"We fear that Lynn has taken French leave."

Friday, January 20, 1864, Trenches.

Spring can not come too soon. We are mightily tired of the rain. The works do not drain well and in some places, the standing water is above one's ankles. The forward rifle pits are somewhat better but
that is not much. When it rains, we get wet. When it snows, we get wet. When the snow melts, the water runs into the trenches and we get wet. As there is no more close firewood to get, we must be miserly with what we have. Becoming completely dry in our little cabins is no longer possible.

There is talk of some of us getting leave. The entire company would be happy to be sent to the far tip of Florida where it is warm. We fear that Lynn has taken French leave. Lynn had been detailed to work in Richmond on something or other. We understand that two months ago he was ordered to report back to the company but no one has seen him. If true, I hope that he is somewhere, cold, wet, hungry and miserable. If he is caught, he will be shot as a deserter. I will gladly shoot him myself.

That puffed-up crackpot that tried to trick us into paying for his flying ship is still here, talking to whoever cannot get out of his way fast enough. We see him going through the camps, usually being escorted by an officer. It is too bad that the army does not allow insane folks to join. We would strap him up with rope or cables and let him use all his hot air to float above the Yankee lines. If he were shot down, there would be no great loss.

It was seen fit by some very senior officers to issue orders that whenever we were not on some work detail, we were to drill several times a day. We would gladly do as they have ordered if they will give us enough rations to do so. Our own officers are not too diligent about enforcing the order and good for them. I suppose that their own rations are not much different than ours. 

A newspaper, not too old, has come into our hands that has given us great mirth. The newspaper carried a menu from the Spottswood Hotel for a Christmas dinner. Those in attendance feasted on Smithfield hams, stuffed young pig, veal, pickled beef tongue, potatoes, beans and pound cake. I asked everyone in our mess how they liked the dinner. Hancock said the pickled tongue was a bit tough but tolerable. Terry said the saddle of venison was cold but he did not want to appear ungrateful so he ate no more than four portions. Castles thought the filet of veal with mushrooms was first rate but that the stuffed turkey tasted gamey. No one liked the pickled beets. The pound cake and custard were enjoyed by all. Denton said that he would ask for a new jacket as his was too small to fit around his belly. After a good round of merriment, we settled down to our supper consisting of wild onions and corn meal.

After supper, the Dandy Eights met at the request of Brother Troy Crenshaw. Grand High Noble Master Possum Vincent called the meeting to order. Brother Crenshaw observed that within the Mess, only one member was titled. He suggested that the Grand and c. needed assistance and called upon all Dandy Eights to assume some suitable position with an appropriate title. This suggestion was met with approval whereupon the Grand and c. called for a meeting of the committee of the whole.

Brother Castles was voted to be the Deputy Grand and c. Brother Hancock was voted the Under Deputy Grand and c. Brother Terry and Brother White are now the Three-Ring and Two-Ring Possum, respectfully.  Brother Troy Crenshaw and Brother Wilson Crenshaw is our Possums-at-Large. Yours truly has been honored with the title of Honorable Pencil Possum. It is all good fun and helps us forget certain things.

Through long hours of long and hard work, we have become quite expert engineers. We could trade places with moles and no one would notice the difference. We have laboring on these works for some weeks and we will continue to do so through the winter. Our existing works are getting stronger and the works are being extended to our right every day. That Grant keeps trying to get around our right to destroy the railroad. So, to protect the railroad which is the lifeline of the army, we continue to dig.

We deepen the trenches so that very little of us are exposed to Yankee fire. Some are so deep that we can not return fire over the top so we have built dirt steps against the trench wall so that we might quickly step up, aim our muskets over the top, fire and duck back down before getting shot. At least that is the theory. In some places, there are holes burrowed into the trench walls that face away from the Yankee lines so that a cannon ball has little chance of coming through the entrance and disturbing someone's sleep. These holes generally hold but one man but some others hold a half a squad and have fireplaces with barrels for chimneys. If we must stay here through the winter, we might as well make the best of it. Once Spring arrives, we will come out of our holes and go after the Yankees again.

We try very hard to make things difficult for the Yankees who may try to assault our works. There is much debris in front of our works. It is easy work compared to building chaveau-de frieze, logs with pointed sticks upon which we hope Yankees will impale themselves. These friezes are helpful, we suppose but we cannot help but think that they would better used as firewood. There is what might be called a moat during the days of knights and castles.

Every so ofter, an officer or two from the Engineers comes to pay us a call but not of the social sort. We are not so bothered by them now as we used to be. We have too much experience at digging to be called fresh fish. I dare not spend much more time at this diary. It is again our turn to pull picket duty. Each of us will take a chunk of firewood with us to keep warm while in the rifle pits. We care not that the fire and smoke will reveal our position to the Yankees. We would rather be warm.

I Send You These Few Lines

The Lynn that Tooms mentions who he thinks may have taken French Leave (deserted) is J.R. Lynn. He has been detailed away on special duty in Richmond some months ago. The regimental muster rolls for November and December of 1864 show him released from this detail on November 21and missing since. Rooms and his pads assume that Lynn has taken his leave of military service.

What Tooms and his pads do not know is that Lynn is captured at Bever Church, SC on February 23, 1865. Lynn disappears from Confederate records but Union records show him as being taken prisoner during Sherman's Carolina Campaign. If Lynn did desert, it did him no good. Still, it's better than being executed by firing squad.

The airship Tooms refers to was mentioned in the last diary entry. What may sound more fanciful is the idea of a Confederate helicopter. A loyal rebel from Alabama, William C. Powers, invented a helicopter and built a model of same. The model is currently housed in the National Air & Space Museum.

The menu comes from the Spotswood Hotel, then located at the southeast corner of 8th and Main in Richmond. Several hotels in Richmond advertised in Richmond newspapers like the Dispatch that there would be special holiday fare served to soldiers but I've found no evidence that this particular bill of fare was offered to the soldiers. That such a meal could still be available to anyone in the Confederacy this late in the war is amazing. And if this feast was not offered to the soldiers, then shame to those who did dine.

Military engineering is an art form practiced by both sides for the entire duration of the war. Both sides became quite skilled by war's end. Military engineering had its' own set of technical terminology. The, "moat", was called a ditch. The debris, largely tree branches with sharpened smaller branches facing the enemy, was called abatis. Chavaux-de-frise is the correct spelling of the obstacle Tooms mentioned. The top of the trench, upon which a musket may be fired, is an parapet. "Bombproof" were protected areas where troops might rest or seek shelter from artillery fire. The term is not just a term. Most times, they were bombproof.

Some of the photos are of Union, not Confederate works but both sides used the same engineering manuals. These are the two engineering officers in charge of opposing works.

Brigadier General John G. Barnard

Brigadier Walter H. Stevens

Lastly, there are eight photos of entrenchments. Seven are from the Civil War. One is from the First World War. Can you guess which one it is? Check out the next Greenback Diary for the answer.