University of Texas at San Antonio Civil War Diaries

the suffering and the groans of the dying tend to depress and blacken the pall that surrounds the mind of the wounded soldier. Suffering on the cold ground where he fell, he longs for the coming morning. But he knows not that it shall dawn upon him. Exhausted, bleeding, hungry, famishing and no one to fill his canteen or bind up his broken arm or shattered leg. And although hours are dark and the [ca?s] roar is not to be heard yet every watch was disturbed and the sentinel hears the groans of his suffering comrades all night long. Friends walked and looked for friends and brothers

near the junction of Hazel and Rappahanocks rivers We found the army at a dead halt and from the occasional crack of a rifle and the flying by of a [?] we knew at once that we had struck the Yanks and that they were determined to dispute our passage of the Rappahanock and their most defensive point was Hazel river at "Freemans Ford" The "Texas Brigade" with Whitneys Brigade were ordered forward we sent Lt Col Upton of the 5th attack with a heavy line of skirmishers who charged and captured "Freemans Ford" on Hazel river we crossed over rapidly wading into the water waist

deep after crossing over we threw out out skirmishers and in line of both advanced upon the enemy who had taken shelter in a piece of woods just beyond the ford drove them with great slaughter from the woods into a field of green corn and ran them into the Rappahanock river half mile or 3/4 distant as soon as we made our appearance in this field we were opened upon by Tankee battering on opposite sides of Rappahanock river (The field flanked to the river) The shells blew thick + fast around us and one shell bunting in the 5th mortally wounded Maj Whaley and badly wounded

several others Thus far an hour we were under a severe artillery fire About 5pm the enemy having been driven from the fords on the Rappahanocl by Genl Longstreet who was on our left we retired from our very "uncomfortable" positions in the field and fell back to a position in the woods from which we have driven the Yanks Thus indeed the "small" battle of --"Freemans Ford" The enemys batteries on the opposite side of the Rappahanock were blazing away at us covering their side at which was very perceptable by the moving colums of Infantry Artillery

and Wagon trains It having rained the night previous to the battle our provisions wagons were unable to cross the river and having been on a forced march we were destitute of rations and as a matter course were mostly starved which is quite pleasant when you have nothing else to do Our only resource was the corn field near by ^ in our front filled with green corn permission was given to charge the "roasting ears" and in half hour the camp was flooded with green corn which had been procured at the risk of life for the Yankee batteries commanded with their fire the whole field It was indeed a novel sight

to see, two or three thousand men all at once devouring green corn The rapid manner in which it was done. The number of cobs lying near would have made a horse blush or a mule smile. and we were not allowed to build fires, except at a great distance in the mean time nearly all of us devoured ours raw. I eat about tin can but some of my comrades swore that they had finished 40 "I caved" and went to sleep dreaming of beautiful green fields of corn We left "Freemans Ford" and on the evening of 23d Aug [?] tried to hungry wagons coming up rations were issued and we were

prepared to enjoy the contrast between "Bison + bread" and green corn fried stewed -baked- roasted and raw but "Man proposes and God disposes" While supper was progressing orders came to march Supper wsa in every imaginable shape except one ready to eat Some had just drawn rations others were washing their frying pans some had their beef on the fire (I for one) others had only got their flavor into the pan and had their hands well bedaubed with dough in short we had supper in such a shape that we could neither eat nor carry it along and then could be heard cursing and swearing from man to man

troops from Southern Soldiers and our men had to resort to the bayonets and butts of their guns to drive them back from the ground and owing to some little confusion among our own Regts they had to call out their names + numbers to keep from being fired into by one another The enemy heard it and took advantage of the information gained One of their brigades by our movement in the dark had been cut off but as they came up they sung out "5th Texas dont shoot" and consequently escaped us At the same time to divert us they darked a squadron of Cavalry upon us or else the trick