Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/52

 46 Southern Historical Society Papers.

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January g, iS6j. — At 4 o'clock on the afternoon of to-day orders came directing us to proceed at once to the depot of the Northeastern railroad and again take the cars for Wilmington. Some demonstra- tions made by the enemy on the North Carolina coast had created the impression that Wilmington was in danger. We got off during the night, and had another slow and tedious trip. The train stopped for hours owing to defective engines. One stoppage was near the plantation of Mr. Wm. M. Kinders, about a mile from Kingstree. Here a portion of the train remained till the balance was taken to Cades' Station and the engine returned. If the break down had oc- curred at the depot so that those of us who lived in Kingstree could have seen our families, no regret would have been felt, but waiting in the woods was tiresome and unprofitable.

January nth — Sunday. Reached Wilmington this afternoon. Marched out of the city and bivouacked just inside of the line of breast- works.

January 13th. — Regiment marched to the race course, on the road leading in the direction of Masonboro' Sound, and bivouacked for the night.

Jantiary 14th. — Pitched our tents in a field near the race course. The field officers of the brigade had been directed to select a place for a camp, it seeming probable that no forward movement would be made very soon. As we were riding over the field the owner came to us and suggested that should it rain heavily the ground would be under water. It was the opinion of our party that the fear of losing his rail.= had prompted this expression of opinion on the part of the land owner. The growth indicated that the ground was not subject to overflow. The first night spent in our new camp was very dark and cold, considerable snow fell and the condition of the fence the next morning, or rather the ground where the fence had stood, showed that the fears of the unfortunate land owner were not un- founded. Nobody acknowledged that he knew what became of the rails. The presence of soldiers in cold weather never had a tendency to improve fences.

January 15th to April 4th. — The brigade to which the regiment was now temporarily attached consisted of the Sixteenth, Twenty- fourth and Twenty-fifth South Carolina volunteers. Eighth South Carolina Battalion and Forty-sixth Georgia regiment, and was put under the command of Colonel P. H. Colquit, of the Forty-sixth Georgia. He was a brave man, but a lax disciplinarian. His regi- ment was a very fine body of men, but in point of discipline was