15 August 1864: “my heart is tonight agitated and troubled”

Item Description: Diary entry dated 15 August 1864 from Sarah Lois Wadley. She writes about her brother Willie returning to camp and the rumors that she has heard about the fighting around her.

18640815_0118640815_02

Item Citation: From volume 4 (folder 5) in the Sarah Lois Wadley Papers, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Item Transcription:

Monday night. Aug. 15th.

Willie rode into Trenton this evening in the buggy, is ordered into camp as soon as he is able to go; the ride in tired him very much. I have been anxious for him to quit the quartermaster’s service, and now that he is about to leave I find myself full of a kind of upraiding feeling as if it were not kind or sisterly of me to wish him away. I begin to feel all kinds of unnumbered fears for his body and soul, my heart is tonight agitated and troubled, and in addition I feel very nervous and tired. We have had cloudy or rainy weather since Saturday. Mrs. Hayward, Miss Lizzie Tradewell and Sallie Dreux spent the day with us Sunday, I like Miss Lizzie Tradewell more and more as I become acquainted with her. I met her in Homer where she and her Grandmother were very polite and kind to me, they are from Florida, but Miss Tradewell has been to school in Savannah, where she has an Aunt living. There is a little something about her that reminds me of Valeria, perhaps it is only because Valeria is so constantly in my thoughts, I long for her daily.

Willie heard today that the Yankees in their raid from Hilton Head had gone as far as Macon and had burned the Oconee railroad bridge, but that they had all been surrounded and captured, probably by our own brave militia. Oh, how it makes my heart throb with proud, thankful joy to think of it. The Oconee bridge was built by Father, it was in a manner the commencement of his railroad career. How anxious we are to hear news of Atlanta, the Yankees on their raid must have passed right by Uncle David’s, I wish we could hear from them. The mysterious horseman who passed through our yard the other night was no more romantic personage than a poor half blind soldier who brought a note from Dr. Temple to his wife and probably mistook this for his house, he stayed at Dr. Temple’s all night, and went off the next morning to hunt conscripts!

 

This entry was posted in Southern Historical Collection and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.