(excerpt)
April 9. . . . The sham battle of General Hardee’s Corps took place on Thursday, and was witnessed by a large number of ladies from all parts of the State. There was a party of them at Gen. Hood’s for several days and the evening after the battle we had a dance at Hd. Qurs. to which was gathered ‘the beauty and the chivalry.’ It was a decided success and was almost fashionably crowded. I indulged slightly in the galop and deuxtemps and wish L. could have seen me. There are to be some tableaux a few miles below here at a country house on the railroad Monday evening, to which the General and his staff are invited. I expect there will be a good deal of gaiety in Dalton, (that is, for the army) until the war begins, which from all appearance is as far off as ever. Tell Papa that the army is very much ‘down on’ Congress for the ration bill and ask him to be sure and have it remedied as soon as the session begins. I have heard several plans proposed by officers for inviting one or two members of Congress now with the army to a ‘one ration a day dinner.’ Something of this sort, for instance: The entertainer would be very generous and have the whole day’s ration served for dinner. He would divide the pound and a quarter of meal, the quarter of a pound of hominy and the third of a pound of bacon into three parts and give his guest one, take one himself and set one aside for his servant. However, we all live in hope of the better time coming.”
(Note: picture is of an unidentified Confederate soldier.)