Newton County GaArchives News.....MR. MOSS'S DIARY AS KEPT DURING SIXTIES March 15 1917 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Phyllis Thompson mandpthompson@bellsouth.net February 6, 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 September, 1863 18....News came that the Yanks would be at the picket post by 4 o'clock. All was in confusion in camps, caused by drunkenness, and Col. CARTER, 1st Tennessee Reg't., was on the Island at Kingsport and was run off. They passed within one and one half miles of us towards Bristol, the Yanks in pursuit of them. We was nearly surrounded before we knew it. But one road to escape and that towards Zollicofer. We left a little after dark and nearly ____ _____ appeared and then they disappeared almost entirely. I was nearly all the one that had one and I threw mine away down a steep rocky bank. 19....We got to Zollicofer in the morning. Col. WINN was put under arrest. The 16th went out with Col. TYLER and saw the Yanks coming back from Bristol to Blountsville. We went up the hollow road close to where they were camping and got back after dark and went to Zollicoffer and camped. 20....We was ordered up soon and went out towards Blountville. The pickets commenced about sun up, their cavalry charged ours, and we fell back slowly, skirmishing with them, to Thomas Mill, and then Captain WATERS taken about 50 men to charge their advance, but they were too many for us and we fell back towards our artillery and some infantry. As ____ ______ _____ opened on them, they stopped advancing. We then drove them back and ______ them below Blountsville 3 miles. (The rest of the events for this date are unreadable) 21....The 1st Tennessee and 16th Ga. moved out under comman of Col. CARTERA and met the Yanks below Blountville, advancing on us, and we fell back across the town and formed a line with two pieces of artillery. We dismounted and crossed a road and up a hill to the top and they charged us with the Black Hank Cavalry. They had fired the town and under cover of smoke got between us and our horses and we went through them, to our horses, then they were amongst us and then commenced a skeddale? The artillery had left for Zollicofer and the 1st Tennessee Regt. and the 16th had all the brunt to bear. There was a dispatch sent to us but Capt. JONES would not obey it and hence the stampede. I was wounded and lost my horse, they captured me, but I got away from them, in a few minutes after. It was in the night. Then I slipped away in the woods and after they had put out their pickets, which was close to where I stopped. I slipped around and thought I would get a horse and leave them, but it was most too risky at that hour. I went back about 30 yards and lay down and, with the wound on my shoulder, being knocked off my second horse, and shot on top of head, and cut with sabre on forehead, I was sick from loss of blood. I arose and got me a horse from them and I could hardly move about. So I lay in the corner of the fence until the morning of the 22nd. 22....I lay in sight of their pickets all day, could scarcely walk at all, was so weak, I dosed around all day. They would come close to me and I would dodge over a big log and as soon as they would pass I would dodge back. And when night came on, I went to the same corner of the fence. That night about 200 yards of pickets, they passing around me all the time. They sent some cavalry and artillery up towards Bristol in the morning and they returned at night. 23....About 8 o'clock two negroes came through the piece of woods I was in, going to dig a grave for a woman who had died. One of them gave me an apple to eat, which was quite refreshing to me, for I had nothing to eat or drink since the 21st. In the morning and about 11 o'clock the negro brought me something to eat and about a pint of sweet milk, the best I ever drank. In the evening a paroled prisoner brought me a horse and a hat. I had lost mine. The same negro was with him. They carried me to Mrs. McCleand, she had sent the horse and hat to me. She had a good dinner but I wanted water. She would allowance me in water, and gave me plenty of good buttermilk. She told me to lie down and rest. About that time Col. WOFFORD'S Regt. came down and I had excuse to walk to the road and see them and I put out for Bristol. Went about one mile and came to a creek and lay down on a plank and drank as much water as I wanted. I went on until night overtook me and crawled into a barn and slept until day and got up and started for Bristol. To be Continued This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb