November 27th. “Cold and raw. A fierce gale makes our canvas houses rock like cradles. We are now having an easy time; that is all but the men and the mules. Our men go on duty every other day. As to rations, don’t think any of us will get the gout.”
November 27th. “Thanksgiving.—‘Distance lends enchantment,’ etc., to turkeys, chickens, pies, and fixin’s that make good cheer at home. Well, some of us are thankful—that we are here instead of being locked up in those dirty rebel prisons. Nine of our officers and a large number of our men have just been released. This inactivity is irksome to the volunteer who has business at home needing his attention. We hardly think Burnside will reach Richmond via Fredericksburg unless he goes as some of us did—as prisoners.”
On the 10th day of December, 1862, the regiment struck tents at Frederick City, Maryland, and moved by cars in the direction of Harper’s Ferry. At Sandy Hook a halt was made for the night; slept in freight cars; suffered severely from cold. The following day marched at 6 A. M. About noon crossed the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers into Virginia; marched about nine miles and camped for the night. Twelfth, marched at 3 P. M. some nine miles and went into camp. Thirteenth, moved at 6 A. M., marched twelve miles, halted for dinner, passed through Leesburg, and camped for the night. Fourteenth, marched at sunrise, passed through Fairfax Court House to the station, where we encamped. Fifteenth, marched till about 4 P. M., crossed Broad run and encamped for the night. Sixteenth, marched four miles in rain, snow, and mud; at 12 M. halted for dinner; had a fight with a Pennsylvania regiment over some rails that had been collected from the fence. These we used for wood occasionally in preparing our meals.
[It] is perhaps unnecessary to mention that the Twenty-ninth boys enjoyed good fires to-day. In the afternoon the Twenty-ninth went on picket one mile to the rear. Seventeenth, brigade counter-marched to Fairfax station, where it remained until the 19th, when it moved southeast about one and one-half miles to an orchard, where it encamped, and where it remained until the 27th, when it marched at 9 A. M.; reached Broad run late in the evening. On the hill on the south side of the creek was a fort occupied by rebels; the Twenty-ninth crossed the creek, halted, loaded their guns, and advanced, and a red-hot little skirmish ensued at the close of which the rebels fell back. We went into the fort, sending two companies out in the road leading towards Dumfries as skirmishers. The regiment remained on arms all night; cold and frosty. Guns are not very warm bed-fellows. Twenty-eighth, marched at 7:30 A. M., Twenty-ninth in advance of division. About 10 o’clock met some rebel cavalry; the Twenty-ninth regiment deployed into line of battle, a few shots were fired, and the rebels fell back. One man wounded in company A. While in this position Generals Slocum, Geary, and Green came up; a battery was soon in position which sent a few shots after the retreating rebel cavalry. In the afternoon marched through the woods on right of road, in line of battle, while the division moved in the road; skirmishing the balance of the day. At dark we halted three miles from Dumfries and camped for the night. Twenty-ninth, reached Dumfries’ about 10 o’clock A. M., and went into camp on the side hill in the woods north of town.
January 1, 1863, the regiment and its brigade remained at Dumfries, doing camp and picket duty, until January 16th, when it was ordered to march on two hours’ notice, did not march. On the 17th and 18th nothing transpired worthy of note. On the 19th the regiment passed in grand review by Colonel Charles Canby, of the Sixty-sixth Ohio infantry. January 27th, General Geary visited the regiment while on parade, and complimented us on our discipline, neat appearance, and soldierly deportment. February 2nd, Colonel L. P. Buckley, Adjutant T. S. Winship, Captain E. Burridge and Lieutenant Gregory, of company F, resigned and went home. Lieutenant J. B. Storer was made adjutant, and Sergeant H. R. Baldwin, of company F, promoted to captain. February 3d, Companies D and I were detached at Dumfries landing, on the Potomac, about four miles from camp, doing guard duty, unloading army supplies from boats, and loading the Second Division trains.
On the 14th some musketry firing was heard in the direction of Brentsville.
March 9th, Eli Waltz, of Company D, and a member of the brigade band, died.
April 16th, Companies D and I moved from the landing, and joined the regiment.
From the 29th day of December, 1862, the time when the Twenty-ninth regiment entered Dumfries, its duties were severe; the line of pickets was over three miles long, and over one mile from camp; and as the rebel cavalry were hovering around, the main roads entering Dumfries, were patroled at night. Our men suffered severely from cold and the protracted storms. In the meantime five companies were added to the brigade. The Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania originally had fifteen companies; five companies were added to the new recruits, and designated the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Pennsylvania, with Ario Pardee as colonel. Our first brigade now consists of the Twenty-ninth, Seventh, Fifth, and Sixty-sixth Ohio regiments, and Twenty-eighth and One Hundred and Forty-seventh Pennsylvania.
The suffering our men endured during our stay at Dumfries from inclemency of the weather, the arduous service, and the scarcity of almost every necessity, cannot be easily over-estimated, and it might with propriety go into history as a counterpart of that much written about, and extensively illustrated affair “Washington at Valley Forge.”