Newton County GaArchives News.....MR. MOSS'S DIARY AS KEPT DURING SIXTIES August 24 1916
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Phyllis Thompson mandpthompson@bellsouth.net February 2, 2004, 12:04 am

The Covington News
"This Is As I Saw It. It May Be Different As Others Saw It"
He Says of 3d Regiment, Company H.
BEGINNING WITH THE YEAR 1861

June, 1862

24....Inspection of wards. They were cutting oats close to the hospital that 
were _____ in the ____.

25....Inspection of the sick by the board of physicians. Fighting going on. 562 
sick and wounded sent to  _______  ______ Richmond, to give way for others who 
were expected to be there soon. Richmond was full of sick and wounded.

26....Heavy firing all day nearly. Dispatches going on the York Town road. At 
dark the gun boats commenced shelling the woods, houses and fired all the coal 
boats. The shelling and throwing hot shot was beautiful to look at. They threw 
from 7 to 11 per minute for a while, it was kept up for a good part of the
night. We of the Hospital thought they were going to land. Good many preparing 
to leave in the morning.

27....Fighting going on all day.

28....Dispatches arriving constantly from the battle fields. Fighting going on 
______.

29....Sunday. Preaching three times to day at the spring.

30....I saw Judge FLOYD at the depot and SAM WELDON. I went to Richmond, me and 
ROWAN staid all night in the Provost Marshall's office, where wer were treated 
scandalous.

July, 1862

1.....We were sent to Mechanicsville to bury dead Yankees that had been dead 4 
days. Me and ROWAN gave out and could not hardly travel. We went under escort 
of some cavalry. They brought us back inside the line and told us to go 
wherever we chose to go. We went to a South Carolina camp at the race track and 
staid all night. We heard the fighting that evening at Malvern Hill. Rained all 
night.

2.....Me and ROWAN rambled around in the rain about the grave yard and saw 
sights I never want to see again. We saw lots of coffins that had bursted and 
more flies than I ever saw and such an odor. We went back to Richmond and to  
the Hospital. It was full. A surgeon told me I could stay and occupy his bunk 
until he could do better, but I told him I would like to go back to Petersburg 
if he could send us. He told us to go and stay all night at the Provost 
Marshal's office until morning and he would make room if he could. If not,
he would send us to Petersburg in the morning. So we went to Provost office and 
staid all night, without anything to eat all day and night.

3.....The Doctor has made no arrangements and he gave us transportation. We got 
left by the first train and had to stay until 3 o'clock in the evening. I got 
ROWAN to go out and try to sell  my overcoat to buy something to eat. He came 
back and said one man offered him all the money he had, $7.50. I told him to go 
back and let him have it. I gave him 50 cents for selling it. We got some small 
half moon peach pies at 25 cents a piece. At 3 o'clock we got off for 
Petersburg, got here a little after dark, and went in Ward No 2 of Hospital, 
Taylor Ward they called it. He was from Texas. He was unfit to manage anything 
but brutes, he stole my watch the next day, and I saw him rob the dead. There 
were several times that I saw him do it.

4.....I was very sick all day, had taken cold and dysintery. Heavy firing 
toward James River.

5.....Got a letter from Captain Jones and I wrote a letter home. Me and a 
Spaniard went to pick dewberries, got so fatigued I could hardly get back to 
hospital.

6.....Started a letter home. Three died in hospital today.

7.....Cannonading at City Point. I was very sick.

8.....Saw TAYLOR, the ward master, with my watch. He would not give it up.

9.....General HOLMES came around to see the sick and wounded soldiers.

10, 11....Very rainy. I was no better.

12....I was very bad off. They thought I would die.

13....W. W. OZBURN and ALEXANDER came to see me. They were going to Drewry's 
Bluff, had been tailoring for officers.

14....The first corn tassel I saw was today. It came from the poor house.

15....Rained and at night the wind blowed hard.

16....General granting of furloughs to sick.

17....Storm and rain. Had a bad night for sleeping. A Mississippian had the 
brain fever. They tied him down to his bunk several times and he would get 
loose and rave and fight. He died tied down.

18, 19....Cool and cloudy both days.

20....Sunday. Bought a blackberry pie and eat it all and it had liked to kill 
me. Had preaching at spring.

21....HICKS and SHEHAN, of Georgia went up to Richmond and about 40 others in 
the same crowd.

22....The board of physicians met and discharged several of the sick and 
wounded.

To Be Continued


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