Waitt, Ernest Linden, History of the Nineteenth regiment, Massachusetts volunteer infantry , 1861-1865

[68] Yorktown. Rain fell throughout the day. The mud was ankle deep and the soil was so full of clay and so sticky that it was extremely hard for the men to move along, their feet sticking in the mud at every step. Shoes were pulled off by it, and the men were greatly exhausted. Despite their misery, some one in the regiment struck up an army song. It was taken up along the line and in a few minutes it seemed as if the whole army was singing.

At noon the regiment arrived before Norfolk, and the shelter tents were pitched. In the distance stretched the long fortifications of Yorktown. Immediately in front was the breastwork which Washington built to protect his troops; and fifty yards further away was the spot where he had received Cornwallis' sword, 81 years previously, the monument being broken in places where the rebels had knocked off pieces for souvenirs.

Near the spot where the regiment halted at noon was seen the monster balloon ‘McClellan’ which had been used to reconnoitre the enemy's works. This balloon had frequently been noticed and watched by the men as they were encamped before Yorktown. It had been plainly seen whenever it was up and one day it was noticed to suddenly move away toward Yorktown. Soon the enemy began to fire upon it. Then it seemed to go higher, floated back over the Union lines, and then suddenly collapsed and descended very rapidly, with the top partly inflated, thus keeping it right side up, and swaying, twisting and turning like a big corn sack with a stone tied to one end. General Porter, who had been up in it to take a bird's eye view of the enemy's position, got a much nearer one than he had anticipated, for the rope which held it to the ground had parted. He fortunately alighted within the Union lines without injury.

Every road leading to Yorktown was crowded with cavalry, artillery and baggage wagons. The firing of the gunboats, as they poured shot and shell into the flank of the retreating foe, and the sounds of distant musketry, made the whole scenery and suggestion martial in the extreme.

At 6 P. M., in the midst of a smart shower, the regiment