Headquarters Sixteenth Mississippi Regiment
January 21, 1865

Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan
Commanding Mahone’s Division

GENERAL: In obedience to your letter I have the honor respectfully to report the result of my tour on picket as division field officer of the picket-line of Mahone's divison. I relieved Colonel Hayne, of Forty-eighth Mississippi, at 2 p. m. 19th instant; found the new picket regularly posted and executing the order prescribed in General Orders, division headquarters, which was continued during my tour on duty. Everything remained perfectly quiet on the line. I regret to have to report a loss of nine men by desertion-seven from the Florida and two from the Virginia brigades. These desertions are becoming amazingly numerous, and I beg leave to submit for your consideration what I esteem to be the main cause of this dissatisfaction, and is, in my opinion, the controlling influence that prompts our men thus to desert-it is the insufficiency of rations. Our men do not get enough to eat. I have been long convinced of this important fact from my own careful observation. I have conversed with the field and line officers of different regiments on this subject, and their statements all concur in establishing the above facts, and unless something is done soon to remove this evil, which of all others weighs most heavily on the minds of the troops, I fear that the number of desertions will be greatly increased during the winter.

I have the honor to be, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. H. DUNCAN,
Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Sixteenth Mississippi Regiment.
OR V46, Pt. 2, pp. 1144/5