On the 7th went to Sperryville. Here I will say I found some of the most noble clever people. Miss or Mrs Baughman in particular. She was a sister to the editor of the Southern Citizen, a paper published in Frederick City. They were whole souled Southerners & further they were Roman Catholics and until then I always doubted whether there were any Christians in the Catholic church but since then never. Sept 8 the Yankees charged our picket lines. They nearly run into our camp. Here some of the boys got some whiskey & was in a poor fix for fighting. But we soon turned the yanks and started them double quick the back track, but it was quite exciting to be roused from a good nap by yells, shots, &c.
Sources: Christopher Watford, ed. The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers’ and Civilians’ Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865, Volume 2. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003). Francis B. Dedmond, “Harvey Davis’ Unpublished Civil War Diary and the Story of Company D, First North Carolina Cavalry,” Appalachian Journal 13 (1986) 368-407. Catawba College Archives, Salisbury, North Carolina
