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

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1864-03-30 -- 1864-03-31

Wednesday 30.  We are still lying in the cornfield waiting for orders.  It is said that Banks’ army is moving towards Shreveport by another road.  We are to take the boats here, and ascend the river about sixty miles then disembark and move towards Shreveport, which is two hundred miles from this point.  I am sorry to mention again the bad conduct of some of our men, who act with the spirit of brutes more than intelligent moral agents. One man of our regiment of Co. E. Charles Demming is said to have outraged the person of an elderly colored woman, by violence in the presence of her husband and son, oh, God, what a fiendish act this was.  Some of our men crossed the river and set fire to several residences of absent planters.  I do not understand why our commanders do not punish such men severely, for such conduct stigmatizes our entire army.  God cannot approve such a course in us and I am in favor of the most stringent measures to prevent its repetition.  As I have often said: “we can conduct this war with a magnanimous spirit, and should rather seek to protect, save, and restore, than to destroy needlessly private property”.
Thursday 31.  We obtain plenty of fresh meat here, and our men live quite well.  Lt. Col. Wm B. Keeler seems to have the welfare of the regiment at heart and sends out foraging parties who generally return with a sufficient number of cattle, hogs and sheep to last several days.  Today another month is ended, thus time speeds on in his eventful course, heedless of the pains, sufferings and revolutions among men.

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Wednesday 30. We are still lying in the cornfield waiting for orders. It is said that Banks’ army is moving towards Shreveport by another road. We are to take the boats here, and ascend the river about sixty miles then disembark and move towards Shreveport, which is two hundred miles from this point. I am sorry to mention again the bad conduct of some of our men, who act with the spirit of brutes more than intelligent moral agents. One man of our regiment of Co. E. Charles Demming is said to have outraged the person of an elderly colored woman, by violence in the presence of her husband and son, oh, God, what a fiendish act this was. Some of our men crossed the river and set fire to several residences of absent planters. I do not understand why our commanders do not punish such men severely, for such conduct stigmatizes our entire army. God cannot approve such a course in us and I am in favor of the most stringent measures to prevent its repetition. As I have often said: “we can conduct this war with a magnanimous spirit, and should rather seek to protect, save, and restore, than to destroy needlessly private property”. Thursday 31. We obtain plenty of fresh meat here, and our men live quite well. Lt. Col. Wm B. Keeler seems to have the welfare of the regiment at heart and sends out foraging parties who generally return with a sufficient number of cattle, hogs and sheep to last several days. Today another month is ended, thus time speeds on in his eventful course, heedless of the pains, sufferings and revolutions among men.