Diary entry by Matthew Marvin, Private in the 1st Minnesota Regiment, written from a stragglers camp near Washington D.C., where he has been sent after recovering from a gunshot wound at a hospital on Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. This week, Marvin sees convalescents arrive daily from area hospitals, writes letters home and gets a sore mouth. On Monday, October 27th, he writes:
“The boys have to work on a new fort[.] the Lt in charge had to call a guard to make the boys go. They would shirk out in spite of him or the guard by running among the tents[.] Weather AM Rain and PM cool wind[.]”

Citation: October 25-30, 1862 Diary entries by Matthew Marvin, Diary notes and memos. Matthew Marvin Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. [P2355 box 1]
