By November, 1862, the 19th was finally in the south. “Today finds the 19th Wis. in the best condition it has been in since it arrived in Dixie,” wrote the correspondent. He said that they have been in the best shape since they left Racine. Life in the South was considerably different than what the regiment soldiers were used to at home in Wisconsin. “Things here move on in the old way...,” noted the writer. “The Negroes are really living on their masters, and Norfolk is depot of contrabands; there are at least three hundred in the government employ, and many of them are cutting wood near the city; they are sent to cut five cords of wood per week, and all they cut over the five cords, they get fifty cents a cord for.” This amounted to around $8 in today’s buying power. It was the practice of the slave holders in the old days, but, apparently, without the remuneration for the extra cords. With the extra money the government was paying them, the writer went on to explain, “Many of them [slaves] are getting new clothes and appear much more like folks than they did when they first came in our lines.”
In November, citizens of the North, did their civic duty and voted. It was the same for the troops who were fighting to preserve the nation. The writer observed that, “The Secesh (secessionists) here are bitter as ever, and as Capt. Strong very justly remarked today at the election, ‘every man that owns a Negro is a secessionist.’ That’s the doctrine, if you doubt it, enlist and come to Dixie.” The men were anxious for the results in the Wisconsin election and the arrival of the Pay Master. It had been four months since they had been paid, and “We have nearly worn our pockets out feeling for ‘change’.” Another interesting observation by writer “E”: “Our cook said to me the other night that he believed the Yankee army had turned out to answer the prayer he had repeated ever since he could remember, ‘that he might one day be free.’ He’s black as a tar pot.” Mr. E, in December of 1862, reporting from Norfolk, wrote that he had become disheartened at the pace of the war that seemed to be at a standstill. “I believe I can say, without the least fear of exaggeration, that since we have been here, I have seen thirty thousand soldiers pass over the railroad from Norfolk to Suffolk, and yet there are little or no signs of a forward movement at this department at the present time.” Another depressing incident occurred which added to the disillusionment. “One of our fine gunboats that left here a few days ago for the James River, has been accidently blown up, and the disaster of course leaves a vacancy in the river, as well as in Uncle Sam’s pocket of seventy-five thousand dollars.” 1.1 million in today’s dollars. However, the 19th Wisconsin, Company A, was itself, doing quite well, with light duty and many privileges which other regiments were not privy to. “Ten of our company…are permitted to attend the theater each evening; and in fact, at all times when off duty, we have the liberty to enjoy ourselves in our own way, as though we were not ‘fighting men’.” 27
