Christmas dawned as expected, but it did not seem just as it would under other circumstances; the "Merry Christmas" that passed from mouth to mouth seemed to lack some of the home fervor, yet all put the best foot forward and, determining to make the best of it, there was more than one expression of wonder as to whether "We'll be here a year hence?" Luckily, boxes from home came to cheer some of the men, a real demonstration of Santa Claus, and all the more welcome for this reason; the entire First Corps was included in this movement and the many campfires, that lit up the night, gave a gloss to what otherwise might have been cheerless; song and story made the evening pass rapidly away, and the ever melodious "taps" set these patriotic North men to slumber and the sweetest of dreams. There was an inspection in the forenoon of the 26th and orders to be ready to march in the afternoon. Starting at 3 p. m., the trip was only about two miles still nearer the Confederacy, along the railroad, halting at or near Mitchell's Station, the very last before reaching the Rapidan; here in a large field the brigade encamped in column by regiments. Rain falls on the 27th and this, coupled with the marshy character of the fields in which the Regiment is camped, makes moist beds for the men, though they try to obviate the situation by tearing boards from an unoccupied house and by the use of boughs and branches in getting the bunks off the saturated ground.
MITCHELL'S STATION
In the matter of residents, it could not be said that Mitchell's Station was exactly densely inhabited, but where was there ever a girl whom someone did not admire and, if possible, make her acquaintance? One family, with the staunchest of German names, in which the sons had gone into the rebel army, had a father, mother and three grown-up daughters. When sober, the "old man" claimed to be a good Union man; when drunk, as was sometimes the case, he was an out and out Secesh; as to the girls, it made no difference what their affiliations were; they were girls and that was enough. One evening, three officers called at headquarters and asked the privilege of calling on the Y—— girls; "Umph," exclaimed Colonel Davis, "I verily believe half the officers in the Regiment are there already, but you may go if you think it will do you any good."
With the 28th comes Sutler Pullen again and until afternoon the rain continues; the 29th does not bring the change of camping place that so many wish. During the day, Colonel T. F. McCoy (One Hundred and Seventh Penn.), commanding in the absence of Colonel Leonard, compliments the entire brigade on the cheerfulness and fortitude of the men and their endurance in marching in the cold and stormy weather; he also calls attention to the exposed position of the brigade, being the nearest the enemy and warning every one to be on the lookout constantly. On this day also was promulgated the plan to secure reenlistments of the men, with the promise of a thirty days' furlough and a large bounty. The proposition did not appear to find much favor with the Thirty-ninth, although all of the men would appreciate that month at home. The 30th brought orders to be ready to march on the morrow. December Dec. 28, '63 goes out with mud and moisture much in evidence; the camp is moved in the forenoon less than a mile, thereby finding better conveniences in a piece of woods. Major Leavitt of the Sixteenth Maine musters the Regiment for pay, and Lieut. Colonel Peirson performs a like act for the Maine soldiers. Colonel Davis gets back from his furlough, having walked from Culpeper last night in the dark and through the mud. Here, then, ends the year with its record of Gettysburg and Chattanooga, but for our Regiment, with all its preparation, marching and undeviating performance of duty, its fiery ordeal is yet to come.
1864
January 1st the day dawned bright and cold, the weather having cleared in the night; the mud and the streams have taken on the repose of winter, but, if any protection against the inclement season is to be had, the men must get to work at once and this they do, cutting down trees to fashion therefrom the primative habitations that the early settlers of all new countries have had to make. Though the men do not know it, and though there will be many rumors of departures, they may even pack up at times yet, until the last of April, Mitchell's Station will be the P. O. address of the Thirty-ninth Regiment, but winter in camp is no trifling matter with a regular routine of camp duties, besides the necessity of maintaining the utmost vigilance towards the foe. Hence the building of quarters cannot be effected in a day or week, in the meantime the ordinary shelter tent affords only slender protection against the wind and cold. It is to be a second winter's experience with our Regiment, hence the building of log huts is not an innovation; all that is needed are time, tools and material. For several months the Rapidan is to be the most generally named stream in the eastern part of the Union, for along its northern banks are to camp the several corps which make up the Army of the Potomac and, every day thousands of letters to far away homes will tell the people there what is doing down in "Old Virginny." For four months a thin line of blue will patrol its shores for more than twenty miles and equally vigilant men in gray, will keep their watch upon the south side. With the Second Corps on the extreme Union left, with headquarters near Stevensburg, the Union army stretches to the westward till it terminates with the First Corps, which will furnish infantry pickets on a line of cavalry outposts.
South of the river, the Confederates are guarding an equal distance, yet there will be very little indication of hostility, something like an armed neutrality, each line of sentinels quite content to be let alone; there is however this difference between the two armies, one has all that boundless means can supply to make its soldiers comfortable, the other wanting nearly everything that would contribute to personal enjoyment. The lack of clothing and camp outfit had become such that winter with its rigors became far more an object of fear to the enemy than any army the Yankees might send against them. Thomas Nelson Page, in his Life of General Lee, has this to say concerning the Confederates in camp along the Virginia Central Railroad:
Lee's army was in a state of such destitution that it is a wonder that the men could be kept together. Only their spirit enabled them to stand the hardships of the winter. Barefooted and hungry, they stood it throughout the long months of a Virginia winter, and when it is considered that until they joined the army many of these men had never seen snow, and that none of them had ever experienced want of adequate clothing, their resolution is a tribute to their patriotism that can never be excelled. That Lee himself endured hardships and suffered with them in their self denial was sufficient for them.... From his camp, General Lee writes to his wife on January 24, 1864, "I have had to disperse the cavalry as much as possible to obtain forage for their horses, and it is that which causes trouble. Provisions for the men, too, are very scarce, and with very light diet and light clothing, I fear they will suffer, but still they are cheerful and uncomplaining. I received a report from one division the other day in which Jan. 1, '64 it was stated that over four hundred men were barefooted and over one thousand were without blankets."