"...severe exchange of musketry."

General Robert E. Lee

Wednesday, March 29, 1865, near Hatcher's Run.

Today began as yesterday ended, with a watchful eye on the Yankees. We occasioned some rounds back and forth but with little by a morale effect. We have spent a great deal of time and effort improving our new works and that is now all waste. We have built these works for someone else to someday inhabit them.

This afternoon, the brigade was ordered to prepare to march by ten of the clock tonight. This was no easy task. We had to cook three days rations and perform other predatory tasks while staying out of the line of fire from the nearby Yankees. It took us no time at all to cook our rations. All we have in our haversacks is one quarter pound of bacon and six or so ounces of rough corn meal. This is for three days.

Even though we knew that we would be leaving these works, we kept on improving them lest the Yankees attack us. It would not do to have them surprise us. We were told that the North Carolina brigade of General McRae would be marching with us. They are of a different division and we were at a loss to explain this but we did not pay overmuch attention.

Brigadier General William McRae. The regiments making up his brigade were the 11th, 26th, 44th, 47th and 52nd North Carolina.

Flag of the 26th North Carolina.

Flag of the 47th North Carolina.

By the time of our march, it was raining heavily. Wet, cold and miserable, we two brigades of Carolinians marched down by way of the Boydon Plank Road. As the march was rapid, we suspected that there was some sense of urgency in our movement.We had seen previously in the evening, Picket's division of Virginians and a good deal of Southern horse heading towards Hatcher's Run. We wondered out loud why we were needed if Pickett was hard by.

At that same time, we heard the loud crashing of artillery behind us in the direction of Petersburg. There was a lot of it as well as a severe exchange of musketry. As none of it was being directed at us, we were not worried for our own selves but felt pretty bad for whoever of our comrades were receiving the attentions of the Yankees.

We did observe that several couriers and staff officers riding by our line of march with deliberate intent. We saw General Heth receive and send messages via these riders but knew not the content. We were merely content to rest by the side of the road at intervals. The rain turned the roads to mud and forced us to march under great labor. We would have made better time with less fatigue had the weather been more favorable.

If there was any intent on the part of our officers that we should make it across Hatcher's Run, they were disappointed. We managed to run out of steam just before the run. The rain did not let up. We gathered large amounts of brush and set it all on fire. There was some comfort to it.


I Send You These Few Lines


Tooms and his pads don't know this but Grant has begun to follow through on a hunch of his. Lee's attack on Fort Stedman on the 24th caused Grant to speculate that Lee's lines must be weakened somewhere to allow a massing of force to attack the fort. Grant was right. Grant has ordered his men to move further and further to Lee's right to cause Lee to stretch his lines to the breaking point.

Lee has indeed thinned his lines. There are long gaps in his lines occupied by either few or none of his men. Grant just has to probe around until he finds one.

U.S. Grant at his headquarters at City Point, Virginia.