Prayer Meeting here this afternoon. Mrs. W. D. Bailey and Miss Emeline McClure present.
Resaca was a hard fought battle. The 53d suffered severely. We anxiously await particulars.
Peggy's comments:
In addition to worrying about nephew Rufus Dawes who was fighting with the Army of the Potomac at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania in Virginia, Rufus's brother Ephraim Dawes was marching towards Atlanta with General Sherman. He fought in the battle of Resaca.
Rufus wrote to his wife:
Line of Battle near Spottsylvania Court House, May 19th, 7 A. M., 1864
We are occupying the extreme right of our army and we are strongly entrenched.* The battle will be to our left unless the enemy attack us. It is impossible to conjecture when this campaign will end or what will be the result. The country, as usual, has been unduly exultant. This campaign has been by far the most trying I have known. We have had eight days and nights of constant toil and battle. Colonel Bragg does well with his Pennsylvania Brigade. General Cutler commands our division since General Wadsworth was killed. We hope to get our first regular mail to-day since May 2nd. I look for it very anxiously. One man says I have been reported killed in all the papers and another man says I have not been and that he has seen all the lists.
* Rufus later thought that this was an error as there were other troops on their right.
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