.NDY.NDI2

64 At Bell-plains landing

I see all my old tent mate Freeman H. Knowlen at bell plains landing in a tent wounded severely in the [?]. The army had been having hard fighting all along threw the wilderness and the wounded and prisoners were coming back in great numbers. That evening was very dark and our little gunboat did not put out until next morning. The sailors was very kind to us land lubbers and gave us thair bunks to us and I had a splendid night a sleep that night. At day light, in the morning our boat pulled down the potomac some 8 miles and stoped at a signal station and got orders then moved up the river about two miles and put us ashore with orders to camp and guard a telegraph cable that lay across the river. We lay on the Va side and was liable to an attack at any time. Gunboats lay in the river to cooperate with us if needed.