May 28th. To-day has been very hot; during the night we turned out suddenly and stood in line of battle for an hour, then turned in again. This evening, we hear Porter has been demonstrating all day in the region of Hanover court house, and has burnt the bridges over the South Anna, and Pamunkey rivers, to prevent the enemy getting into our rear; and drove a strong rebel force several miles to the rear, capturing seven hundred men. We got up quite an illumination after dark, in honor of the event. After hearing this good news, the colonel and I rode over to General Richardson’s quarters, to learn more about it. General Richardson talked freely with the colonel, and said we should get into a big fight within a few days, beyond a doubt. He says Porter did well, although bothered by rain in the morning, and bad roads almost everywhere. Some of the regiments got lost for a while, a very easy thing to do in this interminable woody country. After a stubborn fight, our men got them on the run, and gave them a lively shaking up. The railroad, as far as Ashland, was destroyed when the troops returned to their original camp, with the prisoners taken during the day. Richardson is a dark, slim man, with stooping shoulders, and a most pronounced nasal voice. He looks like a farmer more than a soldier, and is utterly devoid of style; but has good common sense, a rare commodity apparently, and is very popular with his command. He is a West Pointer, notwithstanding his lack of style, and served in the old regular army. He made me think he smelt something disagreeable all the time, by the way he moved the muscles of his face. He is a typical Yankee.
