Newton County GaArchives News.....MR. MOSS'S DIARY AS KEPT DURING SIXTIES October 5 1916
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Phyllis Thompson mandpthompson@bellsouth.net February 2, 2004, 8:29 pm

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
November, 1862

1.....The boys had plenty of fish and honey. I took my mess with Captain BAILEY 
and Lieutenant HODGE and  J. Y. TINSLEY.

2.....______ ______ _______ into ________ of the Confederate States of America 
by L. Y. CLARK, Adt. of the 16 Georgia and bought me a horse, the Norton horse, 
for 140 dollars. Me and Captain BAILEY rodeout to Clinch river and back before 
I bought him.

3.....Me and Lieutenant MEADORS and E. J. LUMSDEN went to a fishery on Powell's 
river, got plenty of honey on the hillside where the boys had rolled the gum 
the night before and bursted honey was strewn for 50 or 75 yards, the bees were 
mad about it.

4.....Staid at headquarters nearly all day with Col. NIX. He was sorter sick.

5.....I stood guard for the 1st time. Saw a hog killed. We was out of meat. The 
boys called it possum. Col. NIX took dinner with us and said it was about as 
good as he had ever eat.

6.....Some of us rode out to Clinch river.

7.....We was ordered to Huntsville. We went to Big Creek Gap and drew rations. 
There was some infantry and cavalry there. The notorious GIBSON  and his men 
had passed over and some infantry under Col. PARMER, N. C. It commenced 
showing. We crossed the Cumberland Mountains at Big Creek Gap and the Pine 
Mountain at 1 o'clock at night, went down and fed and staid until day.

8.....We then took up our march for Boston. Charged into the place and took one 
prisoner and a little stagger juice. We then went on to Williamsburg. We 
stopped a while after dark and fed and staid until 12 o' clock. The men slept 
well, some having more than was good for them, for such an occasion would demand
sobriety. We then resumed our march on towards Huntsville. To bushwhackers 
commenced as soon as ordered march was given. That was the last of our prisoner 
we had taken at Boston; a stray bullet broke his thigh and killed his horse he 
was on and we left him in care of the citizens.

9....At about sun rise we charged Old Cliff's Camp in Scott county, Tennessee, 
but he had taken the alarm and had got off before we got there. We took two 
wagon loads of salt he had. So we lay by all day, waiting for the Infantry to 
come up. I was on picket at night, me and G. W. DAY. The bushwhackers slipt up 
on the ones that was on picket before,  me and DAY went on and shot at them. 
They did not shoot at us, although we saw one man close by creeping towards us. 
We watched well for him but he disappeared.

10....We started at Sun up. Bushwhackers commenced on us within one mile of 
camp. They blockaded the road and took a stand for us. We had one man killed 
that day and one wounded and one horse killed and one wounded. We met women 
carrying breakfast to the bushwhackers. We took liberal supply of it. They had 
it on their heads, on their arms, aprons, and trays, dishes, pans, etc.

11....The bushwhackers commenced as soon as we left camp and occasionally all 
day but a great distance, not much damage done worth mentioning.

12....Bushwhacking commenced in half mile of camp. We went until 12 o'clock and 
fed and burned their commisary house, but we took some rations first before we 
burned it. We burned several houses by order of Col. PARMER and hung several 
bushwhackers by orders. There was three hung to one apple tree, there was 15 
hung on that trip. We got to the top of Cumberland Mountains, Wheeler's Gap, a 
while after dark and it was raining hard. We waited there for Gibson to come 
up, we started down. So dark and rained so hard, we stopped by order of Col. 
NIX. We got one side of the road or path and tied our horses and lay down, me 
and Col. NIX together by a mountain oak. LUMSDEN and MARRETT made a fire and 
cooked a chicken for Col.. NIX and me, without bread or salt, but it was good.

13....We went down the mountain cold and wet and some of the boys run their 
horses into Jacksboro, which caused a perfect stampede of citizens. They 
thought we were Yanks. We got back to Old Camp.

14....I went with SPEER and HODGE and MEADORS after honey. To Powell's river 
after fish. We go plenty of both honey and fish.

15....The battalion was ordered to Cumberland Gap. Went through Fincastle and 
camped for the night 2 -1/2 miles from Cumberland Gap.

16.... Got to Gap and was ordered back to Town Creek and struck up camp and 
went to killing hogs. We had no salt or bread. We broiled some and boiled some 
in a syrup kettle and would pick out the lean from the fat. I eat no meat for 
several days.

17-18....In camps with plenty to eat and making out pay roll for Company B and 
hunting forage for horses.

To Be Cont.


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