"What have we done now?"

Saturday, July 19, 1862, Laurel Church, Virginia

The great series of battles we endured ended two weeks ago and still we are recovering from them. We still are mending our clothes and clean our muskets. Buttons are becoming rare as we seem to have lost more than the supply would allow for. Many of us have more Yankee buttons holding our uniforms together than Southern ones. I cannot say Confederate buttons as the only ones that I have seen yet are those on the frock coats of officers. As the officers must provide for their own clothing, they have the means to buy proper buttons. We of the enlisted ranks must get by with buttons whose origins were other than military.

Our rations are getting better at least in terms of quantity if not quality. We of the "Dandy Eights Mess" are becoming accustomed to a steady diet of salt pork and hard crackers. We sometimes refer to the salt pork as, "salt horse". We mean it as a joke but sometimes wonder about the animal origins of our meat.

The sicknesses are still with us and are getting worse. I have been afflicted twice with the flux since going into this encampment and have recovered. As long as the flux does not turn to the bloody kind, I will be satisfied if sore. The brigade needs to move from this area as it is so unhealthy. There are so many of us down with something that if a new battle were to occur, we could not muster a proper corporal's guard.

Some minutes ago, Lieutenant Williamson called Corporal Flynn over for some words. When they finished the corporal came to our campfire. He told Castles, Duncan, Hancock and myself to report to Major Boyle tomorrow at seven of the clock and to make sure that we take our muskets and accoutrements. Major Cornelius Boyle is the Provost Marshal for the Army of Northern Virginia. What have we done now?