Confederate President Jefferson Davis had decreed that March 27, 1863, would be “a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer,” William H. Hill wrote in his diary that Friday.

“General Lee issued an order that was read to the [13th Mississippi] regiment yesterday evening at Dress Parade commanding that all kind of duty be suspended and that the Chaplains hold public worship in their respective Regiments and advising all of the troops to the strict observance of the day.”

The Rev. Mr. Owen of the 17th Miss. preached in Fredericksburg’s St. Georges Episcopal Church to a large audience.

“The day was generally observed here,” Hill concluded his diary entry. “Clear and pleasant.”