t on until the next morning. We arrived at Newbern early in the
forenoon and at mid-day of the 22d we were back in our camp again.

That was the time when the dread Merrimac was receiving her finishing
touches at the Gosport Navy Yard. The whole north quaked with fear of that
huge iron monster. Government officials at Washington were very much
disturbed about the mighty ironclad that so much was being written about
in the public press. They were concerned lest she should steal down Dismal
Swamp Canal from Norfolk to Elizabeth City, destroy our squadron in the
sound, then escape to the high seas through Hatteras Inlet, hence our
expedition, and destruction of the locks of the canal at South Mills.

Had the officials at Washington known then that the Merrimac drew 22 feet
of water, that source of anxiety would have been dispelled at once, for no
ship drawing such a depth of water could have manoeuvred in the shallow
water of Albermarle and Pamlico Sound, much less passed over the bar at
Hatteras Inlet where there is only eight feet of water at high tide.

I brought back from South Mills in my knapsack one thing I did not carry
up there, namely, a Johnnie's bullet. When we first reached the battle
ground, as our picket-line was feeling the Johnnies' position, the 21st
was moved up just in their rear as a support and ordered to lie down. In a
moment I was asleep, but directly something woke me. I had no idea what it
was that started me. We were then ordered forward, and I thought no more
of it until the next day on the boat, when I opened my knapsack I found a
ball, a hole in my knapsack and holes through a number of other things. It
had entered the side, passed about half way through and brought up against
a little hand dictionary. Then I knew what it was that awoke me as I lay
asleep just in the rear of our picket line.

A full blooded African, who was employed by Dr. Cutter about the hospital,
was one day asked by the doctor his name. "Nathaniel" replied the negro.
"Any other name?" said the doctor to which Sambo replied, "Why de last
name is always de massa's name, Massa Johnson." "What do the people down
here say this war is about?" asked the doctor. Nathaniel replied: "Why,
sir, dey say dat some man called Linkum is going to kill all de women and
de chilun an drive de massa away, and all de colored folks will be sold to
Cuba." Nathaniel then proceeded to give some new and highly interesting
particulars respecting the