"Victory will be ours."

Saturday, New Year's Eve, 1864, trenches.

This year, which has all but exhausted itself, is ending well for our cause. The papers are filled with good news. Hood has fought a great battle south of Nashville. The Yankees are retreating north towards that great Southern city which has so long been occupied by the Yankees. Hood has captured much in the way of stores to sustain his army during their march to new victories New recruits to the banner have replaced his losses in battle. The army is reported to be in high spirits. Nashville will be ours by New Year's.

Price is about to take back all of Arkansas and Missouri. It is reported that enough recruits have joined his mounted corps in the Trans-Mississippi so that it numbers 33,000 and is now the largest in the entire Confederacy. Five new brigades have been raised.

The news is tempered by the report that Forrest, that very gallant master of the horse, is dead. Sherman, who had disappeared after his capture of Atlanta, has made his presence known by taking Savannah. He has made the city a Christmas present to his master, Lincoln.

Our own predicament, in these trenches, does not look so good by comparison but we are not downhearted. These trenches,which offer a good deal of protection from Yankee lead, fix us in place. If they cannot get in, can we get out? It has been awhile since Grant has tried to take our works by storm. He has tried, more than once, to extend his lines far to our right to get beyond the reaches of our works and destroy the railroad that is supposed to feed us. We have to continue to extend our own thin lines to counter his moves. Our lines are about as thin as we are.

One of our own papers reprinted a story from one of the Northern papers that many of us find bothersome. The Yankees claim that our attempts to raise and arm the slaves will be doomed to failure. We soldiers were unaware that Richmond was entertaining or could even think of entertaining such a fantastic proposal. It is probably just more of their lies designed to cause our morale to waver.

Many of us see ourselves as carrying on the fight of our ancestors. This is our second American Revolution. We were reminded of this upon reading that there are still four pensioners from the Revolution still on the rolls.

The papers report of a ball to be held in Richmond.  Professor Rosenberger's band Couples will be admitted upon the presentation of $10 tickets. Single ladies will be admitted at no charge. I asked my fellow Eights if any of them would be in attendance. Hancock said he had a prior engagement. Terry said he had nothing to wear. Castles said he did not want to give any of the ladies his cold. Taylor and the Crenshaws concurred with Castles. Taylor said he was a bad dancer while White said that he did not want to embarrass the other gentlemen attendees and take all their ladies away with his dancing abilities. I did not want to be the only one from the Eights to go so I bowed out.

There is a call for support from the citizens of Richmond to provide a grand dinner to we of Lee's army. Upon hearing of this, Hancock stated that sound a noble idea should consist of fifty pounds of bacon, one half-dozen apple pies, ten pounds of potatoes, and three gallons of good whiskey. Terry observed that this was not much for the entire army. Hancock replied that he was not talking about the entire army, just his share. Castles wondered aloud why there was so little whiskey. We have not lost our sense of humored and we have not lost this war. Victory will be ours.


I Send You These Few Lines


There were so many living at the time, especially in the South, who thought that the war was close to end with a decisive victory for the Union. The papers say otherwise. These stories will boost Confederate morale at a time when it was flagging.

All the newspaper stories mentioned in this diary entry come from the Richmond Daily Dispatch from December 22 through December 30, 1864.

The last veteran of the Revolution survived the Civil War and passed away afterwards.

This sort of banter around the campfire about the Richmond ball is typical of the type of humor amongst veterans.