January 1st the day dawned bright and cold, the weather having cleared in the night; the mud and the streams have taken on the repose of winter, but, if any protection against the inclement season is to be had, the men must get to work at once and this they do, cutting down trees to fashion therefrom the primative habitations that the early settlers of all new countries have had to make. Though the men do not know it, and though there will be many rumors of departures, they may even pack up at times yet, until the last of April, Mitchell's Station will be the P. O. address of the Thirty-ninth Regiment, but winter in camp is no trifling matter with a regular routine of camp duties, besides the necessity of maintaining the utmost vigilance towards the foe. Hence the building of quarters cannot be effected in a day or week, in the meantime the ordinary shelter tent affords only slender protection against the wind and cold. It is to be a second winter's experience with our Regiment, hence the building of log huts is not an innovation; all that is needed are time, tools and material. For several months the Rapidan is to be the most generally named stream in the eastern part of the Union, for along its northern banks are to camp the several corps which make up the Army of the Potomac and, every day thousands of letters to far away homes will tell the people there what is doing down in "Old Virginny." For four months a thin line of blue will patrol its shores for more than twenty miles and equally vigilant men in gray, will keep their watch upon the south side. With the Second Corps on the extreme Union left, with headquarters near Stevensburg, the Union army stretches to the westward till it terminates with the First Corps, which will furnish infantry pickets on a line of cavalry outposts.

South of the river, the Confederates are guarding an equal distance, yet there will be very little indication of hostility, something like an armed neutrality, each line of sentinels quite content to be let alone; there is however this difference between the two armies, one has all that boundless means can supply to make its soldiers comfortable, the other wanting nearly everything that would contribute to personal enjoyment. The lack of clothing and camp outfit had become such that winter with its rigors became far more an object of fear to the enemy than any army the Yankees might send against them. Thomas Nelson Page, in his Life of General Lee, has this to say concerning the Confederates in camp along the Virginia Central Railroad:

During the early January days, all the time that could be secured from regular duties was devoted to house building, and every man worked with a will, since the weather was extremely cold, the amount of clothing possessed being insufficient, in the open air, to maintain warmth; some of the men resorted to the old fashioned practice of putting a heated stone at their feet to help make them comfortable, every one thus getting a notion of what it meant to build homes in the wilderness as so many pioneers had done. Because of so many of the men in Company C having been ship carpenters when at home, a large part of the company was detailed to work on the houses, though the Woburn delegation (K) was not far behind with its thirteen men selected to use axe, saw, hammer and plane. The arrival of packages from home, from time to time, did much to lessen grumbling and the coming in of seven deserters on the 6th, barefooted and telling pitiful stories of the conditions across the Rapidan, made the Yankees more nearly comfortable just by way of contrast. With big fires burning, we were sure of one side being warm, even if the other was almost freezing. However, song and story wiled away many a long evening before trying to woo the goddess, sleep, in comfortless shelter tents. In the demands of picket, camp, regiment and brigade guard there was something in the guard-way for nearly every man, every day, so the houses did not grow any too rapidly.

Such entries in the diaries of the period as, "mudded our hut to-day," would mean little to the novice unless told that this meant the stopping of the spaces between the log cob-pile which constituted the walls of the habitation, with real old Virginia soil, properly mixed with a certain amount of water and, when plentifully applied, was warranted to stand indefinitely, keeping out the much dreaded wind. The same material judiciously mingled with sticks, staves, boards or boxes made the chimney-exit for the smoke produced in the fireplace, which was a necessary feature of every cabin.[H] Making the quarters for the squad that was to hold and occupy did not end the enlisted man's duties, for he had also to take a hand in the fabrication of similar structures for his company officers and then to do his part in behalf of the care and comfort of the Field and Staff. Nor did the chain end here, since there must be places for the retention and protection of commissary and quartermaster stores and, never to be forgotten, were all the important, superlatively useful yet ever railed at, "The good old army mules," and who should build their shelters, if not the men for whom they had drawn through so many miles the supplies which fed and clothed the soldiers?

The long delayed Thanksgiving dinner came to "C," the Medford company, on the 10th and a relay of clothing such as, "Nice flannel shirts and drawers, socks, mittens and a few caps for nights." The company received them very gratefully and the friends at home would be more than paid, could they see how thankful the men were. "We eat our dinners to-morrow," says the scribe. The details of the dinner, eaten on the 11th, are not uninteresting; remembering that twenty-two men had been discharged from the company, that some men were on detached service and that many were in the hospital, the fact, that less than forty were present for duty and the dinner will not Jan. 10, '64 seem so strange. Owing to the limited number, the liberality of material for that feast is conspicuous; they might have called in some of their less fortunate neighbors and then have had a very large meal for themselves; the record is, "One turkey and one pudding for every four men; one half a mince pie per man with sauces for turkey and pudding, also the real old orthodox cranberry, redolent of the Cape, besides, pickles, cheese and condensed milk." The folks at home did nothing by halves and how many hours of careful and diligent labor in those northern homes did this magnificent layout represent!

Everyday life in these winter-quarter days of the Army of the Potomac are a practical illustration of the old maxim, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"; for, despite the efforts given to hut building, all the men are really under arms or the next thing to it. "Men are obliged to wear their equipments twenty-four hours" and an immediate response is expected to every order. A few recruits are joining the Regiment, not exactly a pleasant season of the year in which to be broken into the routine of military life, yet the proper officers take them in charge and begin the breaking-in process. On the 12th, remains of the great Company C dinner are sent over to the sick at Culpeper, and those who are not users of the weed distribute their tobacco, also from Medford, among those who are not so abstemious. Notwithstanding all of the alert watchfulness, the enemy seems to be perfectly quiescent and, probably, perfectly willing that we should be. After a deal of policing and general slicking up, the 16th brings the monthly inspection, conducted by Lieutenant Bradley of the brigade staff. The habits of the far off homes are fixed and in the evening of Sunday, the 17th, might be heard the sound of many voices as they joined in singing the songs and hymns of childhood; "a splendid, moonlight evening."

Deserters and contrabands are frequently discovered fording the Rapidan, whose chilly waters have less terrors for the escaping parties than the tribulations left behind. In the night of the 19th the firing of the Confederate guards hastened the steps of some deserting rebels and prevented the departure of others. The cabins having been constructed and occupied, the men are now making corduroy sidewalks, by laying moderate lengths of poles side-by-side, crossways of the walk itself, and, thus, are able to get about without being lost in Virginia mud. Many a remark is heard on the admirable appearance of the camp, all agreeing that it is the best in the brigade, and some even lay that claim as against the entire Army of the Potomac. Company H and a part of "K" go out on a reconnoisance, Thursday, the 28th. Towards the end of the month, unusual stir is observed among the enemy, apparently fresh troops are replacing those long on guard, possibly through fear that all of the latter will desert; our own camp also has a spell of falling-in according to orders and, on the 29th, we packed up at 5 a. m., stacked arms and awaited further orders, sorry enough at the prospect of quitting the comfortable quarters, so recently completed. Fortunately for us, it all blew over and the Second Brigade moved instead. On this same day our eyes were gladdened by the unusual sight of a lady in camp, the same being the wife of General Maj. John Newton, commanding the First Corps, who accompanied the General and Division Commander, General Robinson, and their respective staffs, all on a tour of observation. A dull, though not stormy day closed the month with regular inspection and we see a Confederate major and three men brought in as captives by the cavalry.

February starts off full of rumors as to the future of the Regiment; one says it is to join an expedition to Texas; another sends us home to be recruited to full ranks, while still another sends us back to become a part of the Sixth Corps. Who can explain the starting of so many baseless reports? The weather, early in the month, is cold yet there are few breaks in regular routine, if parades, drills Feb. 1, '64 and inspections can be injected between the many calls for picket duty. A hospital is in process of erection near the surgeon's quarters and it is a fine building, considering the circumstances under which it is going up. There is talk, also, of a chapel or schoolroom for the use of officers and men. The 5th of the month, late at night, came the summary orders to be ready to move early in the morning, reveillÉ to be at 3 a. m. The drawing of rations, etc., kept us busy until one o'clock in the next morning, hence not much sleep, but no end of grumbling. ReveillÉ sounded according to programme on the 6th; the men turned out, cooked their breakfasts, packed their tents and were ready to start before daylight. At seven o'clock the orders came to replace the tents and to resume regular camp life. This break in the usual calm was explained as an incident in the movement of the Second Corps to Morton's Ford, on the Rapidan, as a supplementary act to the proposed attempt of General B. F. Butler from the south against Richmond. As Butler's plan proved abortive, activity on the part of the Second Corps subsided at once and things were soon as they had been.

Sunrise, gilding the snowy tops of the Blue Ridge Mountains, awakens the sensibilities of some of the men as the 10th day of the month begins and, later in the day, the paymaster makes all happy with compensation for services rendered up to December 1st. General Robinson and staff, accompanied by ladies, also by some of the corps staff officers, rode into camp on the 12th, evidently thinking it one of the show places of the cantonment. Over the fact that the men left in camp, the Regiment being on picket, are all merged in two companies and these go on dress parade prompts one commentator to remark that he supposes if only one man were left in camp, he would have to appear at the regular time on parade. Injudicious use of the ardent was the probable reason for the advent of a Thirteenth Massachusetts' party evidently bent on mischief. Whatever they came for, the colonel cut short the career of a sergeant and a private by placing them under arrest and so returning them to their Regiment. How strange it is, that men will tolerate an evil that makes such fools of them! The evening of this day was brilliantly illuminated by great forest fires on both sides of the Rapidan. The coming of Major William Thorndike, the new surgeon, is chronicled on the 15th; Surgeon Calvin G. Page, on account of disability, had been discharged Nov. 16, 1863. The 16th is so cold that large quantities of wood are brought in from the forest for the building of fires just for the warmth thereof. The new hospital is opened and much is expected from it.

The 20th of February marked the dedication of the new chapel, whose building had taken the time and strength of the soldiers, some of them, for a number of days. Nicely decorated and appointed, the men were not a little proud of their place of worship. Chaplain French had charge of the exercises; the band of the Sixteenth Maine was present and most obligingly discoursed appropriate music. Among the people who crowded the interior were Colonel Leonard of the Thirteenth Massachusetts with his wife, Surgeon Alexander of the Sixteenth Maine and wife, with others. Compliments were dealt out to the men who had labored so zealously for the success of the project and Colonel Davis' remarks in this direction were especially happy. The next day was Sunday, and regular service was held in the new chapel. Apparently the 22nd, Washington's birthday, received no special attention. The new chapel afforded most excellent quarters for the regular meetings of the Masonic Lodge which had been one of the features of the Regiment for considerably more than a year. As far back as Offutt's Cross Roads, November 20, '62, the lodge had been instituted, under a special dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Grand Master, William D. Cooledge, the document bearing date, November 13, 1862.

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Feb. 22, '64