DIY History | Transcribe | Civil War Diaries and Letters | George C. Burmeister diary, 1864

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1864-02-16 -- 1864-02-17

Tuesday 16.  There is an immense amount of cotton coming into our lines, and some persons say that some officers of our army high in authority are considerably interested in the cotton business, I know not how this is but I think that a fine chance is offered to some men to make a few thousand dollars.  A number of citizens in this neighborhood are also making piles of greenbacks and they seem to appreciate the money of our government but seem to care very little about the government, but they will soon come to a proper understanding of the issue now before them, and ere many days have passed, they will see their error.
Wednesday 17.  Nothing of special importance transpired to day.  Our brigade drills are still going on, and colonel S.G. Hill, displays his want of military knowledge at every one of them, to the supreme delight of officers of neighboring regiments and to the mortification of the officers and men of his command; he gives scarcely a single command without making a blunder and of course such conduct will tend to lessen the confidence his subordinates feel in him, and many a man has told me “if we could only have a good military man at the head of our regiment we would have one of the best regiments in the service, for we have as good soldiers in the ranks as any regiment, but we have not a good commander.

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Tuesday 16. There is an immense amount of cotton coming into our lines, and some persons say that some officers of our army high in authority are considerably interested in the cotton business, I know not how this is but I think that a fine chance is offered to some men to make a few thousand dollars. A number of citizens in this neighborhood are also making piles of greenbacks and they seem to appreciate the money of our government but seem to care very little about the government, but they will soon come to a proper understanding of the issue now before them, and ere many days have passed, they will see their error. Wednesday 17. Nothing of special importance transpired to day. Our brigade drills are still going on, and colonel S.G. Hill, displays his want of military knowledge at every one of them, to the supreme delight of officers of neighboring regiments and to the mortification of the officers and men of his command; he gives scarcely a single command without making a blunder and of course such conduct will tend to lessen the confidence his subordinates feel in him, and many a man has told me “if we could only have a good military man at the head of our regiment we would have one of the best regiments in the service, for we have as good soldiers in the ranks as any regiment, but we have not a good commander.