We arrived in Raymond, Miss. late thursday and set up the base camp. After perusing the sutlers I walked down the hill, and a mile or so down the road to join with the rest of the company. At last I found Camp Peaveyhouse. After asking practically everyone where the 34th was, I stumbled across our banner leaning unattended by a tree. Banners are important, our token of the devotion of our loved ones, we rally to them in battle, and they're not cheap, hand stitched and embroidered as they are. Ours looks very pretty, though a little too like a flag of truce for my taste, being white with some green and yellow needlework in the upper corner.

I picked a spot near some other bedrolls, somehow missing the huge patches of poison ivy in the dark. I made myself as comfortable as could be expected, and pretty quickly was snoring away. Later the captain and a couple of others returned from their wanderings, and in the morning they asked how camping on the hill had been, oblivious that they had stumbled past my sleeping person in the dark. These folks party hearty, if you catch my drift, and were not in too much of a hurry to get started.

A couple of us were sent out into the poison ivy surrounding the camp on picket duty, to see that the Federals didnt surprise us as we rubbed the sleep from our eyes. We got the drop on some pickets from another unit, fortunately not Federals. Then we assembled, inspected and marched off down the road to the south whence we could hear the muffled rattle of musketry in the distance. It was not long before we started to come up on stragglers.

Next we met ranks of men firing up the road, and finally there were blue riders up ahead. We formed up in the road and fired at them, too far for their carbines and pistols to do us much harm, but close enough for our rifles. We drove them back easily, but at the next crossing there they were again, so again we deployed, fired and compelled them to withdraw. This tactic was repeated several times with such success that we had to be restrained, lest we lose our supports and be drawn into a trap.

Now we began to throw out our own flankers into the surrounding fields, and I had the chance to spot Federals at the next crossing, unaware of our presence. I alerted the captain by hand signals and we crept up close before letting them have it, and they bolted, entirely demoralized.

We marched up the road until we came to a set battle, with us on the road and Federal infantry in the woods around us, and it looked bad until we got around their right flank and rolled them up, driving them clear across the creek. Now there was some inconclusive skirmishing across the creek which we could not cross because of the steep banks, so we went back a little and along a side road to the east where it crossed further up. Once across, we found ourselves moving in column along a narrow road, surrounded by impenetrable brush.

It was not long before the Federals blocked our path, but there was nowhere to go but forward. We formed up in ranks of four, each rank advancing down the lane, closely followed by the rest. Coming in sight of the Federals, the rank would fire, then split to the sides of the lane, and the succeeding ranks would advance into the gap and repeat the process in their turns, before the Federals could reload. Thus we were able to offer a nearly continuous fire, driving the federals before us down the lane.

Then we heard firing behind us! in our haste we had pushed right past another group of Federals, who had now come up in our rear! We left some men to hold the front which now became the rear, and repeated the leapfrog maneuver back the way we had come, with equal success. At last we fought our way clear. Being short of cartridges and water, we were relieved to be relieved, and marched back to a camp occupied until recently by our opponents.

We threw down our bedrolls and built our fires, and commenced the evening's activities, cleaning rifles, cooking dinner and discussing the day's action*, while others went into town in search of a party. During the night two of our pickets disappeared, and though I informed the Captain of our fears that the Federals were trying to surprise us, he was unconcerned.

In the morning some were again slower to rise than others, but since nothing was happening those who had not cleaned their rifles last night had time now. About noon we formed up and marched back north, as the Federals seem to have recieved reinforcements and to have gotten around behind us. I had chance to see large masses of Federals on the hill while we passed below in the woods.

At last we emerged into an open field, to find our artillery at one end and the Federal cavalry at the other. We drove off the blue horsemen, then advanced toward a line of trees from which emerged blue infantry.

It was here that I took a hit, and spent several minutes lying in the grass, while the two lines of foot surged back and forth, blazing away at each other from 40 yards apart, too close to miss.

Now I decided to drag myself off the field**, and managed almost to reach the trees to the west when more Federal cavalry appeared. Sorely pressed, the 34th was compelled to yield, withdrew from the field, and returned to camp.

As before, we made our camp, and I commenced to cleaning rifles and took time to wash out my shirt which had become sweat-soaked. At this point clouds blew up in the sky, so I went up to the main camp to fetch my jacket and eat hot food. Returning to camp after dark, the normal after-action talk took place, and a couple of the fellows went off to town again, not returning till late. About 3 am a light rain began, of which the partying parties took no notice whatsoever. Luckily it did not rain hard, and we were spared the accidental bath, though some of us would have been better off for it.

The sun rose, bugles blew, and the more alert sat in the shade while the rest slept in the heat of the sun, too groggy to move. Eventually we formed up and moved off, then stood waiting while the sound of guns grew in volume. There was talk among some of my companions of waiting for a chance to skulk off early, in which I took no part. Finally they sent us in, and we drove the Federals from their position, but they flanked us repeatedly, our officers seeming to be confused, and soon we found ourselves floundering about the field out of control, surrounded, cut off, surrendering or down***.

* The discussion was between myself and the Captain and Sergeant of another unit. It began as the usual "why do you re-enact?" but soon turned to "far-be", which is short for the accusation "far be it from me to criticize, but your equipment is not Period-Correct (PC)". There are people who are very detail-oriented (called stitch-counters) who take pleasure in insisting that everything suit their definition of authentic. Generally this definition is derived from obsessive perusal of a couple of authoritative, but limited texts. My take is that in this time when the quartermaster could not regularly supply their troops, the soldiers of the day used anything that came to hand, and any technology appropriate to the time is appropriate, even if not issued by the respective governments. This applies especially to Southern troops.

** I was standing in line, 30-40 yards from the opposing line, and decided to go down, for two reasons. I wanted to be able to take pictures, which is easier while not fighting, and we should have been having 30-40% casualties, not the 1 or 2 who were dropping. After the lines moved off, I looked up and discovered what appeared to be a large camera aimed at me. Not wanting to disappoint the crowd or photographer, I limped over to one of the other rare casualties, who desired to remain "dead". I asked if he had any money, gold watches or pictures of sweethearts, which he denied, so I did not loot his "corpse". The camera was still aimed directly at me, so I proceeded to drag my poor maimed shot left leg off the field, falling down a couple of times before the camera turned to the returning battle. I picked up the pace now, and had almost made it to the trees when the Federal cavalry arrived.

I loaded and fired at their officer, but of course they never get hit, (it wouldnt do to have riderless horses running about loose) and another rider charged up, aimed and fired his pistol, and I went down as dramatically as I could. I hope I made that fellow's day!

*** I waited for a volley so I could fall convincingly, but we were too close to the audience, and I think they thought I wanted to surrender, so had to wait til I heard a gun go off, and fell in a heap, hand over heart. I lay there under the eyes of the audience till a soldier (a Federal I think) came to check on me, who pronounced me dead to the crowd, adding "Damn this war!". From the crowd I heard a woman say to her small child "dont cry, it will be all right".