Clegg, William (fl. 1859-1907) [Diary of William Clegg, I company, 2nd Infantry, Louisiana]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03133.11 Author/Creator: Clegg, William (fl. 1859-1907) Place Written: s.l. Type: Diary Date: 6 January 1861 - circa 1862 Pagination: 1 v. ; 11.4 x 7 cm. Order a Copy
Diary of a Confederate Sergeant in Louisiana 2nd Infantry (somewhat inaccurate; see 10 June 1861 entry) which includes detailed entries on the movement of his regiment, and skirmishes with Union forces. Includes a rough sketch of the Battle of Bethel Church in Hampton, Virginia, various songs, drawings, and personal reflections. The diary is entirely in pencil, and parts of it are smudged. Fragile.
4th July, 1861 -
Camp in a fever of excitement, on account of rumors from below, a battle expected in a day or so This is the first 4th dawning upon our glorious confederacy, but what a change has come upon the country. "The home of the free The land of the brave." We are a disrupted Union, & feel sensibly that after all, no written constitution & laws framed by The wisest of our [2] ancestors, no comon country made sacred by The blood of our forefathers, no brotherly share in past victories is proof against a separation that wreaks its passion in slaughter, & furnishes with the victims of The battle field so many proofs of The fact, That our once The best of human governments is a failure, & was but an experiment.
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