" ...sharpen our bayonets."

Saturday, December 10, 1864, near Jarrett's Station

We were thinking and some hoping that, thanks to Mother Nature, all the campaigning was concluded for this year. The Yankees, not being content to sit in their works near the fires, have come out to have another try at us. This is all to the good as we have the opportunity to whip them one more time before Christmas.

On Thursday last, the eighth, we were told to cook three days rations. That always means that a March and battle will be hard by. The Ordnance folks came around to top off our cartridge boxes. Our officers told us to clean our muskets and sharpen our bayonets. It was after dark when we formed up and left our works. Leaving at this time is quite unusual. Some of speculated as we marched that there was a sense or urgency in our leaving before getting a good night's sleep.

Our rations have been so short for some time that ten days rations would have fit so very nicely in our haversacks. We are quite willing to whip the Yankees if only to feast upon their haversacks. We will take their blankets and overcoats from them as well. There are orders that we should not wear Yankee clothing but we would rather be warm and will take the risk of being shot by mistake.

That night, we camped some few miles south of Dinwiddie Court House, having come down the Boydton Plank Road. Our supper consisted of a little corn meal, less than a pint to each of us. We had to mention snow to mix the meal into dough which were then cooked into small cakes. The fare was meager but the fire warmed us nicely.

We did not get a great deal of sleep. We were awake before dawn. Breakfast consisted of whatever we did not eat for supper and that was not very much. We need to make our scant victuals last for some days and dare not eat so such at each meal. Even so, some of us, like Cauthen and Langley, have already eaten everything. They joined the company not that long ago and have not yet learned the ways of the seasoned veteran.

The weather, already cold, turned colder, so cold that the ground froze. Before dark, it began to sleet upon us. We hoped that it was sleeting on the Yankees as well. Building a fire after we went into camp was nearly impossible. All of us slept on frozen ground. All during the night, stragglers, some barefoot, who fell out of the line of march rejoined the regiment. I ate nothing.

Today, the tenth, we were on the road at first light. It was slow going for awhile until the marching could warm us up. At ten of the clock, we reached Jarrett's Station, on the Weldon Railroad. We thought that Grant was going for our railroad again. We could hear firing in the distance, but never could get close enough to join the fight.

The rain is heavy. There are no fires tonight. Tomorrow we hope to make it hot for the Yankees.


I Send You These Few Lines

Louis M. Cauthen and James B. Langley are fairly new to the Lancaster Hornets. Cauthen enlisted in October and Langley in September.


Grant is on the March again. He is making another try to cut the railroad bringing supplies to Lee. Grant is moving a large force to the far right of the Confederate lines to tear up enough track to starve Lee's troops, as if they were not starving already. Lee has sent Hill's entire corps from the protection of their works to meet and defeat Grant's new offensive.

Lee does have something to worry about. A third of his army has left the line. Should Grant become aware that that part of the line is now unprotected, he has enough troops to get between Lee and Hill, cut them off from mutual support and sack everyone up.