From William A. Carrington CSR (M331): Inspection report, dated 11/17/62, of Battery #15.
Richmond, Nov 17th, 1862
Surgeon E. S. Gaillard, Medl Director
Sir,
I have the honour to report that I have visited the Barracks at Battery No. 15
situated in Chesterfield Co. about 2 miles from Mayo's bridge & occupied by
85 men composing the Surry Artillery commanded by Capt. Hankins. The Battery is
within 50 yds of the barracks & is an important one in the line of the
defenses of Richmond.
The barracks are occupied by the inmates of the 1st
Alabama Hosl who were quarantined here for some weeks after exposure to variola.
They consist of 4 wooden one-storied houses (of high pitch) each containing 2
rooms each 18 x 18 ft - Their capacity is now for 48 patients. The frames of two
similar houses are constructed & a small kitchen is in the vicinity -
A well has been dug & a spring of good water is in the
vicinity. I think that these buildings are mot suitable for Hospital purposes
& in addition are required as Barracks by the troops stationed at the
Battery.
Very Respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant,
Wm. A. Carrington
Surgeon & Inspector of Hospitals
[MDG note: From Wallace, Surry, etc. Artillery, p. 13 - By late October, in the absence of
the ailing Captain Ruffin, Lieutenant Hankins had succeeded in entirely
refitting the battery. They were in winter quarters, he wrote on October 28, but
just how long they would be there was uncertain. Very soon, however, the battery
packed their tents and moved into barracks at Battery No. 16, on the western
edge of Manchester, between Broad Rock Road and the road to Petersburg. The
barracks were frame buildings with brick chimneys. Ample firewood was nearby,
and there was an abundance of water. The cooking, however, was done outside the
barracks as there was no room inside for large kettles, pots, pans, and other
utensils. Battery No. 16, one of the four batteries on the Manchester side of
the Richmond defenses, was unfinished in November, and only a few heavy guns
were mounted. Magazines and storerooms for arms and ammunition were yet to be
constructed. The area was bleak and cold in the winter months with no dense
woods to shield it form the northern winds. In mid-November a snow storm
carpeted the ground with a four-inch layer. Benjamin Jones wrote that a brisk
and biting wind from the river forced the men, in abscence of overcoats, to go
about wrapped in blankets....]
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