaining the strictest discipline, and is absolutely perfect in drill and tactics.