August 25—Took the cars at 5 A.M. and got to Keswick, a depot on the Stanton road. We left here after staying one hour, and took our posts in the woods. As we are about twenty men, with one lieutenant in command, we made no camp, but stayed about here and reported every time there was any news about deserters. Wolf and myself went out in the country to houses that we were told harbored deserters. We passed ourselves off as such, and were well received, and got some valuable information. They told us that the deserters were in the woods. We then returned to our companions, and got well soaked, as it was raining very hard. Stayed in a barn all night.
Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier by Louis Léon
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