Gershom writes that Confederate deserters are becoming increasingly common. He tells a short story about a Confederate sergeant from Michigan who was in New Orleans when the war began and had repeatedly tried to desert from the army. He was slotted for execution but was pardoned by the President--it is not clear if he means Lincoln or Davis--and he escaped to the Union lines while Gershom was on picket duty. Gershom mentions that he heard a battle nearby and later discovered it was reportedly Confederate forces firing upon two Confederate regiments that were trying to desert.
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