Sharing the Dangers of the Battlefield

The entry is from All For The Union, The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, written a few days before the Battle of Mechanicsville.

June 4, 1862  Near Mechanicsville, VA


. . . .General McClellan has issued an order in which he states that he shall share the dangers of the battlefield with us (Why not?) and talks about relying upon the bayonet.  We can see the Rebel guns, and the shells fly over our camp.  They sound like a steam whistle.  We have not tents, and our blankets are wet most of the time.  But is it all for the Union.  May God Help us.

Gen'l Geo. B. McClellan, Library of Congress Collection