Monday the 28 
     this is a nice day - the fruit is blooming on the trees and everything begins to look nice again - we got word from the captain of the teams there is 3 men dead and the other is thought will recover - they took 6 or 8 of our men prisoners and destroyed all the wagons and burned the corn they were loaded with 

Tuesday the 29 
     this is a fine growing day - it rained some this morning and is very warm and nice 

Wednesday the 30th 
     it is a fine day - everything looks pleasant to us - we have no news of any importance - we heard that the fight has commenced at Yorktown 

Thursday the 1 day of May (May, 1862) 
     and it has commenced to rain again - I am almost discouraged - I am not so very well and the rainy weather is hard on us - we have moved out of the houses into tents - the Brigade has moved over and had to have the houses so we are in the wet tents - we had a dispatch this evening that New Orleans was taken with the loss of a great amount of property - I suppose that is true 

Friday the 2 
     this is a fine morning - we all feel better when the weather is clear - I am on picket today - the wind has raised and is drying off the mud very fine and we are expecting marching orders every day to go to the Shenandoah mountains - I am on the same post that I was on the day that it snows so hard - we heard this evening that we were to start in the morning for Staunton 

Saturday the 3 
     this is a nice day - the sun shines very nice and warm - we are not relieved yet and we do not think we will go today for it is near time to relieve us - I should think that if we were going to start today we would go sonner in the day - but we may go after dinner - I hear the drum beating so I guess that we will soon be released from picket and perhaps we will never come back here again - I should not care if we never get her again - I do not like this country nor the people for they are all Secesh - well we are relieved and our Regiment has gone - well I went on after them - I overtook them at noon and we went on to the top of the Shenandoah mountain - we had a fine view of their camp - this is one of the best natural forest works I have ever seen - the road has to wind all the way up to the top of the mountain and the Secesh could see a force of men 7 miles off so they could have a chance of repulsing them - well we went on the cross roads at Calf Pasture - south roads leads to Staunton - one by Jennings Gap and the other by Buffalo Gap - we are camped on the North side of the road 

Sunday the 4 
     this is a nice day - we are doing nothing today but rest ourselves - we marched about 15 miles yesterday - I was at the Rebels camp this morning - I tried to get some relic to remember the camp by - I found 3 large home made Burchee mines - they had been burned - they destroyed a large amount of property and all kinds of tents and cooking utensils of all descriptions - there was about 3 thousand troops stayed here - it does seem strange that they would run off and leave their property as they do - well it is began to cloud up again - the Artillery and the (35 or 75) Ohio 
Regiment have come up and camped on our right - I suppose that we will go East in the Morning 

Monday the 5 
     we have no orders to march today - this is a nice day it has some appearance of rain - we have orders to fall back tonight in the direction of McDowell - well we have packed up everything and went to the foot of the Shenandoah mountain - we stayed out of doors all night 

Tuesday the 6 
     we took early breakfast and started up the mountain - this was a cold morning - we got on the top of the mountain and met the General and he stopped us and sent back the 32 Ohio Regiment and Shermans Cavalry to the other side of the mountain - the 73 and us came down to Renels (?SP) Tavern and camped for the night 

this morning the 7 which is Wednesday 
     it is very cold - there is a heavy frost - about 8 O'clock we had orders to march up the mountains - the Cavalry had been surrounded by a body of Secesh and had to cut their way out - they killed 4 or our horses and wounded 4 of the men but did not kill any of them - we all marched up to the top of the mountain on double quick and then we were ordered back to McDowell - we went along slowly and when we got to the South side of Bull mountain we discovered the Rebels coming over the Shenandoah - so the Artillery was ordered to the rear - they went back to 
the river and threw 4 or 5 shells at them and they run back over the mountains - we came back to McDowell - the 32 Ohio lost their tents and some of their knapsacks - their wagons wre sent to McDowell for provisions and they had nothing to carry their things away - the 75 and 2 va Regiments were sent ouf tonight to stand on picket - we turned in after a hasty supper and had a good nights rest 

Thursday the 8 
     this is a cool morning - we are ordered out on a picket - the whole Regiment is going - the hills all full of our men - General Schenkes has arrived with 3 thousand Infantry and 4 hundred Cavalry - our position is North of McDowell on a high knoll - some of the Rebels have come over the mountain is sight of us - the Artillery has been giving them shells for some time and now while I am waiting they are shooting with muskets and we can see the smoke rising from them - the prospect is pretty good for a fight - it is thought that they will try and flank up up the river and down the river - well it is about one O'clock PM and we have eat our dinners - we expect to stay here till the order is countermanded - well I must quit writing for the present - well they are still shelling them - the Rebels are reinforcing fast their rifles are rattling all the time - we have orders to go over on the point so here we go as fast as we can - we are deployed on the hill and the Rebels are gaining on the 32 and 25 Ohio Regiments - we are desperate excited now and the Colonel has ordered us to fire a volley - so we did but it did not reach them so he ordered us to go on double quick - the hill was very steep and high - we run down as fast as we could and we were ordered to take the woods - it was very high and steep so I went as fast as I could and made the first fire - we went to the ridge - I fired as fast as I could - I stood behind the trees and I shot from a rest - I shot all the cartridges away and a man was shot near me and I took his cartridges and shot them away and then borrows some of the boys - I shot about 60 rounds of ball - I never 
felt so excited in all my life - I did not feel afraid but I stood always behind a tree and them so I was safe - we got all of our men but one - his name was Maxwell - we had 5 wounded but not fatal - I think that there was not more than 10 men killed in our Regiment and about 30 wounded - I think there was not more than 3 or 4 that is mortal - we took one prisoner - Maxwell was shot through the breast and died right away - the balls whistled around me all the time but the 
trees protected me from them - I never was as near exhausted in all my life - I ran so hard and hollered so much that it exhausted me completely - well at dark we left the battlefield - the Artillery threw in some shells that discomfited them a good deal but they continued to fire on us till we all quit - I think the Rebels lost 500 men at the last calculation - the 25 and 32 Ohio lost about one hundred men killed wounded - we went to camp and got our suppers and was 
ordered to retreat towards Monterey - so it was 3 O'clock AM when we left McDowell - PS the Rebels are about 13 thousand strong - they have Johnstons and Jacksons Brigades combined together and it is said that the army of Yorktown is advancing on us 

Friday the 9 
     we have orders to go to Franklin the county town of Pendleton County - we have stoped at the cross roads of Monterey and McDowell - we have the Artillery placed on the hill - the report is that the Rebels are going to attack us but I do not believe it though it may be so - we did not have teams enough to transport all the Government stores so we had to destroy them - we burned nearly all the tents and all the cooking utensils - we destroyed a large amount of munitions in the way of cartridges and percussion caps - I guess that we are going on the Franklin this evening - 
the ambulances have to go on with sounded - well the Artillery have blown their horn and they are backing up their horses so we will go somewhere - well we went on till about 10 O'clock at night - I was give out and laid down by a log and slept till morning - the Regiment went on about one mile further - I am suffering with neuralgia in my cheek - my cheek is swollen up very large 

Saturday the 10 
     this is a beautiful morning - I went down to the Regiment and got some breakfast - we are now ready to start again - I suppose we are going to Franklin this morning - well I must quick writing and get ready to start again - well we got to camp at noon - we camped about 2 miles above Franklin - well at 10 O'clock PM I was sent out on a picket - we were on the ridge Northwest of the camp - we were in a dangerous place to say the Rebels were near us - I took my turn from half past eleven O'clock till 45 minutes after 12 O'clock then I turned in but did not sleep much for there was so much confusion in camp - at 3 O'clock we heard again fire in camp and the roll of the drum for the troops to fall into line which they did - when we learned the case it was this - 3 of the prisoners tried to escape - one of them caught the guards gun and drew a knife on him - he cut his hand very bad - the guard got his gun our of his hand and thrust the bayonet through his breast - we heard him holler when we was on picket - he died at ten O'clock - they took out the other 2 prisoners - they shot one and hung the other - we were not relieved till 9 O'clock and the wagons were all gone and the Regiment were ready to start - I had nothing to eat from 3 O'clock PM till I came off picket and then I did not get much 

Sunday the 11 
     we started on the Franklin - we got there at noon and took some dinner - we have not been in camp but one hour when we were ordered to fall into line for the Rebels were approaching us as fast as they could - we went over the river - that is our company - the 5 va Regiment was above us they commenced to fire on the Rebels - we were ordered back to this side of the river for the Artillery wanted to stand on this side of the river - we were ordered up the mountain - we were strung all along the hill on the Northwest side of the town - there was 2 Regiments on that side 
and all the other hills were all covered with men - the Artillery commenced to shell the Rebels - they took the Rebels with surprise - the cavalry advanced on them and took a number of prisoners - there was firing all night - some of us was relieved and turned in and slept till morning 

Monday the 12 
     we were ordered out on picket at sun up and I stayed till 4 O'clodk PM and stayed at camp all night - the Artillery was shot every hour during the night - the Rebels have - I think - left here 

Tuesday the 13 
     this is a nice morning - we have no orders today but we are ordered to keep close to quarters - General Fremont arrived here today - we went out to salute him - he has about 9 thousand troops coming here today - we are expecting to go after the Rebels in a few days - it is said that they are entrenching themselves about 10 miles up the river - they have destroyed the road for 3 or 4 miles so we will have to fix it before we can go 

Wednesday the 14 
     well it commenced to rain last night and rained from 2 O'clock this morning till noon - we all got wet this morning and had a disagreeable time of it - we got quarters at town at noon and are doing well - no news of importance today 

Thursday the 15 
     this morning is cool but it has quit raining - we are on short allounce now - we have no sugar and the coffee is out but we are looking for a large train of wagons with all kinds of Government stores - they would have been here yesterday it if had not rained - we will not leave here till we get a large supply of provisions - we heard this morning that the Rebels have left and are gone to shenandoah mountain 

Friday the 16 
     this is a fine day - we have no news of importance today - there has been a large force of troops came here - the country is full of them