Part 8

We together followed the flag of our country in march and battle for almost three years in the Army of the Potomac, till "old glory" was triumphant. And we certainly share in the honor a grateful nation accords to its defenders. And, surviving comrades, in loving remembrances of our dead, with our hearts full of gratitude and praise, we do feel proud of what we did, inasmuch, while the years have come and gone since we laid down our arms and again took our places as citizens, we have seen our beloved country, more precious in the immense cost of its preservation, rise to an unparalleled degree of success and prosperity. And while we rejoice in this, let us, in taking leave of each other, in the end of this book of history, pledge ourselves and our posterity to continued faithfulness, to unflinching devotion to our nation, even unto death.

* * * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.

Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed.

One paragraph on page 24 contains both duplicated and missing text. As printed, the text reads:

... comforts, etc., and some essentials were lost. The fact is, when we were up in support battery on the 3rd, our knapsacks left by order, at trenches, were ransacked by camp followers. fact is, when we were up in support of battery on the 3rd, our knap- Wheeler, in arm; McCalmont, in foot; Briggs, in back; Chester, in leg; and J. W. Nickeson, thumb shot off. Corp'l W. L. Pry, in falling back to hospital, overcome with fatigue, accidentally shot himself in hand.

An online search revealed one copy of the book with the following hand written correction:

... comforts, etc., and some essentials were lost. The fact is, when we were up in support battery on the 3rd, our knapsacks left by order, at trenches, were ransacked by camp followers. The company had only a few slightly wounded. These were: Wheeler, in arm; McCalmont, in foot; Briggs, in back; Chester, in leg; and J. W. Nickeson, thumb shot off. Corp'l W. L. Pry, in falling back to hospital, overcome with fatigue, accidentally shot himself in hand.