Sketch of Hoods Texas Brigade of the Virginia Army (Handwritten Civil War Diary)

[eventful?] period. The battles of Richmond consist of Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Savage Station, Fraziers Farm and Malvern Hill. Concerning these fights I shall speak more especially of Gaines Mill June 27, since it was the bloodiest and most decisive battle of them all, and the only one in which the Texas Brigade acted a consipicuous part. Though we were slightly engaged in the battle Malvern Hill, the other fighters were fought by different troops. Mechanicsville June 20th, 62, was fought and won by Stonewall with his old Valley Army. This position was strongly fortified and defended by

by a powerful force it was [cha?] [?] and carried at the point of the bayonet by Ewells and A P Hills Divs. The contest which lasted from early dawn till late in the evening was most awfully grand. [Hills?] Brigade was stationed on the [?] and was not [engaged?] The Yanks were protected by rifle [?], breast works [abattis?] and steel breast plates, and made a stubborn but useless assistance for our [own?] boys were determined "to do or die," and [with?] a whoop and a cheer the [Rebs?] carried all positions but for each success the life and the blood of many poor souls had been sacrificed. McLelland was

completely whiped he had lost all his large ordinance ammunition in the vacinity and his strong positions around Mechanicsville taken [hence?] on the night of 26th he [?] from Mechanicsville, having immense stores of provisions and munitions of war.

Friday June 24th gave birth to the mighty contest at Gaines Mill. Genl Longstreet, with his Division opened the battle at good light and from early morn till two pm. This terrible battle raged with awful fury, our men along the whole line charge and charged again, successful in nearly all the places, ex

cept one and that was in the vacinity of the mill from which the battle takes its name. About 4 pm Genl Whiting was ordered to carry the positions at Gaines Mill, we were ordered to carry the positions which McLelland considered as the [Gib?] [?] of all positions around Richmond, our men had been hurled again and again against it and each time came back with bleeding decimated and discouraged [?] fresh troops after fresh troops have been put in and all had failed loosing heavily but inflicting no [?] upon the Yanks, who were secure behind their fortifications

This position was impregnable if defended by men who had all to loose and nothing to gain. As a last restor, as the last hope. Genl Jackson ordered Whiting to put his divisions in, who had not yet been engaged. Hoods, Whitings, and Lawtons brigades welcomed the order, and moved forward to the "dance of death." Genl Whiting in his official report says "Hundreds were [leaving?] the fight in disorder. Two Regts of South Carolina and Louisiana were marching back from the field and a Brigade was skulking and hiding and never advanced from the west side of the [?]." Such was the condition of things when we came up-