April 17, 1864.
Hattie and Mally take a ride on horseback. Dr. Boyd says he will send us to Meridian in a carriage. Sunday evening took a walk in the woods, beautiful flowers and honeysuckle growing wild. This is what they call Mississippi swamps, a rather fine swamp. How I wish Nannie was here to enjoy the walks! How I could enjoy this trip if I knew how all were at home, and my dear Mother was with me. Everyone says our trip to Meridian will be trouble--roads very bad, the same Sherman and his army passed over, houses all burned, have to camp out at night. The Torys and robbers are very numerous, hope we will get through safely. This is a beautiful evening. Oh! what a glorious world, all that is necessary to make us happy and content and yet this beautiful land is flowing with human blood, death, and suffering has become an accustomed sight. Oh! God! when will this sinful strife end? God grant us peace and good will towards one another.
Tuesday, April 19, 1864.
Left Dr. Boyd's for Meridian, Mally, Hattie, the children and I; Sargeant Posey driving us, a mule drawing the wagon with the trunks. Hattie left her baby with Mrs. Boyd. How kind the doctor and his wife have been to us. We fared very well and missed nothing but coffee, they use cornmeal parched for coffee, and except for that they live very well. We will now, I fear, find rough fare.
Pass through Brandon about 12 o'clock, stopped at one and took lunch and enjoyed it very much, good appetites. Find we have to go 13 miles before reaching a house. Travel slowly, the mules being slow and tired, travel until quite late into the night, prospect poor, sing to keep up our spirits. Reach a house at 8 o'clock, beg for admission, but are refused by a man named Easton. 3/4 mile from Morton. We told him we were travel-worn, our children sleepy, our mules broken down, while talking to him one of the carriage mules fell down. We told him we only wanted shelter. He then asked us where we were going. We replied "to see our husbands." He said, "A great time to go to your husbands," which so exasperated us that we whipped up our mules and started for Morton. There our mules gave out. The sargeant went off in search of a house but to no effect. While the sargeant was absent, the wagon driver cut the sick mule's mouth, so that he bled profusely We then went into Mr. Binney's house, a gentlemen from Louisiana. He, finding we could get no further, said he would do the best he could, but could give us no bed. We were thankful that his wife, a very nice lady, had a bed made on the floor in which Mally, Eddie, Hattie, and Fanny slept, Georgie and I taking the sofa. We went to bed supperless about 12 o'clock.
April 20, 1864.
Slept badly, got our faces washed, found one mule in a poor condition, mouth bleeding very much, we can't stop it. We feel very discouraged, take a rough breakfast, but don't enjoy anything we are so anxious about the mule. It seems some better. We have concluded to take the road to Enterprise. The mule is so weak it can scarcely pull. Hattie drives, we walk two miles, stop at a cabin and will rest here until 2 o'clock, then go to Hillsboro, a distance of 10 miles. We took a snack and gave $1.00 for a quart of meal for the sick mule, which seems better. Come to the village by 6 o'clock very pleasant ride, roads are not near so bad as we expected, but the country seems an utter waste, nothing for food for horses or humans. The same cry is heard from house to house, "The Yankees have destroyed all I had." We seem to have quite a comfortable house to stay in tonight. They brought us a small table bowl in which to wash our faces and told us their washbowls had been broken by the Yankees. That cry will haunt this country for many a day. We hope to make an early start in the morning.
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