You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Private Samuel Carney, age 23, formerly enslaved on a tobacco plantation twelve miles south of Petersburg, Virginia. Escaped in the autumn of 1862, reaching Washington D.C. via the Underground Railroad. Enlisted in the 5th USCT upon its formation in 1863 at Camp Delaware, Ohio.
September 29, 1864 — 3:17 AM
Bivouac near Deep Bottom, Virginia — East bank of the James River
The air is thick, humid, carrying the mineral smell of the James River mixed with woodsmoke from dying campfires. Dew soaks everything. The ground is soft Virginia clay. Sergeants move through the darkness speaking in low urgent voices. Men stir on the ground, their wool blankets sodden with moisture. The metallic taste of fear sits in every mouth. Somewhere a man vomits quietly. Crickets still sing, unaware. The distant rumble of artillery from Petersburg echoes like summer thunder.
September 29, 1864 — 4:02 AM
Bivouac near Deep Bottom, Virginia — Field kitchen area
Salt pork sizzles in cast iron skillets over low fires. The grease smell mixes with woodsmoke and the sour odor of hundreds of unwashed men. Hardtack is issued from wooden crates—square crackers hard as roof shingles. Coffee boils in tin pots, the one comfort. Men eat standing, chewing slowly, their tin cups warm in their hands. Nobody speaks much. The coffee is bitter, cut with chicory, but it is hot. A chaplain moves among the men, speaking quietly. Some men kneel in small groups, praying.
September 29, 1864 — 4:41 AM
Assembly area — New Market Road approach
Leather cartridge boxes are checked. Forty rounds per man. The paper cartridges feel waxy, smell of sulfur and charcoal. Bayonets are fixed with metallic clicks running down the line like a deadly instrument tuning. Sergeants bark orders. The regiment forms into column. Ahead in the darkness, the road stretches toward Richmond. White officers on horseback move along the lines. General Birney is somewhere ahead. The men’s brogans squelch in the mud. Canteens slosh. Hearts pound.
September 29, 1864 — 5:23 AM
Forward staging area — Woods edge overlooking New Market Heights
