Portrait of a soldier
Robert Augustus Moore,
a Confederate soldier
Robert Augustus Moore participated in most of
the Virginia campaigns during the first two
years of the war. Born into a prosperous
farming family near Holly Springs, Mississippi,
on 2 July 1838, he enlisted as a private in an
infantry company called the Confederate
Guards shortly after Fort Sumter fell. The
Guards subsequently became Company G of
the 17th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.
Mustered into service at Holly Springs, the
17th spent the last part of May and early June
1861 in Corinth before moving on to Virginia.
As part of brigades commanded by D. R. Jones,
Nathan G. ('Shanks') Evans, and William
Barksdale between June 1861 and May 1863,
the 17th fought at First Manassas, Ball's Bluff,
Seven Pines, the Seven Days, Second Manassas,
Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
Moore kept a pocket diary throughout his
Confederate service that sheds light on his
motivation for fighting, his opinions about
important issues and his experiences in camp,
on the march, and in battle.
Like many common soldiers North and
South, Moore expressed a strong religious
faith. He frequently attended church,
seemingly unconcerned with denomination
and able to draw strength from a variety of
messages from the pulpit. 'This is
Thanksgiving day all over the Southern
Confederacy,' he wrote on 15 November
- 'Our Chaplain held services in camp
this evening notwithstanding the
inclemency of the weather. I think all should
join in praise to Him who has been with us
in every engagement we have had with the
enemy.' On a rainy Sunday in Fredericksburg
in February 1863, he attended services twice.
'The church is quite commodious,' he noted
approvingly, '& is always crowded to
overflowing with attentive hearers.' The next
day he observed that 'Our chaplain is now
carrying on a protracted meeting. Everything
bids fair for the outpouring of God's spirit.'
He later affirmed that he could 'recommend
the atoning blood of Christ to all. All seems
bright to me. I hope to walk so as never to
bring reproach on the cause of Christ.'
Moore's piety did not prevent his
indulging in small vices. In October 1861,
he welcomed a windfall of 30 bottles of
whiskey, recording that he and his fellow
soldiers 'had a fine time drinking it.' He
often mentioned incidents when soldiers
imbibed too much. 'Lieut. Jackson came
in this evening very tipsy,' he wrote on
8 November 1861. 'Was sent out as Lieut. of
the pickets. The provo marshall was also
drunk.' Unused to the cold weather in
Virginia, he considered an occasional drink
essential. This being a rainy & cold day, we
all received a little toddy,' he complained on
one occasion. 'I think the drams are a little
too small for the weather & that they do not
come around often enough to one in camp.'
Moore's early life in the Deep South had
not prepared him for Virginia's winters.
During his first summer in Virginia, he
betrayed a slightly scornful attitude towards
residents who complained about the heat.
'The weather is very hot for this climate, the
people here think extremely hot,' he
recorded, 'but it is not near so warm as in
Miss.' Cold was another matter. 'Bad weather
for ill-clad Rebels,' he wrote on 5 December
1862, adding that the 'Rebels are shivering
around their log fires as the Yanks would say.'
Two days later the weather had got worse,
producing 'as cold a day as I have ever felt in
Va.' After a brief warming trend during the
next week (when the Battle of Fredericksburg
was fought), the mercury plunged downwards
again. 'This has been one of the most
disagreeable days that I have ever experienced
in camp,' groused Moore. The wind has
blown very cold from the North & one could