The Diary of Colonel William Crawford

The following is a recently recovered diary of a Colonel in the American Civil War, 1864. Colonel William Crawford was the head of the 83rd Maine Infantry regiment, his regiment was deployed on the coast of Louisiana, and was tasked with marching towards New Orleans to meet up with several other Union regiments for an attack on the Confederate occupants there. These are the first hand written accounts of the trek through the swamps of southern Louisiana towards New Orleans.

March 7th, 1864, 2:00 PM

"We've just arrived near Grand Isle, the ships left us with food and supplies, enough to last us a week or two as we begin our march to New Orlelans. Our task is to meet up with the 22nd Pennsylvania, and the 53rd Massachusetts, then promptly capture the city. In my command I have about 700 men." - Colonel W. Crawford

March 7th, 1864, 8:30 PM

"My god, the heat couldn't get any worse could it. Who would've known the swamps would've been so clustered with mosquitoes, but we still have about a hundred miles or so to go until we get to the destination. One of my men have claimed to have even spotted an alligator earlier today, the lad wouldn't stop talking about it."

March 8th, 1864, 7:00 AM

"We are still making progress to New Orleans, but who knows how far away we still are, my guess is about 80-100 miles. We set up camp last night, and a few of my men have even claimed to have spotted a green creature wandering around a clearing just outside our camp. They are probably just seeing things, but you have to wonder what kind of animals live down in these god forsaken swamps."

March 8th, 1864, 5:00 PM

"We're still making progress towards our destination, but the soldiers are now complaining of a constant onion odor surrounding the camp boundaries. I've also had reports of more sightings of the strange 'large green humanoid' creature sneaking around in the marshy areas outside the camp. I started to think this was all some kind of joke, but when I patrolled the borders of the camp I too noticed the strange onion scent."

March 9th, 1864, 1:30 PM

"I sent out two scouts in the morning to go look for this creature. I told them to come back in a couple of hours before we set out into the marshes once again, but they still haven't come back. I'm afraid we are going to have to depart and hope they will catch onto our trail soon enough."

March 9th, 1864, 8:00 PM

"I don't believe the rebels could've done this, but I found both of the scouts I sent out earlier this morning. They are both dead, their corpses were mangled and covered in some sort of onion smelling liquid. We buried the bodies, I hope whatever did that to them isn't still out there."

March 10th, 1864, 11:00 AM

"We set out again this morning, following dirt roads and trails. Some men have reported seeing the green humanoid creature more frequently, perhaps it is following us, who knows. I wish it would just leave us alone."

March 10th, 1864, 11:38 PM

"I have no idea if someone is pranking me, or if I am just going insane, but I swear to have heard loud breathing just outside my tent a little bit ago. Eventually I went outside to see what was going on, but whatever was breathing heavily out there was nowhere to be seen. I guess I am probably just imagining things, I really need to get some sleep."

March 11th, 1864, 1:27 AM

"The breathing is back again.. What the hell is going on out there? I am too afraid now to go and check, but I have my pistol in my hand as I am writing this. I am also shaking pretty bad, I can't sleep, nor can I think straight at this point."

March 11th, 1864, 2:31 AM

"Playtime is ogre.. What the hell does that even mean? The creature is talking to me.. It's outside of my tent, circling it now."

March 11th, 1864, 3:05 AM

"It's trying to get into my tent.. 'This is my swamp' it's saying to me. Please god, have mercy on me."

The following page is covered in blood splatters, there is what looks like to be the last of William Crawford's handwriting in the bottom right of the page. There are symbols, and then text that reads, "Shrek is love... Shrek is life..." in the Colonel's handwriting.

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