n burying the
dead the 18th and 19th, the Rebels were in a happy state of mind, they had
full confidence in their leaders, and perfect faith in the success of
their cause. With us complaining, scolding and faultfinding, was indulged
in by all. Croaking had become as common as eating and showed the moral of
the army was depressingly low, and had Lee been the general the South
believed him to be he would have taken Washington the summer of 1863. It
is reported that there were 8000 men absent without leave. This campaign
and the mud campaign that followed it, did one good thing if nothing more,
it showed those people at the North who were always complaining and
demanding that the army move, how difficult it was to campaign in Virginia
during the winter season.

December 20. At about ten o'clock, who should appear in camp but my
brother, the assistant surgeon of the 19th Massachusetts. He had come up
to see how I had weathered the storm. I took him into my tent and we had a
little talk. I told him about the ordeal we had passed through, and he
related to me his experience and his duties in taking care of the
wounded, and how they were not yet all cared for. But he had got away as
soon as he could, to come up and see how it had gone with me. After a
short time, he seeing I was unhurt, became drowsy, dropped over on my
couch and in an instant he was fast asleep. I straightened him out, put my
blanket over him and let him sleep. He never moved until ten o'clock in
the evening when as taps were sounded I woke him up and he went back to
his wounded again.

Doing picket duty down by the river was pretty uncomfortable work the last
of December, and the 21st was honored with that kind of duty altogether
too often. Sitting or crouching in those rifle pits, always on watch
through those long winter nights was pretty tough. One night a lot of the
boys broke into the Lacy house, a fine, large mansion that stood a short
distance back from the river, and tore a pipe organ to pieces, each man
taking a pipe and the next morning when we returned to camp we all
played,--perhaps you would call it a tune. It may have been amusing to the
mules in the train parks along the way, but judging from the howls that
issued from the camps we passed, I am not of the opinion that it was
appreciated by the men. But it afforded us some amusement and what did we
care for mules' ears or men's ears, for that matter? If they did not like
our music they could s