History
...be a very cold Christmas. We were blessed enough to buy a turkey and I made biscuits which we were very thankful to have. Our cooking skills are lacking but we thought the meal quite good. Jan. 4, 1862 Our camp has run out of clean drinking water, we must march to new ground. We march to camp Clear Water to make winter quarters for our troops. The camp is an open field near a large woods with a cold spring of wonderful clear water. This will be our winter home and we must figure out a way to survive the cold. There are no bricks or rocks to build chimneys on our tents, so we decide to use sod instead. We all worked together and before long, each tent had its own chimney attached. The heat was a welcome relief from the cold. Jan. 10, 1862 We divided up the duties of cooking and as luck would have it, I am responsible for baking daily bread. My efforts are useless at this task and I think of a way to solve my problem. I go in search of a farmhouse in the area and offer the lady of the house money to bake bread for me. After learning of my cause and my plight, she offers her services daily. She will take no pay as long as I bring the flour she needs to bake. She was truly an answer to prayer for us all as she provided fresh, delicious biscuits daily. Feb. 12, 1862 We broke winter camp at Clear Water at 7 a.m. and marched 4 miles today. Feb. 13, 1862 We crossed Barren River and marched 15 miles to Franklin. Conditions were very cold and we gathered broom sedge to make our beds because there was no straw. Feb. 14, 1862 We set out to march to Trousdale. The conditions were bitterly cold and all ponds and creeks were frozen hard. We tried to sleep in frame sheds with dirt floors and no chimneys while building fires on the floors. With no ventilation, we nearly smothered from the smoke. Feb. 15, 1862 We marched 14 miles to Goodletsville through six inches of snow fall. Good fortune allowed us to find a farmer with plenty of wheat straw for our beds, but by morning we were covered in snow. There was a warning today that the Yankees were trying to cut off our path from Nashville. We double quicked our march at the chance of a fight but it proved a false alarm. Feb. 16, 1862 We crossed the bridge at N...