Dear Diary,

I'm on my way back South!  And it looks 
like its high time too!  What with the war 
news from back East, we need every man we 
can get in the firing line!  As for my leg, 
it still pains me a bit, especially if I 
use it a lot, and in the evening, but I can 
walk pretty much normal, and did some hiking 
in the hills around Milford to build up 
my strength.  As long as I take things easy 
at first, I figure I can march any new 
recruit into the ground!

There's been a lot of news in the papers 
over the last couple of months about some 
big fighting back East.  Seems that General 
McClellan and the Army of the Potomac almost 
got into Richmond, but got beat back almost 
to their boats by the Johnnies.  Hear tell the 
Rebs have got themselves a new leader by the 
name of Robert Lee.  I heard tell of him in 
the papers before the War - he was a Colonel 
in the Old Army until Virginia seceded, then 
decided to go with his native state.  Too bad - 
from what I've heard of his reputation in the 
Mexican War, he was probably one of the best.  
Seems Lincoln and Gen. Scott even offered him 
command of the entire Union Army when the war 
broke out, but he turned them 
down.

At any rate, with McClellan back on his luck, 
Lincoln chose General John Pope to command 
the troops up in northern Virginia, since it 
looked like Lee and the whole Reb Army were 
heading right at Washington.  Iguess Lincoln 
figured that Pope could hold Lee outside 
Washington, while McClellan moved up from the 
South.  Catch him in between the two armies, 
and finish the War right then. Unfortunately, 
Lincoln forgot to getBobbie Lee's permission 
for this plan!

Lee moved a lot faster than anyone supposed, 
and managed to trick Pope into attacking the
Reb Army on the old Bull Run battlefield.  
When you look at the maps in the newspapers 
and Leslie's Illustrated, it doesn't even 
seem like we had a chance!  General 
"Stonewall" Jackson's division was dug in 
along an old railway cut, and Longstreet was 
tied in tight to Jackson's right - our boys 
were attacking straight into the mouth of a 
funnel, and getting shot at from two 
directions at one!  I know what that feels 
like from Shiloh!  At any rate, Pope got beat, 
the Army ran back to the forts around 
Washington, and Bobbie Lee kept heading north.  
Lincoln did learn one thing from this, it 
seems.  Pope ain't no general!  He was 
relieved, and McClellan put in charge again.  
Rumor has it that Pope is going out East to 
fight Indians.  Maybe he'll have better luck, 
but I doubt it.

About 10 days ago, McClellan finally cornered 
Lee up in Maryland, at a place called Sharpsburg. 
 From what the newspapers are saying, it was even 
bloodier than Shiloh - over 20,000 casualties in 
only one day's fighting!  Can you imagine that?  
When it was all over, Lee retreated back down 
into Virginia, so I guess you could call this a 
victory, after a fashion or, as the boys say 
"Reckon we killed a sight more of them, than they
 killed of us'uns!"

There's another story in the newspapers that is 
really interesting, although I'm not exactly sure 
what it means.  Seems that Lincoln has declared 
this battle - he calls it Antietam - a victory, 
and has used it to issue a "General Proclamation 
of Emancipation."  From what the papers say, 
according to this proclamation, all slaves in 
those statesrebelling against us are now free - 
doesn't say anything about the slaves in the 
border states, or in those areas we've already 
taken from the Johnnies - just those slaves 
still in areas we don't control.  Now, just 
exactly what does that mean - if we don't 
control an area, how are we supposed to enforce 
this here "Emancipation?"

But, I think I've got an idea what old Abe is 
up to.  Remember, my Pa is an old Abolitionist, 
and while I was home on furlough we did a lot 
of talking.  Slaves are a labor source - when 
they hear this War is to make then free, how 
many do you think will stay on the plantation? 
There's even some talk about enlisting Negro 
troops - Ben Butler did it down in New Orleans, 
and I think there's another all negro unit down 
in South Carolina somewhere.  Don't know if 
they're actually used as combat troops, but I 
don't really see why not. I reckon they can stop 
a bullet just as well as any of us!

This move also really appeals to those who think 
negroes should be free, and I'm one of them!  
God never meant one man to own another, or sell 
his children, or make profit from the sweat of 
another man's brow!  With the stroke of a pen, 
Lincoln has just 'upped the ante' - most of us 
were in the War to preserve the Union, and that 
was enough, or so wethought.  Now, this War is 
about much, much more!  It's about Freedom! All 
for the Union, and Freedom!