August 6[1862]—
Having been notified last night; had reveille at 4 A.M. and marched 2 or 3 hours after. Went by where the balance of the brigade were throwing up breastworks. They joined us. Waited there for orders till it was good & hot, and then proceeded down the Charles City road. It was mid-day and we marched constantly; The climate seemed hotter than the most scorching plains of the Sahara desert. Therefore it was not a surprise to see occasionally a poor fellow lying by the side of the road gasping for breath; some of them never to rise again. Stopped in the evening 3 or 4 miles from Malvern Hill, and made every seeming preparation for an attack. I thought we were in for it again. And my faith was made stronger by seeing Gen. Lee, present.
Cos. A, C, F & K were detailed as skirmishes to act in concert with a corresponding number of the 2nd N.C. the whole to be under the command of Col Tew, A & C were held in reserve F & K deployed. We awaited orders to advance, and remained waiting all night and next day till 10 O’clock when we received orders to join the Brigade.
Sources: Christopher Watford, ed. The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers’ and Civilians’ Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865, Volume 1. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003). Original in the A.E. Fraley Diary, Fraley Collection, Rowan County Public Library.
