esson he told me that he was in great trouble,
that his wife had quit writing to him, etc. I tried to encourage him, when
the ward master beckoned to me and said, "You need not pay any attention
to him. He is delirious and don't know what he is talking about. He jumped
out of the window and we had to catch him and bring him back. If you know
his people you can write them that he will not live until to-morrow
morning." I wrote them to that effect. He was a brave and faithful soldier
and loved by his comrades.

Of the twenty-five of Company F that died that summer of sickness, I will
mention four of my mess, who were all good and true soldiers and
participated in all the battles up to squat. Thomas Davis, Riley Barnett,
John Ledford and Thomas L. Nowlin. While I was away, Ransom's Brigade was
in the battle of Ream's Station on Weldon railroad, in August, and Louis
Justice and Migamon Haynes were killed. Sergt. F. M. Stockton, Luther Lutz
and William Chitwood, and probably others, were wounded.

I got back to the company the 15th of October, after a sixty-days
furlough, and found our brigade resting left of Appomattox River. Here we
remained through the long, hard winter, under fire day and night. During
this time Lieutenant Purse was wounded, also Wesley Richards and Sergeant
William London mortally wounded. I can not see how we escaped so well, but
we learned to lay low, dig holes and contrive bomb-proofs. Then Spencer
Crowder used to say that we had Uncle Johnnie London to pray for us.
Spencer tried to quit swearing, and we thought he had succeeded, but the
last battle we were in he cursed the Yankees as bad as ever. We fortified
our position and had portholes for our sharpshooters made of sand bangs
and iron plates. Besides the hard fare, we suffered for want of fuel. Our
company only got eight or ten sticks of green pine wood per day most of
the time. During the winter we got coffee and some canned beef, which
helped us greatly. Governor Vance tried to give us a Christmas dinner, but
it was only a quart of little Irish potatoes. Our wages were raised from
$11 to $15 per month, but they quit paying us at all and owed us for three
or four months at the close. The following prices prevailed: Bacon, $10
lb.; pork and beef, $5 lb.; peas, $1 qt.; corn meal, $1.25 qt.; rice, $1
lb.; salt, $1; sweet potatoes, medium, $1 each, and everything else in
proportion.

On the 15th of January, 1865, I was detailed to report to Genera