[231]Newbern, January 10, 1863.... We are having our first experience of severe sickness here in the shape of congestive fever, of which three men have died within ten days, several others being very sick. One man died in twelve hours from the time of attack. It is more savage than anything I ever saw, except some cases of scarlet fever in children.
January 27.... The W. H. Fry has arrived, and now the barracks will be filled with all sorts of mouldy trash in the shape of pies and decayed puddings, semi-putrescent sausages, and unwholesome litter generally; and on Sunday inspection I shall rouse the wrath of the men by having a considerable amount of it emptied into the swill-barrels. Then there are various packages for the hospital, and the donors will have to be written to and told separately that they have selected just the article we needed.
Washington, North Carolina, March 16.On the 14th, at evening, orders come to start at once from Newbern for this place. We were off in about two hours, and are now nearly arrived. It was feared that Pettigru, who made the attack on the fort on Saturday, being foiled in that, may join with Pryor, who is up here somewhere, and attack this place, which has about twelve hundred men in it; we being five hundred (only eight companies).
April 2.The face of events has greatly changed since last I wrote, and at present we are regularly besieged; cut off from the world outside, and surrounded more or less by batteries, which boom away at intervals, to keep us constantly aware of their existence. . . . . Everything remained quiet till Monday, though warnings had come in various shapes that an attack was to be made. General Foster arrived in the morning, much to our surprise and delight. Two companies were sent across the river on a reconnoissance. We soon heard a few cannon-shots, then musketry, and pretty soon a man ran to the river, and told the gunboat whose guns are trained up the road to open fire. One party soon appeared, and came back over the bridge, bringing with them Captain Richardson, wounded, who withdrew his men, as it was evident that the force there was pretty large. . . . . We had an anxious and uncomfortable night; for there was no knowing at what hour an attack might be made. Just about daylight we heard musketry down the river; and I learned that a company had gone down on a flat-boat, and fire was
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[231]
Sever and Francis, 1866.
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