This constant thundering of the cannon!

Washington County Historical Society version (1965)¹

Dec. 9—Nani is with me. All day long we heard cannonading. Who will be victorious? This constant thundering of the cannon! If the Southern troops should win, it would go hard with us.

The Arkansas Historical Quarterly version (1947)²

Dec. 9

Nani is with me. All day long we have heard the roar of cannon.³ Who is winning? We have heard that the Southern army is made up of 40,000 men, the Northern army of 17,000. This continuing boom, boom. Oh, if the other side should win, things will go hard with us.

1. Lemke, W. J. The Hermanns of Old Hermannsburg: Washington County, Arkansas. Fayetteville, AR: Washington County Historical Society, 1965.
2. Memoirs, Letters, and Diary Entries of German Settlers in Northwest Arkansas, 1853-1863.  Selected and Translated By Clarence Evans, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Vol. VI Fall, 1947 No. 3
3. The cannonading was actually the December 7th Battle of Prairie Grove meaning that the date of this diary entry is off by two days.