Jeffrey A. Denman

The middle of December proved to be increasingly arduous for the troops. Surgeon James Thacher reported in his diary that he arrived “on the 14th” in “this wilderness” and he encountered “the snow on the ground . . . about two feet deep, and the weather extremely cold. The soldiers are destitute of both tents and blankets and some are actually barefooted and almost naked. Our only defense against the inclemency of the weather, consists of brush-wood thrown together. Our lodg