90
A Rattlesnake. Hilton Head.
but not in uniform, being temporarily un-
der disfavor, if not arrest, the command
of the regiment begin made over to Lieut-
Col. Hall. I saw George Edwards, look-
ing dusty enough, as in deed did all the
others. Returning with Trowbridge across
the fields he suddenly halted, and pointed
out to me a formidable-looking rattlesnake;
lying asleep, with his head in the centre
of his devilish folds. He was a beautiful
reptile about four or five feet in length.
Trowbridge had left his revolver behind him
and we looked in vain for a big stick or
we might have attacked the creature at ad-
vantage; however we let him be and return-
ed to quarters, and a quiet busy evening,
10. Thursday. Was raced back to
headquarters by a crew of negro boatmen,
under command of Trowbridge s brother. At
the rooms of Fessenden, busy getting of mat-
ter for the paper. Dined with Rice, Thomp-
son and Hay. In their quarters afterwards,
where I dozed in the one room while the two
latter (as they told me afterwards) received
a comely negro-wench who was their washer-
woman and something besides. Evening at
headquarters, singing etc. Some news by| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Twenty: page one hundred |
| Description: | Regarding an encounter with a sleeping rattlesnake and dinner with Rice, Thompson, and Hay. |
| Date: | 1862-07-09 |
| Subject: | African Americans; Civil War; Edwards, George, Jr.; Fessenden, Captain; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Hall, Lieutenant-Colonel; Hay, Charles; Military; Rice, J.M.; Serrell, Edward W.; Snakes; Thompson, Richard; Trowbridge, Charles; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | Hilton Head, [South Carolina] |
| Scan Date: | 2010-09-10 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Twenty |
| Description: | Includes Gunn's descriptions of his experiences as a war correspondent for ""The New York Tribune"" at Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, especially Hilton Head, Port Royal, St. Augustine, Key West, and the end of his experiences with the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign when he had to leave camp due to illness. |
| Subject: | African Americans; Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Civil War; Diseases; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Marches (U.S. Army); Medical care (U.S. Army); Military; Military camp life; Peninsular Campaign (Va.); Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Port Royal, South Carolina; Hilton Head, South Carolina; Key West, Florida; St. Augustine, Florida; Virginia |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2010 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
