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diff --git a/old/63040-0.txt b/old/63040-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6a39848..0000000 --- a/old/63040-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7742 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Minor War History Compiled from A Soldier -Boy's Letters to "The Girl I Left Behind Me, by Martin A. Haynes - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: A Minor War History Compiled from A Soldier Boy's Letters to "The Girl I Left Behind Me" - 1861-1864 - -Author: Martin A. Haynes - -Release Date: August 25, 2020 [EBook #63040] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MINOR WAR HISTORY COMPILED *** - - - - -Produced by Quentin Campbell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - -In what follows, italic text is denoted by _underscores_. Small capitals -in the original text have been transcribed as ALL CAPITALS. - -See the end of this document for details of corrections and changes. - - ————————————— Start of Book ————————————— - - - [Illustration: THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME] - - - - - A MINOR WAR HISTORY - - COMPILED FROM - - A SOLDIER BOY’S LETTERS TO “THE GIRL - I LEFT BEHIND ME” - - - 1861–1864 - - - - *.* - - - - _DRAMATIS PERSONÆ_ - - THE SOLDIER BOY MARTIN A. HAYNES - _Company I, Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry_ - - “THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME” CORNELIA T. LANE - _Now and for more than Fifty Years the Wife of the Soldier Boy_ - - - - *.* - - - - _LAKEPORT, N. H._ - _PRIVATE PRINT OF MARTIN A. HAYNES_ - _1916_ - - - - - - ************************ - - EDITION SIXTY COPIES - THIS IS NO. - AND IS PRESENTED TO - - - WITH COMPLIMENTS OF - MARTIN A. HAYNES - - ************************ - - - - - PREAMBLE - - —————— - -_In gathering material for a history of the Second Regiment, one of -my sources of information was a big bundle of letters, even then -yellowing with age—my letters, covering a period of over three years, -written to “The girl I left behind me.” These—with the elimination of -such strictly personal matters as concerned only the two of us—were -carefully copied, and the letters then given to the flames. Thirty -years later, breaking the seals of that bundle of manuscript, I read -with indescribable interest my own story of more than half a century -ago. And the whim came upon me to put those scraps of war history into -type and print a few copies, especially for members of the family. I -can see an opening for only one regret. It will probably destroy an -illusion of those four grandchildren—Marjorie and Warren, Martin and -Eugene—as to their grandfather’s relative importance in the war, and -while Grant and Sherman will be moved up one notch on the roll of those -who put down the Great Rebellion, I will, very likely, have to be -content with third place._ - -_There is lots of history here—minor history, to be sure—and while -there is a sequence of events, it is not a connected story, nor even -complete. A series of letters rarely is. They do not deal, like -Sherman’s letters, in the grand strategy of campaigns, but they do give -an idea of what the men in the ranks were talking and thinking and -doing. Their interest lies almost entirely in the fact that they deal -with the trivialities of army life. Here is recorded the small talk -of the camp, and many incidents that are too trivial for big history, -but are really interesting and worth saving. I have preserved the -personality of some of those royal old comrades of mine, who but for -these letters would be remembered only through the cold lines of the -official record. In these sketches—“right off the bat,” as it were—they -seem to live again, and one can get a very fair idea of what manner -of men they were. It is sometimes with moistened eyes that I catch -the step with them again in these pages and in memory live over those -stirring days when comradeship was so close and meant so much._ - -_I feel lonesome when I realize that I am almost the last survivor of -those who live and move in the following pages. Not one member of -the old “Abbott Guard”—a Manchester company and largely composed of -Manchester men—now remains as a living resident of that city, and the -survivors, scattered far and wide, can be counted upon the fingers of -one hand. As often happened in the old army days, I am once more a -straggler, dusty, footsore and weary. But I know that before long I -will swing around the bend in the road and come upon the whole precious -bunch in bivouac. There will be Rod. Manning and George Slade, Hen. -Everett and Bill Ramsdell, “Heenan” and “Gunny,” old Dan. Desmond—a -hundred of the rarest aggregation that ever touched elbows in a common -cause. And with the old familiar whoop they will greet the belated -straggler and give him a place at their campfire._ - - _M. A. H._ - - _Lakeport, New Hampshire, October, 1916._ - - - - - * - *** - ***** - ******* - ***** - *** - * - - - - - *.*.*.* - - “Oft in the stilly night, - ere Slumber’s chains have bound me, - Fond Memory brings the light - of other days around me.” - - *.*.*.* - - - - - LETTERS - - ——————— - - _I_ - - CAMP UNION, CONCORD, _April 28, 1861_. - -If you could look in on this scene you would rate it as about as good -a comedy as we ever took in at Bidwell and Marston’s. I am writing on -a rough board table, and right opposite me the fellow who has set up -as company barber is skinning a poor victim alive. I don’t think he is -much of a barber, and from the spasmodic and at times profane remarks -of the patriot he is practicing on, I gather that I am not alone in -that opinion. - -I have been very busy this week and have hardly had time to write the -letters I promised Farnsworth for the _American_. But I am going to -give you a little idea of the routine of camp life. We are in camp on -the Merrimack County fair grounds, across the river from the city. Our -barracks are rough board buildings with ample ventilation through a -thousand cracks. One continuous bunk, bedded with straw, extends along -one side. Into this we tumble at night, wrapped in our thick army -blankets, warm and cozy, and go to sleep after about so much laughing -and joking and blackguarding. - -The drum beats to marshal us to our meals, and each company falls into -line, single file. At the command we march around by the commissary’s -stand, each man, as he passes, helping himself to plate and dipper with -rations upon them. I have seen richer food and a more comprehensive -bill of fare, but it is all right and there is plenty of it: fish hash -(and I always did like fish hash,) bread (white and brown,) pickles, -coffee. No butter, no condiments. But the whole outfit seems to agree -with me, and I never was in better health and spirits in my life. - -There are now about 550 men here in camp—over 240 from Manchester. It -is a rattling jolly crowd, and there is something doing about all the -time. At night we gather around the campfires and amuse ourselves with -songs and stories and badinage until nine o’clock, when “Tattoo” sounds -and we tumble into our bunk. As many as are needed are detailed each -night to stand guard. I have had one round at it—routed out of my warm -nest at one o’clock in the morning and posted at the main gate of the -camp. It was very cold, and every star was out with a broad grin on as -I paraded up and down with a ten-pound musket on my shoulder. - -I shall try to get leave to run down to Manchester Saturday and stop -over Sunday. I want to “see my sister.” - -We have not got our uniforms yet. We all expected to have them by the -last of the week, so hardly anybody brought any change of clothing. -I borrowed a collar of Cochrane [W. H. D.] until I could send home -for wardrobe supplies. We have got to go to church at Concord this -afternoon, in a body. - -There are lots of Manchester folks here today, and I have to stop every -minute and shake hands with some friend who comes along. Kelley’s -[Capt. John L.] recruits came up yesterday. I met them as I was going -to the city. Jim Atherton was among them. He brought me lots of things -from my friends—pastry from mother, a mince pie from Mrs. Currier, a -pin cushion from Augusta Currier, and a great big sugar heart from Mrs. -Logue, bless her dear old Irish soul. - -Address, Camp Union, Company A, Concord, N. H. - - ——————— - - _II_ - - CAMP UNION, _May 1, 1861_. - -Am writing in great haste to let you know that the Guard are going -to Portsmouth this afternoon, to join the Second Regiment, under Tom -Pierce. We get away in a hurry, in order to get position on the right -of the regiment—if we can. I will write to you in a day or two—by -Sunday, sure. Shall run back to Manchester before we go to the war. -Direct letters to Abbott Guard, Portsmouth. - - ——————— - - _III_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _May 5, 1861_. - -Received a letter from you a few moments before the company left -Concord, enclosing a note from Sally [Shepherd] and a fine picture of -yourself. I don’t think, however, it is quite as good as the one I have -with me in a little round velvet case. - -The Second Regiment are quartered in an old ropewalk, four or five -hundred feet long and about eighteen feet wide. Our bunks extend along -each side, with a walk through the center and a rack over our heads to -place our muskets in. Our quarters and food are much better than they -were at Concord. - -There are now five companies here, all of us raw recruits fast enough, -but the Guard are just conceited enough to imagine their military -education is a little more advanced than that of the other fellows. You -know, we’ve been sworn in almost three weeks, and naturally know it -all. There was a little friction night before last. A guard from the -Great Falls company was posted around the quarters, and word got around -that they were acting mighty “cocky.” They would not let our men even -pass around in the yard, where they had a perfect right to go. I had -had no intention of leaving the quarters that night, but was determined -not to be cooped up that way. So I recruited two desperate outlaws, -and we ran the guard and went over to the city. There we ran across -our Orderly Sergeant [George W. Gordon] and he was as mad as we were. -At a late hour we marched back to camp. When the guard at the outer -gate hollered “Whoa, there!” and tried to block our way, we upset him -and went right along. We didn’t get a proper challenge down the whole -line, but there was a succession of wild calls for the Officer of the -Guard. The last I heard as I passed into the barracks was the assurance -of the officer, to a sentry who had narrated his tale of woe, that the -“Manchester boys” were right—that a proper challenge would doubtless -have been heeded and saved all trouble. - -Our boys are all pleased with Portsmouth, but are afraid we shall not -be ordered away as soon as if we had stayed in Concord. There are many -points of interest here—the navy yard, where 1100 men are employed -fitting out three large war vessels, and the forts down the harbor, -where they are putting in garrisons and mounting heavy guns. - -Nich. Biglin, _alias_ “Heenan,” one of our boys, had a thumb badly -crushed in showing how strong he was. Up at the arsenal there are rows -of big iron cannon, relics of the war of 1812, resting at each end on -blocks. “Heenan” lifted an end of one of these, which was quite a feat, -but his grin of triumph faded out when he let the gun back smash onto -one thumb. - -I received today a very welcome present from the Manchester High -School—a splendid waterproof blanket. John Johnson is the committee to -distribute similar favors among the M. H. S. boys in camp here. - -I am detailed for guard and my round commences soon. You need have no -fear that I shall not run up to Manchester before leaving here. - - ——————— - - _IV_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _May 11, 1861_. - -Have been expecting all this week that I would have an opportunity to -run up home today, but have just learned that Gen. Stark has issued -orders that no man is to leave camp till the regiment is uniformed, -which he expects will be next Monday or Tuesday. There is a rumor -circulating that this regiment will not be ordered into active service -unless we enlist for three years or until the war is ended; but Fred. -Smith told me, yesterday, he would warrant we should be ordered off -within ten days. If we are not, I think nearly all the boys will enlist -for the war. We started out to see the rebels put down, and we are not -willing to go home without seeing it done and having a hand in it. I do -not think the war will last more than a few months. - -Since our little affair with the Commissary we have had first rate -grub. [This refers to the “rag hash war,” when the Abbott Guard -rebelled against the rations and marched over to the city, in a body, -for something to eat.] We were placed under arrest when we got back and -kept under guard twenty-four hours. I gave a pretty plain statement -of the affair in my letter to the _American_, and yesterday down came -Fred. Smith to see about it. With one of the Governor’s _Aides_ he went -around and investigated pretty thoroughly, and there are already signs -of a decided improvement. - - ——————— - - _V_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _May 16, 1861_. - -You have, doubtless, been expecting me every day for a week. I wrote -Tuesday throwing out a hint that I might be up Wednesday; but when -Wednesday came there was no move to uniform us, and I had to wait. But -today something definite _has_ transpired. We are officially informed -that an opportunity will be given us to re-enlist for three years or -the war, or to be discharged. We can take it or leave it. The Abbott -Guard had a meeting this afternoon, and a majority voted to offer the -services of the company to the President, for the war. Several of them -will not go, but I, of course, could not be dogged back to Manchester -while the company is headed for the South. A possible three years from -home is a long stretch, but you can be pretty sure the war will not -last many months. At any rate, my fortunes are cast with the Abbott -Guard, and its fortunes I am bound to follow, wherever they lead. - -General Abbott told us, this afternoon, that we should all have a -chance to go home and put our affairs in order. - - ——————— - - _VI_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _May 19, 1861_. - -The regiment is now uniformed—the queerest-looking uniform in the -world. You have probable seen some like them in the streets of -Manchester, on the First Regiment boys. The suit is gray throughout, -with a light trimming of red cord. The coat is a “swallow-tail,” with -brass buttons bearing the New Hampshire coat-of-arms; a French army cap -to top off with. - -We have the Manchester Cornet Band here with us now—they came -yesterday. They played in front of the barracks last evening—lots of -the good old tunes that you and I have enjoyed together, many a time. - - ——————— - - _VII_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _June 2, 1861_. - -Do not know how much longer we will be here, but not more than a few -days—perhaps not over a week. Yesterday the First Maine Regiment passed -through here. I wish this regiment had been in their place. - - ——————— - - _VIII_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _June 7, 1861_. - -Expected I would have a chance to write a long letter today. I was on -guard last night, and in the natural course should have had the day to -myself. But our company was mustered this forenoon—sworn in for three -years’ service—and the regiment has been marching and parading all the -afternoon. I was never more tired in all my life. We shall be off in a -day or two. Next Tuesday is the time set, but we may not get away until -a day or two later. We are very busy getting ready to leave. - -A number of the boys have taken a notion to get married before leaving -for the front, among the number being Eugene Hazewell, E. Norman -(nicknamed “Enormous”) Gunnison, and Johnny Ogden, the round-faced -Englishman I pointed out to you down by the cemetery, one day. - -We have lots of fun with the fellows who come creeping into the -barracks late at night or early in the morning. All sorts of traps are -set, and some one of them generally gets the bird. Sometimes it is the -old trick of tinware over the door, which is bound to rouse the whole -camp, no matter how carefully the door is opened; or a gun box set on -end in the aisle; or a rope stretched across it. - -Just to bring myself to a realization of how long the three years ahead -ought to seem, I have been measuring back to events that transpired -three years ago. Three years seems a long time looking into the future, -and yet many things that took place three years ago do not seem so very -far away. In the depot at Manchester I met Ike Sawyer, who has just got -back from sea. I asked him how long he had been gone this time, and he -said, “Over three years.” I was surprised that it was so long, and -hope the coming three will sort of shorten up in the same way. - -Our company is now stocking up on mascots. The latest additions are a -splendid Newfoundland dog and a pretty maltese cat. - -Nich. Biglin is going up tomorrow to bid good bye to a large and -enthusiastic circle of female admirers. Just now he and Dan Mix are -engaged in an animated dispute as to whether a man will get tight on -gin sweetened with sugar sooner than if sweetened with molasses, and -“Heenan” proposes that they go out and experiment. - - ——————— - - _IX_ - - CAMP CONSTITUTION, PORTSMOUTH, _June 12, 1861_. - -Still in Portsmouth, in spite of all prophecies, augurs and omens. The -excuse now is that the baggage wagons and some other camp equipage are -not ready. The time now set is next Monday, but I am not counting on -going before Wednesday, as a precaution against being disappointed. All -our baggage wagons, harnesses, horses, and other field stuff are in -Concord, and it is more than probable that we shall go there to get it, -and thence to New York through Manchester. I hope so, as it will give -me a chance to see you once more just for a moment. - -I was somewhat surprised to hear that Frank had gone to Washington. I -wish he was going with this regiment; but I shall have as good care as -I could wish for if I am sick, as my uncle, Dr. John, is going out with -us in the hospital department. My aunt wrote me that if the doctor went -she should put on the breeches and go too. - -And, by the way, I am not sure that you would recognize me now that I -have followed the prevailing fashion and had my flowing locks shaved -off close to my scalp. - -Yesterday morning, before breakfast, a party of us boys went down to -the beach and had a glorious frolic, swimming, digging clams, and -catching crabs. - -In the regimental organization we are designated as Company I. It -is explained to us that this gives us a post of honor, as the color -company, in the center of the regiment; but I am a little skeptical. - -The boys have been singing sentimental songs, but just now have -switched off onto cheers over the taking of Big Bethel, in Virginia, by -Gen. Butler. “_Hooray!_” The way they are tearing it off is a caution. -All are at fever heat to be off and helping in the war. - - ——————— - - _X_ - - HEADQUARTERS SECOND REGT. N. H. V., - PORTSMOUTH, _June 16, 1861_. - -We know, at last, just when we are going away—“_sure_.” Next Thursday, -at 7 o’clock in the morning, we are off. As we go direct to Boston, and -not through Manchester, it is good bye until I come home from the war. - -Si. Swain is under guard today. He refused to do duty and invited Rod. -Manning, one of the sergeants, to go to H——ot place. - -My ribs are sore from laughing over the regatta we had today out on -the mill pond. Some of the boys gathered together from somewhere a -number of hogsheads, halved by being sawed in two, and went voyaging -in them. They were not a very manageable craft. They rolled around -every-which-way, capsized, collided, and went through all sorts of -ridiculous stunts. - -We have had issued to us blue flannel blouses, thin, loose, and far -more comfortable than our uniform dress coats. - -Some of the boys have been fishing down at the fort today. They brought -home a lobster they caught, and while a kettle of water is heating -to boil him in, are teasing the poor fellow with sticks. “Heenan” is -taking an active part in the persecution. He holds up long enough to -say to me, “Tell her I want to keep the first two months’ pay to buy my -liquor with; but after that I will remit enough so that, with her own -efforts, the family will be insured from want.” - - ——————— - - _XI_ - - HEADQUARTERS SECOND REGT. N. H. VOLS., - PORTSMOUTH, _June 19, 1861_. - -Off we go at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning, and everything is bustle and -excitement. Have seen lots of Manchester folks here within a day or -two. Mary Rice was on the parade ground yesterday. Dr. Nelson, Henry -A. Gage, A. C. Wallace, policeman Bennett, Parker Hunt and his mother, -and many more of my friends and acquaintances. We have been drilling -today with knapsacks and equipments on, and my shoulders are as lame -as if I had been beaten with a club. Twenty rounds of cartridges have -been issued to us. You will direct letters to Company I, 2d Regt. N. H. -Vols., Washington, D. C. We may not be at Washington, but there is no -mail south of there, and it will be distributed from that point. - -There was quite an excitement here last night, resulting from a fire on -the frigate “Santee.” It was set near the magazine, in which was forty -tons of powder. - - ——————— - - _XII_ - - WASHINGTON, D. C., _June 25, 1861_. - -Here we are at last, in Washington, safe and sound, but stewed with the -heat. We left Portsmouth on schedule time, Thursday morning. At Boston, -we met with a grand reception. The boys will never forget the superb -collation that was served us there—not merely the toothsome meats and -substantials, but all the little niceties, such as strawberries and -cream, &c. From Boston we went to Fall River, where we took the steamer -“Bay State” for New York. I roosted on the hurricane deck and never -had a better night’s sleep in my life. At New York the Sons of New -Hampshire gave us a flag and a feast, after which we were ferried to -Amboy, 16 miles, and took cars for Baltimore. I got in a good night’s -sleep between Harrisburg and Baltimore, and Sunday noon we arrived in -Washington. - -Our camp reminds me of the old-fashioned tin oven my grandmother -used to set before the fireplace to bake biscuits in. On the sunny -slope of a ridge, with not a tree for shade and shelter. Hot! And -the flies! I know now how to pity those poor old Egyptians. We have -plenty of unusual happenings now. I am not sure but that some of the -boys are seeing spooks. Sunday night several of the sentinels reported -exchanging shots with prowlers about the camp. I was on guard that -night, where there were plenty of bushes, but the best I could do -I couldn’t find anything to get excited over. Dan Mix, one of the -teamsters, says he was fired at four times while coming into camp with -his team last night. And it is currently reported that the Zouaves, -camped next to us, captured a spy a day or two ago, and he will be -hanged today or tomorrow. I can understand how some secessionists -around here might be tempted to take a pot shot at a Yankee sentinel -out of pure cussedness; but I haven’t got it through my head yet what -a spy could find to spy out that isn’t perfectly open to anybody who -cares to look about in broad daylight, unmolested. - -Just before I left Portsmouth I had a letter from my mother that -touched a sensitive nerve. My dear old Grandmother Knowlton came down -from New London to see me, but I had just gone back to Portsmouth. As -the first and favorite grandchild I always filled a big space in her -little world. She mourned over her disappointment, and grieved that she -should never see me again. My mother could not even conceal her own -blue streak. She and father were in Boston when we went through, and I -had a chance just to shake hands and say good bye to them. - -I have seen Dave Perkins here two or three times. [David L., of -Manchester, then connected with one of the Departments.] He asked me if -I wanted to send any word to that little girl away up in New Hampshire, -for he was going back in a few weeks. I gave him lots of messages, and -have no doubt he will forget every one of them before he sees you. - -Our grub, since we got here, has not been quite up to the Astor House -standard, but the army stores will be here today, which will improve -the bill of fare. So far it has consisted of hard bread bearing the -stamp “1810”—whatever that may signify—ham or salt pork and coffee. - - ——————— - - _XIII_ - - CAMP SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1861_. - -Saturday was quite an eventful day with me. I went over to the city on -a sight-seeing trip with Hen. Morse, one of my tentmates [killed, three -weeks later, at Bull Run.] Went first to the Capitol, and viewed the -paintings and statuary. Thence to the Smithsonian Institute and spent -several hours in its wonderful museum, where I could have interested -myself for days. From there to the Washington monument. Among the stone -blocks there, contributed from various sources and to be built into the -walls, was one inscribed: “_From the Home of Stark. From the Ladies of -Manchester, N. H._” We wound up our sight-seeing in the parks around -the President’s house; and when we got back to camp I was tired enough -to pile onto my blankets and go to sleep. - -Not much sleep, though. I had hardly lost myself when somebody shook -me and said the Captain wanted me up at his tent. I went up, in no -very amiable mood. Found Commissary Goodrich there, who said he wanted -me to be his clerk. I chewed the matter over and decided I’d take -the assignment. It relieves me from guard duty and drill, and gives -me very nice quarters with the Commissary. I jumped into my work the -next day—Sunday. Issued three days’ rations to the regiment, and had a -pretty busy time keeping track of the provisions. Monday and Tuesday I -had my hands full straightening up accounts and opening a set of books; -and not until today have I had any chance to write letters and attend -to private affairs. - -Last night we had a rain—and _such_ a rain! The board floor in my tent -kept me high and dry above the flood, but the fellows down in camp came -pretty near being carried out to sea. - -I am not starving now. I don’t think anybody does in the commissary -department. Yesterday I had all the cherries I could eat, and some day, -when I have a little leisure, I think I’ll go blackberrying. - - ——————— - - _XIV_ - - CAMP SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON, _July 7, 1861_. - -Yesterday I received orders to deliver four days’ rations of beef, -bread and coffee, and the cooks were ordered to cook the meat, ready -for a march. We are now expecting marching orders at any moment. I have -an idea that they will come about night, so as to avoid marching in the -heat of the day. I am going, you bet. Captain Goodrich told me this -camp is not to be broken up at present. The commissary stores are to be -left here, the tents to remain standing, with the surplus baggage, all -under guard of the cripples and invalids. When it came to details, I -found the plan was for the Captain to go with the expedition, while I -remained behind to look after things in camp. That didn’t suit me; so -I asked him to hunt up another clerk, and notified the Captain that I -wanted my gun again and to go with the company. - -Where we are going we do not know, but inasmuch as twelve regiments are -going with us, and we are to take no knapsacks, but four days’ rations -and a large supply of ammunition, it is fair to presume we will be -looking for trouble. I hope we are going down to Manassas to drive the -secessionists out of that stronghold. Very likely some of the boys have -not many days to live, but they are jolly eager to be off, and will -give a good account of themselves. - -I went to a ride into the country yesterday to find a boarding place -for Captain Goodrich’s wife. - - ——————— - - _XV_ - - CAMP SULLIVAN, - WASHINGTON, D. C., _Sunday, July 14, 1861_. - -We are still here in Camp Sullivan, our marching orders having been -countermanded at the last moment; but are sure to be off before many -days. We have been expecting to march today, but probably will not. - -A day or two ago there was a dreadful accident in our brigade. The -Rhode Island battery were drilling upon the parade ground in front -of our camp, when the ammunition in one of the limbers exploded and -the three men seated on the box were hurled high in the air, two -being killed instantly—literally blown all to pieces. I was on the -spot almost instantly, and with the single exception of the Pemberton -Mills horror, which I viewed as a newspaper reporter, it was the most -sickening sight I ever saw. - -We certainly do have gay times here in camp. The days are frightfully -hot, but the evenings are cool and nice, and somehow or other the camp -scenes then remind me—and I can’t tell just how—of an old-fashioned -country fair. I suppose it’s the canvas, the lighted tents like open -booths, the men swarming hither and thither, the bustle and frolic and -singing—and we have some very fine singers in our company. - -_P. S._—_Monday Morning._—We have received orders to march tomorrow at -two o’clock, with three days’ rations and without camp equipage. The -orders are imperative and we are sure of going. We shall probably see -some of the business we came for before long. I will write at the first -opportunity and let you know what happens. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: THE OLD ROPE WALK BARRACKS, CAMP CONSTITUTION, - PORTSMOUTH] - - - ——————— - - _XVI_ - - WASHINGTON, D. C., _July 24, 1861_. - -I intended to write to you yesterday, but after what I have been -through in the past week I simply couldn’t get up steam. Last Tuesday—a -week ago yesterday—this regiment crossed the Potomac at Long Bridge, -with the other regiments and batteries of Burnsides’ brigade, and -advanced into Virginia. Saturday night we were encamped about a mile -from Centreville. At two o’clock Sunday morning we were up and on -the march, and at ten o’clock we came upon the secessionists at Bull -Run and engaged them. The battle lasted several hours, when we were -obliged to withdraw. It was a very disorderly retreat. We expected to -be followed sharply, of course, and there was no halt worth talking -about until we straggled into Washington, every man for himself. -Coming and going we got in about sixty miles of travel, to say nothing -of several hours on the battlefield. I was about all in when, midday -Monday, I reached the Virginia end of Long Bridge. We were then inside -the fortifications, and there were kettles of hot coffee and boxes of -hard bread set out for everybody to help themselves. It did seem as if -I never could drag myself over to our camp. But I finally negotiated -with a huckster who was over there with his team, and having purchased -his remaining stock of pies and distributed them among the crowd of -refugees, he gave me a ride across the bridge and up into the city well -toward Camp Sullivan. - -The battle was the hardest fought so far, and the losses on both -sides were heavy. At the roll call this morning 175 were missing from -the Second Regiment, but this number will doubtless be cut down as -stragglers come in. Of my eight tentmates, six went. Two [Harvey Holt -and Henry Morse] were killed outright, and one [George F. Lawrence] -was severely wounded in the head. I got my little upset at the very -tail-end of the fight. The regiment had crossed over to the opposite -hill, and about a hundred of us had taken cover in a cut in the road. -We had a house on our front, some secessionist cannon up near it, and -enough of the enemy to give us a real lively time. There was a rail -fence along the edge of the cut, and I rested my musket on one of the -rails, and carefully sighted on a fellow who seemed to be showing off. -Then something happened. A cannon ball struck the rail, one of the -fragments hit me in the head and neck, and I rolled down the bank. I -heard one of the boys cry out “Mart is killed!” and for about half a -minute I didn’t know but what I was. But when we had to break for the -rear, a few minutes later, I had no trouble in keeping up with the -procession. - -In all my life I never suffered from thirst as I did that day. On the -advance, our regiment was right at the ford of Bull Run creek when -the head of the column sighted the enemy. A staff officer rode back -with the announcement and called to the men to fill their canteens. I -waded up a few feet and filled my canteen with good clear river water. -A little while after, I took a drink, spat out the tepid mouthful in -disgust, and emptied the canteen. I learned my lesson and will never -do that again. Before that day was over I would have given dollars for -one square drink of that same water. On the retreat I one time scooped -up a few sips from a mud puddle through which men and horses and wheels -were ploughing their way. Before reaching Centreville I filled up clear -to the ears from a little trickling rivulet, and filled my canteen as -well. Laid down in the old bivouac, and went to sleep. After two or -three hours was waked up and told to keep agoing. The old thirst was on -me, but when I lifted my canteen it was empty—drained to the last drop. -If I could have got hold of that sneak thief the casualty list would -have been one bigger, I think. - -You will be pleased to know that “Heenan” behaved finely. His tin -dipper, hanging by his side, was desperately wounded—otherwise all -right. Frank Wasley had one or more fingers hurt by a bullet. Col. -Marston was not more than twenty or thirty feet from me when he was -shot in the shoulder. It was rather a wild scene just then—a dead man -stretched out here and there; a stream of wounded men staggering or -being helped to the rear; the Rhode Island battery, shrouded in smoke -and with several horses down, soaking it to the batteries across the -valley, on the other hill. A little later we were farther down the -slope, lined up in a cornfield, helping drive the enemy out of woods -and bushes where they were strongly posted. While here we saw the Black -Horse, a famous secessionist cavalry corps, charge the Fire Zouaves, -and then go back with lots of empty saddles. - -I find I must hurry to get this into the mail, but will write again in -a day or two. - - ——————— - - _XVII_ - - CAMP SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON, D. C., _July 30, 1861_. - -Just to let you know that I was alive and kicking, I wrote a week -ago, but did not write half I wanted to. I got a letter from Roger -[Woodbury] a few days ago. He has an idea of enlisting in the Third -Regiment. I advised him, as he is situated, not to do it. It may seem -inconsistent in me to advise him against doing what I myself have done; -but he has others dependent on him, while I have not. - -Things are getting straightened out so we can now tell about how many -men we lost in the unfortunate battle of Bull Run. Our total loss in -killed, wounded and missing is only about eighty or ninety. I lost some -of my best friends. Mose Eastman was wounded in the leg. I saw him -carried to the rear. If still living he is probably a prisoner. Frank -Wasley has had a finger cut off. I had a letter from mother today. She -says they do not know yet, in Manchester, who is missing, and there is -the deepest anxiety there. - -By the way, I may as well remind you that this is my birthday, and I -am nineteen years old. If some one with the gift of prophecy had told -me, a year ago, that at my next birthday I would be in the army and -a participant in the greatest battle ever fought on this continent, -wouldn’t it have seemed a wild piece of fortune telling? - - ——————— - - _XVIII_ - - CAMP SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON, D. C., _August 5, 1861_. - -The heat today is something awful. We are all just about dead from -it—lying about camp and sweltering. I received your letter of the 30th -and will answer your questions in turn. - -Charlie Farnam is in our regiment as a drummer. - -All the boys you specially inquired after are well. Hen. Pillsbury -inquires often where “the woman” is and how she is getting along. - -As to the talk that we are going to be beaten in this war, that is the -veriest _bosh_. The next time we march towards Richmond we will have -force enough to crush our way. We were not beaten this time in the -fighting, but by an unfortunate combination of adverse circumstances. -Had Johnston’s division been held back by Patterson, as it was expected -it would be, we should have beaten them anyway. And even with that -reinforcement I am not sure we would not have whipped them in the end, -but for that unaccountable panic communicated to two or three broken -regiments by teamsters who had driven their teams into places where -they were not wanted, and who took the order to change positions as -a signal for retreat. Then everything went to pieces before anybody -really knew what had happened. - -My tentmates Holt and Morse were both awfully nice boys. Holt was the -first man killed in the regiment. He was not with the company, but with -the corps of pioneers, a detachment of axe-men, made up of details from -the various companies. He was killed very early in the action, while -crouching in a ditch, by a piece of shell which struck him in the -shoulders. Morse was killed late in the day. The regiment was crossing -from the slope where it had been fighting over to the opposite hill. -It was halted in the valley, while Gen. Burnside rode up the hill a -little piece and took an observation. We were under very sharp fire -from a battery further up. I heard a shot from it come roaring down the -slope, ending in a “thud” which told it had got a victim down the line. -Looking back, I saw a prostrate form sprawled in the dust of the road, -with Johnny Ogden bending over it. “Who is it, Johnny?” I called back. -“Hen. Morse,” he answered me. - -We expect to change our position before long—are hoping to spend a -few of these hot weeks at Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, or at Fortress -Monroe. I don’t know where the idea started from, but it would be fine. - -I hear from Manchester often. Roger Woodbury, George Dakin, Ruthven -Houghton and Frank Morrill have enlisted into the Third Regiment. How I -wish that crowd was in this company! - -Some of our officers are now in New Hampshire after recruits to fill -the gaps in the Second Regiment. - - ——————— - - _XIX_ - - BLADENSBURG, MD., _August 12, 1861_. - -Didn’t wake up very early this morning; but when I did I got up, -quick—rolled out of a puddle of water I had been sleeping in. We moved -over to this camp last Friday morning, and are in a most delightful -location. It is about five miles from Washington, on the field where -the battle of Bladensburg was fought in 1814. There is a little -village, a little river, little hills, &c., and plenty of the very -best of water close at hand. The place has quite a reputation for its -mineral springs. There is one right in the village, and the water is -_so_ clear, _so_ cool, _so_ refreshing—only the merest suggestion of a -mineral flavor. - -It is surprising how many of my old friends I manage to run across. -Gust. Hutchinson, who used to work with me in the old _American_ -office, is in the Massachusetts Eleventh, which is camped here. Almost -every day I run across somebody I have known before. - -_August 15._—I have been about used up for the past two days, but now I -_must_ finish my letter. You can assure your rebel-sympathizing friends -that the rebels cannot take the capital, and I do not believe they will -attempt it. I hope they will try. - -I have just received a paper with a list of the second company of -Abbott Guards. I note that Roger Woodbury, Frank Johnson, Johnny Stokes -and others of my old friends are in it. My uncle John has gone home. -The climate did not agree with him as well as it does with me. - - ——————— - - _XX_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _August 25, 1861_. - -President Lincoln, accompanied by Secretaries Seward and Welles, -reviewed the brigade this forenoon. Friday afternoon we were reviewed -by Gen. McClellan, who is next in command to Gen. Scott. We expect -to stay here several weeks—perhaps till the first of October. We are -so very pleasantly situated that we would not object to lying around -here for a few weeks. If the rebels should be bold enough to attack -Washington there will be lots of music. The city is being fortified -against any such emergency. Our brigade is working on a fort near -here that would prove a hard nut to crack. Three of our regiments -were at Bull Run. The First Massachusetts was in the Thursday fight -at Blackburn’s Ford, and the Eleventh Massachusetts was in the Sunday -fight. - -There was a most laughable scene here today. Colonel Fiske’s horse ran -away with him and bolted smack into [Lieut.] Joe Hubbard’s tent. Down -went tent, horse and rider all in one grand mix-up. And while they -were trying to save something from the wreck out of the ruins crawled -the worst-scared man ever seen in these parts since Bull Run. He was -reading a newspaper, all unsuspecting, when the heavens fell. - -A day or two ago I read a letter from a daughter of old John Brown. -It was written to a brother-in-law of hers in my company—Willard P. -Thompson—whose brother, her husband, was one of John Brown’s men killed -at Harper’s Ferry two or three years ago. It was a gem of patriotic -sentiment, and with a fine womanly instinct she expressed her sorrow -that Avis, who was her father’s jailer, was killed at Bull Run—he was -so very kind to the old prisoner. - - ——————— - - _XXI_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Sept. 4, 1861_. - -Orders came tonight to pack and be ready to march at a minute’s notice -with two days’ cooked rations. I learn from headquarters that we are -going over into Virginia again. We want a chance to try the Southern -Chivalry on again, and I guess we will have it before long. We hear -there was a scrimmage over there today, and our troops took possession -of Munson’s Hill, which the rebels had fortified. It is after ten -o’clock at night. “Taps” beat an hour ago, and I must close. Perhaps -in my next letter I will tell of a battle, and if I do, it will be a -battle won. - - ——————— - - _XXII_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Sunday, Sept. 15, 1861_. - -I am somewhat surprised to hear that M—— has, as you write me, given -her secession-sympathizing lover the mitten. I can not work up any more -sympathy for a rebel in New Hampshire than for one in Virginia, and a -Manchester man who would jubilate over our defeat at Bull Run ought to -be taken out into a back pasture and shot. As for my never getting home -again, I’m not worrying about that. I went through Bull Run safe and -sound, and I don’t believe we will ever see a harder fight than that, -and there is no reason why I should not come out of the rest of the -battles equally well. - -There has been some sort of a shake up in the commissary department. -Capt. Goodrich has had three clerks since I got out, all of whom threw -up the position. He and the Brigadier General [Hooker] didn’t hitch up -together very well, and now, I understand, he has quit the service. - -Am I homesick? you ask. Not a bit. And that does not mean that I -would not like to see you and the “old folks at home.” We are very -comfortably situated just now. No signs of immediate starvation. -Government rations are excellent, and we can piece out with any luxury -we are willing to pay for. And drill and camp duties are so arranged -that we have much time for pleasure. - -I got a letter from Roger Woodbury Wednesday. He is camped on Long -Island and is enjoying camp life immensely. The Division he is in will -consist of ten New England regiments, and is probably designed to -operate somewhere along the coast when the time comes for the grand -move. - -We are building a line of forts to encircle Washington on the north. -Details from this brigade have worked upon two near our camp. One of -these now has twenty guns mounted, commanding the country for miles -around. How soon we will move, we cannot tell—perhaps in a day, perhaps -not for a month. We have two days’ rations constantly in readiness. The -Massachusetts First has gone over into the country somewhere for a few -days. - -I ran into a little bunch of excitement this noon. Had gone over to a -huckster’s on the road running between the camps of the Pennsylvania -Twenty-sixth and Massachusetts Eleventh, to buy a pie for dinner. Saw a -commotion over in the Eleventh camp which seemed worth looking into, so -I went over. Had just passed the camp guard when I saw one of the boys -rushing a negro out of the crush and over to the Pennsylvania camp. The -negro was almost paralyzed with fright. He was a runaway, and had been -with the Massachusetts boys quite a little time. His master got track -of him and sent two slave catchers to get him. But when they tried to -execute their mission, some of the boys promptly knocked them down and -got the negro out of the way. - - ——————— - - _XXIII_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Sept. 22, 1861_. - -Last Wednesday I went down to the Third Regiment and saw lots and -lots of the old crowd. Roger Woodbury had not come on yet from Long -Island. I met Frank Morrill, Jack Holmes, Ruthven Houghton, and many -others. Frank and I had such a good long talk over the happy old times. -The regiment is camped about three miles from here, and the men are -worrying for fear they may be ordered back to Long Island. - -So you think, do you, it would be a good plan to go down to the city -once in a while for something good to eat. Why, bless you, we don’t -have to do that now. We have sutlers here, and hucksters out from the -city, and farmers with their truck, and can buy most anything we want -to piece out the army rations, from sweet potatoes to pound cake. - - ——————— - - _XXIV_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Sept. 29, 1861_. - -Company I goes on guard today, and I can manage to pick out a little -time for writing letters. I wish you could be in camp here Sundays and -see the colored people come in. Sunday is the negro’s holiday, and -they swarm into camp with their apples, peaches, chickens, or whatever -they happen to have that can be turned into money or old clothes. Each -one has a basket, with a crooked stick on which to swing it over the -shoulder. These plantation negroes—mostly slaves—are a quaint lot, not -a bit like the bright colored people you see north. We used to think -the stage negro at the minstrel show was a burlesque. He wasn’t. - -Fast Day some four hundred of the regiment marched down to the camp of -the Third and had a jolly time. Roger had got along, but I saw him for -only a moment. Frank Morrill and I took a most cheerful stroll down to -that most cheerful public institution, the Congressional Cemetery, and -saw the tombs of Gen. Macomb, Gov. Clinton, and no end of generals, -commodores and other big men. - -The Fourth N. H. Regiment passed here today. I do not know where they -will camp. I have many acquaintances in its ranks. - -Have you read about the taking of Munson’s Hill? Wasn’t that a pretty -neat trick the rebels turned on us—mounting stovepipes and wooden -cannons on the forts? The boys are borrowing trouble now through fears -that McClellan will not take us with him when he advances over into -Virginia. It would be decidedly ungrateful not to give us a chance to -square accounts for Bull Run and the run we made after it. I shall -never forgive the rebels for that affair until we have paid them in -their own coin. - -The First Michigan Regiment came in today and camped right beside us. -They were at Bull Run as a three months’ regiment, and enlisted again, -for three years, when their time was up. - -The fort we have been working on is about ready for business. It -mounts thirteen 32-pounder guns, and would be a lovely thing for a few -thousand men to butt their heads against. - -The days are very hot and the nights terribly cold. I put my overcoat -on and wrap my blanket about my legs and feet when I bunk down nights, -and then I am almost frozen. This is a good time to catch the fever and -ague, and I may be in for it. - - ——————— - - _XXV_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Sunday, Oct. 6, 1861_. - -The Fourth Regiment are encamped about two miles below here. I went -down to see them one day last week and had a good time. Saw Kin. Foss, -Sam. Porter, “Tulip” Bunten and many others. As I went strolling -through the camp, I noted one street down ahead where there appeared to -be half a dozens fights going on, in various stages of development. I -said to myself, I’ll bet a dollar that’s Charlie Hurd’s company. I won -the bet. - -The Third Regiment has gone to Annapolis. This afternoon we are to be -reviewed by Gen. McClellan. He has reviewed us once before, and it may -be that he intends putting us ahead somewhere, and that we shall leave -Bladensburg before long. - -So you want me to learn a lot of songs, do you? Well, I have -anticipated your wishes and already commenced. There is one pathetic -local ballad that I have been practicing on and can do pretty well for -a green hand. Here is the first verse, which will give you some idea of -its high artistic merits: - - “_A grasshopper sat on a sweet pertater vine, - On a sweet pertater vine, on a sweet pertater vine, - When a turkey gob-u-ler acoming up behind - Just yanked him off of that sweet pertater vine._” - -Then there is another that is very popular with the boys. It is easy to -learn, notwithstanding there are 147 verses to it. I will give you the -first verse, and when you’ve got that you’ve got the whole thing, for -they’re all alike. One, two, sing: - - “_John Brown he knew that his father was well, - And his father he knew that John Brown he was well, - For when John Brown knew that his father was well, - His father he knew that John Brown he was well._” - -Our entire company was out yesterday cutting down woods that interfered -with the range of the guns on the forts we have been building. My -mother, having in recollection her experiences with the family wood -box when I was a boy, would probably have advised against taking me -out. But I am inclined to think that, as a wood chopper I achieved some -reputation this time, as after I had gnawed down a tree of considerable -size some of the boys called the others to come and admire “Mart’s -stump.” - -Well, I have strung out a long letter, and some of it you can credit to -the delightful surroundings and conditions under which I am working. -Here is the picture: A big tent—the Quartermaster’s—overlooking from -its back a railroad cut twenty-five or thirty feet deep; an enormous -oak tree deeply shading a large space, with a delicious breeze -rustling its branches; several of the boys sitting around reading -the newspapers, chatting, and looking down upon the numerous trains -that pass below; and your own correspondent, with a big pile of army -overcoats for a backrest. - - ——————— - - _XXVI_ - - CAMP UNION, - BLADENSBURG, MD., _Oct. 21, 1861_. - -We are having some of the worst weather the almanac can dish out to -us, and the hospital is full of sick men, some seriously ill. I have, -myself, been off duty for several days, but am now on deck again all -right. It is surprisingly cold, and tents are not the warmest sleeping -apartments in the world. I hope they will take us off down south before -long or give us good barracks. - -I had a letter from my uncle Nathaniel the other day. [Nathaniel -Columbus Knowlton of New London.] He wrote that after he went back -from Boston, where he went to see me off, a girl came to my father’s -house, whom they introduced as Miss Lane, and who seemed to be very -well acquainted. About a month after, Addie told him who you was. He -approves. - -The two aunts you met at my house are all right. Aunt Polly is the -wife of my father’s eldest brother, Joshua. Aunt Olivia was reared -down south, in a Catholic seminary at Charleston, South Carolina. Her -father, Captain Bailey, was an old time sea captain. Until recently she -has been very decided in her southern predilections. But a summer spent -in Charleston two years ago changed her sentiment very radically. Her -husband—my uncle William—is in the Massachusetts Eighteenth, which is -now at Baltimore. - -There is quite a little force of cavalry here with us now. They make a -brave show in their drilling. Gen. Hooker, who commanded this brigade, -now has a division, and Col. Cowdin, of the First Massachusetts, -commands the brigade. I believe we shall move from here before long. -The boys are getting impatient, and will be very discontented if they -hold us here much longer. - -You write me of your fingers being cold. If you could only know -how cold I am this very minute, you would realize the pleasures of -letter-writing in camp. It is a cold day, and I am writing in a wide -open tent, which is just the same as out of doors. But we have lots -of good times, notwithstanding the cold; and when we get around the -campfires at night, we talk of home and the jolly times we will have -when we get back to Manchester. - - ——————— - - _XXVII_ - - HILL TOP, ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MD., - _October 28, 1861_. - -You will take note that we have changed our location at last. We are -now forty or fifty miles below Washington, on the Potomac river, below -Budd’s Point. The other side of the river is lined with rebel batteries -for a distance of ten miles, up and down, and we are here with ten or -twelve thousand men to watch them. We have cavalry and artillery with -us. With our regiment is Doubleday’s battery of 12- and 32-pounders. -Most of the Fort Sumter men are in this battery. We left Bladensburg -Thursday and got here last night—a march of four days. As we were in -heavy marching order, all our earthly possessions strapped or hung to -us in some way, you can be sure it was a pretty tired crowd that landed -in here. - -_Tuesday Morning._—I tried to write last night, but it was so cold I -had to give up. We are camped down in a deep hollow, where the sun -doesn’t get in till pretty late. Every morning the ground is white with -frost. It takes all our dry goods to keep us anywhere near comfortable, -day or night. Our grub is neither rich nor varied, but it appears to -agree with me—with what I have been able to pick up on the side. A man -who is enterprising can occasionally get hold of a piece of fresh meat. -Until last night, since leaving Bladensburg, every man has been his own -cook. Our tin plates served very well as stew- or fry-pans, and coffee -drank out of the tin dipper in which it was boiled on the coals of the -campfire, has a flavor all its own. But last night the company cooks -got into action again and served out boiled corned beef, hardbread, and -coffee. As it never rains but it pours, our sutler also got along and -opened up shop. - -Guard duty in this place is not what it was at Bladensburg. Our company -goes on picket today down by the mouth of the creek we are camped on -[Nanjamoy,] to watch the rebels over across the river. Mail will leave -here three times a week. - -Yesterday the rebel batteries were busy throwing shells over to this -side of the river, but our regiment was far out of range of fire. -Before we came down here the rebels used to come over and visit and -forage and gather recruits and scout around with impunity. - -The infantry of this division consists of our own brigade—the First and -Eleventh Massachusetts, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania, and the Second—and -General Sickles’ “Excelsior Brigade” of five New York regiments. The -regiments are strung along for a distance of probably seven or eight -miles, we being the farthest south. - - ——————— - - _XXVIII_ - - CAMP SECOND N. H. REGIMENT, - NEAR BUDD’S FERRY, MD., _Nov. 10, 1861_. - -When I wrote you last we were camped in a hollow by Nanjamoy Creek. -Well, we got driven out. It was so infernally uncomfortable that Col. -Marston moved the camp up onto the hill. It is not probable that we -shall stay in this camp a very great while, but when or where we will -move is a riddle. For all that, we are doing a good deal of fixing up -that belongs to a permanent camp. Have built log huts for the company -cooks, which will probably be labor thrown away. But we are having a -good time. The woods are full of small game, although we do practically -no hunting. But the darkies bring in coons, possums, gray squirrels, -rabbits and chickens, all cooked, and well cooked. We have not seen -any soft bread since we left Washington. Our _hard_ bread certainly -does not belie its name. But given a good soaking in coffee, and well -lubricated with butter, I manage to dispose of my share. - -Our mail is regular in nothing but its irregularity. A three days’ -mail for this regiment got as far as the Massachusetts First, and -then, in some fool freak, was shipped back to Washington. Everybody is -swearing—except, possibly, the chaplain. - - ——————— - - _XXIX_ - - CAMP BAKER, - NEAR BUDD’S FERRY, MD., _Nov. 16, 1861_. - -Since my last letter we have moved up several miles and are now -encamped with the rest of our brigade, near General Hooker’s -headquarters. Our location here is a most attractive one, the camp -being in the edge of woods thick enough to afford a perfect wind-break. -This insures us against such a calamity as we were up against at -wind-swept Hill Top, when several tents were overturned. - -Yesterday I had a reserved seat at a first-class show. I heard the -rebel batteries on the other side of the Potomac banging away at -something, so I went down to the river—not a very great distance—to -find out what the trouble was. It was a saucy little schooner skimming -down the river, and the rebels trying to hit her. They fired about -sixty shots and never made a score. But it was an inspiring sight all -the same, the big guns flashing from battery after battery as the -vessel came in range, and puffs of smoke in the air or a big splash on -the water marking the grand finish. - -It looks very much as though we were going into winter quarters here. -Logs of suitable size and length are being hauled in, to be used as -an underpinning for our canvas houses, and the boys, in squads of five -or six, are already at work on their quarters. My crew is already made -up, a picked squad of congenial souls, and we will get at our building -operations next week. - -We had a thunder shower night before last, and it has cleared off very -cold. But there is an abundance of fuel, and half a dozen campfires -agoing in each company street. - - ——————— - - _XXX_ - - CAMP SECOND N. H. REGIMENT, - CHICKAMOXEN, MD., _Nov. 27, 1861_. - -For amateurs, the association of house builders I joined has done a -good job. It is on the same general plan as most of the others. First, -you start in to build a log cabin. When the walls are four or five -feet high, you stop, fasten your tent on top—and there you are. It is -astonishing, the room you gain over a plain tent. On the right-hand -corner fronting the street is a fireplace—a big one—built, with its -chimney, of small logs laid cob-house fashion and thickly plastered -with Maryland mud. The bottom is sunk a foot or more, and around the -front is a one-log pen or barrier, which serves a double purpose. It is -just right for a seat before the fire, and it keeps our thick carpet of -straw out of mischief. When we are all fixed up we’ll have bunks and a -table and shelves and pegs and a gun rack and everything required in a -well-regulated family. I am writing by the light of a candle. Roberts -[Orsino,] one of the tent’s crew, is warming himself at the fire and -going over all the songs he has in stock, and the rest of the gang seem -to have no higher ambition, just at present, than to “break up” both me -and him. - -Sunday our company went up to “the landing” to help unload two or -three small steamers that bring our supplies down from Washington. The -landing is at Rum Point, over three miles from here, but as near as -boats can get to us, on account of the rebel batteries. As we did not -start to return until after dark, we had a sweet time of it. The roads -here are now nothing but a ditch through woods and fields, filled with -mud of terrible adhesive qualities and of fabulous depth. I thought, -for the life of me, I should never get home. If I tried to follow the -road, I wallowed up to my knees in mud. If I switched off to one side -or the other, I had, in addition to the mud, a butting match with every -tree in the county. It was pitch dark when I landed in camp just ahead -of a smart shower. - -Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in New Hampshire, and we New Hampshire -boys out here on the Potomac will observe it in a befitting manner. In -our tent we have a big fat goose up on the shelf, with a rabbit- or -chicken-pie or two and a few other fixings. Beat that if you can. - - ——————— - - _XXXI_ - - CAMP BAKER, - CHICKAMOXEN, MD., _Dec. 1, 1861_. - -I am just in from our standard show—a little schooner running up the -river and thumbing her nose at the rebel batteries. In all, they fired -seventy shots at her, with the usual result—no damage done. There was -much noise and smoke, a great splashing of the water, and lots of fun -for the boys in the gallery. As every shot they fire costs them from -ten to fifteen dollars, each schooner trip up or down the river must -be an expensive job for them. They must burn up about a thousand good -dollars every time, mainly to amuse a lot of Yankee soldiers over on -the Maryland shore. - -Next Tuesday there is to be a grand review of this division, together -with an inspection. These functions are doubtless a military necessity, -but not very popular with the men—especially the inspections. You are -toled out with your entire outfit, and everything is hauled over, -peeked into and examined. They say Gen. McDowell, the old fellow who -led us to Bull Run (and back,) is down at headquarters. The last time I -saw him he was riding down the front of Burnsides’ brigade, in the corn -field at Bull Run, and telling us we had won a victory. - -There are a thousand-and-one rumors afloat as to our leaving here, but -I am not expecting to move in any other direction than straight across -the river. Any man with a vivid imagination can make a guess, whisper -it to one or two, and before night it is all over camp as an authentic -tip from headquarters, Gen. Heintzelman’s division is advanced on the -other side almost down to the rebel position, and my guess is that -he will come down on them before long, while we will cross here and -give them Jessie, with the aid of the gunboats. They are getting ready -for us. We can see them digging and throwing up intrenchments on the -opposite hills. - - ——————— - - _XXXII_ - - CAMP BAKER, - CHICKAMOXEN, MD., _Dec. 8, 1861_. - -Tomorrow rounds out just seven months of my three years’ term. The -other night, at the meeting of a literary society some of the First -Massachusetts boys have started, the Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment -said he thought the regiment would be home by March. There’s the -cheerful optimist for you! Our regiment has been in the service just -about the same length of time as the First, and the two will probably -be sent home about the same time. Presumably the regiments first in the -field will go out first, and so we may get home many months before the -later regiments from New Hampshire. They will have to keep them as a -sort of police for a while after the war is really over. - -For a day or two we have been having splendid weather. But under foot -it is simply awful. The “Maryland salve” is everywhere. The roads -are a terror now, and in a short time will be absolutely impassible -except where corduroyed with logs laid crossways to make some sort of a -platform for teams. - -We were reinforced last week by a brigade of New Jersey troops. Just -below the blockade is a large fleet of gunboats, ready to co-operate in -any move we may make. Last night a big steamer ran the blockade in the -darkness and there was a terrific hullaballoo. - -Joe Hubbard has got back from New Hampshire, but the boxes confided to -him have not yet arrived. He says there is one for me, and I am, of -course, very anxious to get it. - - ——————— - - _XXXIII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - NEAR BUDD’S FERRY, MD., _Dec. 15, 1861_. - -I wish you could take a peek-in on my luxurious surroundings. I have -a barber’s chair to sit in. It has a canvas back and seat, and was -built by Damon [George B.,] the Jack-at-all-trades of my tent’s party. -There is a good fire, plenty of apples at my elbow, and, all in all, -I am a pampered child of luxury. There are only two besides myself -occupying the castle just at present—George Slade and George Damon—very -companionable fellows, and who have seen a great deal of the world. -Two—George Cilley and Bill Wilber—are in the hospital, and E. Norman -Gunnison (a fellow with a decided talent for writing poetry) is in -the guard house for some infraction of camp discipline. So we three -that are left have plenty of room and get along mighty comfortably. -Slade and Damon are good cooks. We buy flour, butter, sugar, &c., and -cook a big slack of fritters whenever the spirit moves us. And we have -rabbits, chickens, wheat biscuits, and various other camp luxuries. And -occasionally we make molasses candy of an evening. All this, you will -understand, is outside of and in addition to our regular army rations. - -Here is our schedule of duty: Reveille beats at sunrise, when we turn -out and answer to roll call. Then comes the breakfast call. At 9 -o’clock is guard mount—that is, the company which has been on guard -duty is relieved by another. The remaining companies drill from 9 to -11 and 3 to 5—but now only occasionally, owing to weather conditions. -Dinner call at 12. Dress parade at sunset. Tattoo is beat at 8, when -the roll is called and the men can go to bed. The Colonel says we will -not have much drilling for the rest of the winter. - -The boys find plenty to amuse themselves with, and things are by no -means dull here in camp. Quite a number of musical instruments have -found their way in, and there are men here who know how to play them -too—fiddles and banjos and such. - -We had a large party of New Hampshire people in camp today—E. H. -Rollins, John P. Hale, Daniel Clark, Waterman Smith, E. A. Straw and -others. There were also four good-looking New Hampshire women, and they -got three rousing cheers at dress parade. - -The old rumor factory now has it that the Second is going to Washington -within a few days, to act as provost guard. Joe Hubbard’s boxes have -not yet arrived, and may not for some time yet. The railroads leading -into Washington are buried in freight and express matter, but I suppose -our stuff will get through in due time. - -You inquire what sort of a place this is. Well, it comes about as near -to being no place at all as it could and still be on the map. There -are but few houses hereabouts, and a good part of these are just negro -cabins. There is a store a little ways from here, but I have yet to -discover where enough local trade can come from to keep it going. The -Potomac is only about an eighth of a mile from our camp. From the -western edge of the strip of woods in which we are camped one can -see the river for a long distance, with the rebel batteries, and the -upper works of their gunboat “George Paige,” which sticks close up in -Quantico Creek, out of reach of our gunboats. The river here is less -than two miles wide and the deep-water channel runs very near the other -side, so a large vessel has to run close in to the rebel batteries to -get through at all. - -We witnessed a lively little brush the other day. The rebels started -to throw up some works on Shipping Point, and the “Harriet Lane” and -five other gunboats dropped down and told them to stop it. The way they -pitched shells onto that point was a caution. And a few nights ago—just -for fun, as near as I could figure it out—one of our gunboats dropped -down to the upper battery and had some sport for a while. I always did -like fireworks, so I got the countersign and went out to take in the -display. It was worth the money. - -You have thought to inquire for “Heenan.” Alas! Poor Heenan! It grieves -me to inform you that the other night he got into an argument with a -Company D boy. Just what condition the other fellow was left in—if -still alive—I don’t know. But when Heenan returned to the bosom of -his family he was a sight. His face was badly bruised, both eyes in -mourning, and one thumb chewed to a jelly. He says he wanted his thumbs -to be mates, and the other was crushed out of shape before he left -Portsmouth. - - ——————— - - _XXXIV_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, _Dec. 22, 1861_. - -Our friends over the river have got another battery in good working -order. It mounts a 64-pounder rifled gun, and the other night they -dropped two shells within the camp limits of the New Jersey brigade, -forty or fifty rods from our camp. - -The boxes sent on by Joe Hubbard have at last arrived, and you may -be sure we were glad to see them. I presume you know what was in -mine as well as I do myself. The pies went into the common stock and -disappeared as though they had legs. The various articles of clothing -filled my knapsack as full as it would hold. And I must say to you -that the little knitted smoking-cap or skating-cap or sleeping cap, -or whatever you call it, is the gayest fez in camp. There are quite -a number in the company, built on the same general lines, but no two -alike, and mine takes first premium. I wish I could see you long enough -to thank you for it. - -I took one of the big boxes and made a cupboard to keep my things in. -I have my eating utensils on one shelf, writing materials, bundles of -letters, &c., on another, papers, magazines and books on the third. - -Col. Marston was wounded last Sunday by the accidental discharge of a -pistol, so Lieut.-Col. Fiske is in command. He is a great fellow for -drilling the men, and we are not having as easy a time as we did with -Marston. - -One of the boys has just come in, bringing a fragment of a shell fired -by the rebels at our battery down near the river. All the mementos I -have picked up so far are a sand-bag from the rebel works at Fairfax -Court House and a few insignificant trifles. - - ——————— - - _XXXV_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, _Dec. 29, 1861_. - -I am feeling pretty ragged just now, but I see a glimmer of comfort -ahead in the shape of a big lot of biscuits Damon is making for -supper. We have not had any rations of soft bread since we left -Bladensburg, but better days are coming. They are putting in a bakery -for the Second Regiment, and when it is done I expect the boys will -feel like getting up a celebration. Really, though, it won’t make -so much difference in this tent, where we have had a very efficient -private bakery in operation for some time. Even I, as a lover of -toast, have developed some skill in making good buttered toast out of -our hardbread. I soak and boil it a long, long time, then stack the -crackers up, buttering each, and it is a pretty palatable dish, if I do -say it as shouldn’t. - - ——————— - - _XXXVI_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES COUNTY, MD., _Jan. 5, 1862_. - -Night before last we had a regular old-fashioned hail-storm. I lay on -the ground in my tent, rolled up in my blankets and overcoat, cozy, -snug and warm in spite of the hail that was hammering my canvas roof, -and pitied the poor people who didn’t have a fireplace, a snug nest, -and a roof. But last night the boot was on the other leg. I was on -guard, and it was miserably cold, with ice a quarter of inch thick -over everything. When I came off, along in the night, I headed for my -tent and comfort for a while. Had just got comfortably settled when -some one stuck his head in and hollered, “_Your chimney’s on fire!_” I -rolled out, broke through the ice in a water-hole, mixed some mud, and -plastered it into the crevices. In about an hour, another good angel -sang the same song, and I went through the same performance. Another -hour, and the third alarm came. I was now thoroughly mad and utterly -demoralized, and I howled back, “Well, let her burn if she wants to.” -It smouldered until morning, when we doctored it so we hope it will -behave for a few days at least. - -The rebels have not been very demonstrative lately. I hear that Gen. -Hooker has orders not to grant any more furloughs, as Heintzelman is -advancing on the other side and is liable to have a fight any day, -in which event we will be called upon to support him. And besides -this, Gunnison has had a dream. He believes in all sorts of uncanny -manifestations, and the other night he dreamed that the regiment was in -a battle, and in an awful hot place too. I am not very anxious to get -out of my present comfortable quarters, unless it might be to go home -or farther south where it is warmer. If it were not for that glorious -old fireplace of ours we should not be as comfortable or as cheerful as -we are. - - ——————— - - _XXXVII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHICKAMOXEN, MD., _Jan. 12, 1862_. - -I have been working like a beaver all day and am awfully tired. It was -that infernal chimney. Last night it got afire again and was roaring -gloriously before we found it out. So today the whole crew put in their -time reconstructing it. It is a pretty substantial piece of work, and -it ought to stand the wear and tear for a long time. This is one of the -most enjoyable days of the season—warm and with a refreshing breeze. -But O, the mud! And not a bit of snow on the ground. - -Last night the rebels fired a great many random shots across the -river, hit or miss, here and there, and have been keeping at it, -intermittently, today. They know, of course, the location of our camps, -and it is really surprising that not a speck of damage has been done. -A number of the shells struck quite near to our camp. Today one shell -struck square in the New Jersey camp, but did not explode. And this -afternoon, while I was sitting in my tent half asleep, there was a wild -screech a few feet overhead, and a shell landed on the parade ground -a few rods beyond the camp, but did not explode. A crowd ran out from -the camp, but Damon captured the prize and brought it into our tent. -A little while after, he sold it for ten dollars. [Major Stevens was -the purchaser. For several years, properly labeled, it was one of the -exhibits in the Adjutant-General’s office at Concord.] - -You inquire of me why we don’t fight. I don’t know. Suppose the time -hasn’t come yet. I have no doubt it will before long, however, and -there will be a lively time. - - ——————— - - _XXXVIII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _Jan. 19, 1862_. - -Horrible weather! It is almost inconceivably muddy, and today it is -raining. I went out to watch the batteries work, today, and it was a -question sometimes whether I wouldn’t have to leave my boots in the -mud. We have spells of cold weather, with a little snow, but it soon -gets warm and rains. - -Jim Carr, of our company, cut his foot terribly with an axe, yesterday. -The blade went right through the bones, and he will be crippled for a -long time. - -I have studied it out that we will not trouble the rebels on the -other side for some time yet. We are building big mortar rafts up at -Baltimore, to be used in shelling out the rebel batteries. It will take -some time to get them ready, of course; but when the time does come -there will be music in the air. - -Last week I helped dig out a rebel shell. It was buried seven feet in -the solid earth and must have traveled over four miles. - - ——————— - - _XXXIX_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _Jan. 26, 1862_. - -You never saw a lovelier day than this—clear as a whistle, with breeze -enough to set the whitecaps running on the river. In the forenoon I -went down to our battery, near the river, just for the walk. One of the -lookout pickets I passed on the bluff had a powerful spy-glass, through -which I got a good view of the rebel fort on Shipping Point. Down by -the battery I picked up an Indian arrow head. Some contrast between -this stone weapon of a dead and gone race and those long 32-pounders -close by. - -I see a good many old Manchester acquaintances here who drop down -sight-seeing. Kimball the shoe man, John B. Chase the tanner, and Cy. -Mason, Washington agent for the Associated Press, were here day before -yesterday; and yesterday Dr. Hawkes came down. - -Would you like a picture of myself and my surroundings right at this -moment? Well, here it is. See me sitting in front of a cheerful wood -fire, my boots off, and your gorgeous smoking cap on my head. By my -side, a cup of steaming hot cocoa, a cookie and a quarter of mince -pie. Slade is at my right, writing, and similarly provided for in the -eatable line. Just at this moment he is digging down into his box -hunting for a big lump of candy that came to him from home. - -We had chickens, from New Hampshire, for supper. I am getting to be an -expert, myself, in certain branches of cookery. I can toss and turn -fritters now, without dropping them in the ashes. Can you? Our “oven” -is very simple, but it does its work to perfection. We set a deep iron -pan on a bed of coals. In this, four or five little rocks as supports -for the plate carrying the dough. The whole covered with another iron -pan filled with coals. The biscuits and plum cake we turn out cannot be -beat anywhere by anybody. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: CAMP SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON] - - - ——————— - - _XL_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _Feb. 1, 1862_. - -Every night, almost, I dream that I am home again, and those dreams -are perhaps a forerunner or premonition of something that is going -to happen. The signs are decidedly more promising for an early -termination of the war. We have worsted the rebels in every fight we -have had for some time, and the tone of the Southern press indicates -that the Southern people begin to appreciate what a scrape they have -gotten themselves into. I expect we will move from here before long. -The Quartermaster says he does not expect to stay in this place -much longer, and has especially charged his teamsters to keep their -equipments in condition for a quick movement. Besides, a road is now -being built down to Liverpool Point, about twelve miles below here -on the Potomac. This indicates that when we go we will _embark_ for -somewhere—perhaps only to be ferried across the river. - -In all your life, travels and experience you never ran across such a -mud hole as this is at this season. I heard, this afternoon, that we -would have to back our supplies up from the landing, as it is pretty -near impossible for teams to get through. The landing is two miles -and a half from here, and we would have a fine time toting up boxes of -hardbread, beef, and other fixings. I saw one of our boys coming up -from the landing last night who had evidently misjudged the depth of -the mud in some place, for clear to his waist he was cased in Maryland -salve. A man is fortunate if he can find a place to cross the road -without going in to his knees. - -My tentmate Damon is on furlough. He was not in condition for duty, -having strained his back, so they gave him a furlough of thirty days. -His time is about half up, and we do miss the boy. Frank Robinson has -got back, looking pleasant and happy, as a newly-married man should. - - ——————— - - _XLI_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _Feb. 9, 1862_. - -For a day or two I have been laid up with a bad cut on my foot, which I -got chopping wood for my tent. I can not get a boot or a shoe on, but -hope it won’t bother me a great while. I guess—in fact almost know—that -we are to leave here soon. Gen. Hooker has been to Washington to confer -with the commanding General. Rahn, our Commissary Sergeant, thinks we -are going on an expedition to Galveston, Texas. Wouldn’t we have a -time down there among those Spaniards, Greasers, Negroes, and those -perfectly _awful_ Texas Rangers! - -Damon has not got back yet. We have a letter from him saying he was at -Lunenburg, Vt., laid up with a lame leg. - -We have been rigged out with new uniforms. Dark blue dress coats with -light blue cord trimmings, and light blue pants. - - ——————— - - _XLII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _Feb. 16, 1862_. - -Of course you have rejoiced over Burnsides’ victory at Roanoke Island -and the success of the Kentucky army at Fort Henry. If we can keep on -with the good work, this rebellion will be crushed and we home again -before long. We are under orders to be ready to march at short notice -and will soon be doing our share of the business. A Vermont brigade is -expected here, any day, to reinforce us; and some big guns are being -brought down from Washington, probably to be used in shelling the rebel -batteries. The gunboats have not had their full armament until lately. - -That foot of mine, that I was fool enough to cut over a week ago, is a -beauty now. I got cold in it, or something, and it now looks more like -a parboiled pig than a foot. If we get orders to march right now, I -shall have the foot swathed up in some way and go with the regiment. - -Slade is sorting over his stuff, to see what he shall send home. He -actually has more than he can lift. - -A few days ago there came an order to find out how many men in this -division wanted to go on the Mississippi river gunboat flotilla. They -proposed to transfer forty out of each regiment, and I suppose the idea -was that they would find lots of sailors in the regiments from the -coast. The order was quickly rescinded, however. - - ——————— - - _XLIII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHICKAMOXEN, MD., _Feb. 23, 1862_. - -My foot is most well now, much to my gratification. I would not like a -furlough just now. There will be some fighting before long and I want -to be in it. The rebels over the way have not fired a gun for a week, -and it is surmised that they have evacuated. Everything indicates that -we will move soon—very soon. A Brigadier General has been assigned to -command of this brigade, Col. Marston is coming back from Washington, -and the officers on recruiting service in New Hampshire have been -ordered back to the regiment. The Quartermaster assures me we will be -off within a few days. - - ——————— - - _XLIV_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES COUNTY, MD., _March 2, 1862_. - -Very cold just now, and the mud is drying up fast, so it is getting to -be very good traveling. You know we are going to move when the roads -are in condition. McClellan says so, and he ought to know. All the -signs point to a movement before long. We have shipped the company -property to Washington, and also our dress coats. We will not take any -tents, and only two wagons, for ammunition. We drill now about six -hours a day. The musicians have an “ambulance drill”—learning to get -men into and out of ambulances, to staunch wounds, and to generally -care for wounded men. Senator Hale told one of our boys, a while ago, -that he thought we would be home by July. - -Damon got back today, and we celebrated his return by cooking and -eating two or three pounds of molasses candy. I got one valentine, and -I know who _backed_ it. Perhaps Sally [Shepherd] does too. It’s nearly -midnight, and I’m off to bed. - - ——————— - - _XLV_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _March 7, 1862_. - -A “Signal Corps” of some one hundred men is now attached to this -division. The signaling is done by means of flags. Yesterday a balloon -went up over here, the observers signaling with one over Heintzelman’s -division, miles away on the other side of the river. The rebel -batteries have opened up on something in the most furious manner. Every -gun appears to be working full blast, and the heavy explosions fairly -shake the canvas of the tent. [This was one of the preliminaries of the -evacuation, which was completed on the 9th.] - -Our new Brigadier General [Henry M. Naglee] has got himself universally -hated, right off quick. All sorts of stories are going. Here is one, -for what it is worth: He had an altercation with Gen. Sickles and -pulled his revolver, with a threat to shoot. But when Sickles coolly -pulled out his gun and reminded Naglee that he had shot his man -before, the latter subsided. I guess there is no question but that he -especially and particularly dislikes the Second New Hampshire and First -Massachusetts. It is stated that he tried to get them transferred from -his brigade, but Hooker wouldn’t allow it. - - ——————— - - _XLVI_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _March 16, 1862_. - -Got your letter, with picture, on Friday morning. I placed the picture -on one of my shelves, and when Gunnison came in Damon picked it up -and asked him if he had ever seen the picture of his youngest sister. -“Gunny” told him no, and when he looked at the picture said, “O, well, -you can’t fool me; that’s the girl Mart Haynes travels with when he’s -home.” But Damon actually made him believe it was his sister. “Well,” -said Norman as he held your two pictures up for comparison, “they -look enough alike to be twins. If Mart should see the two together he -wouldn’t know which one to hitch onto.” - -You have, of course, heard that the rebels evacuated their positions -last Sunday. They burned everything they could not take away—camps and -houses, their gunboat “George Page” and various smaller craft that had -taken refuge with her up Quantico Creek. It was a wild scene as viewed -from this side. For miles it was an ocean of smoke and flame. They left -eighteen or twenty big guns, with other property that could not be -burned. - -How this will affect our movements is the problem now. The old rumor -factory is working overtime, and one man’s guess is as good as -another’s. The story that appears to find most favor is that we are -going to New Mexico, where troops are much needed just now. Another -wise man has it that we are going down to reinforce Burnside. Sickles’ -brigade is actually on board steamers now, ready to be transported -somewhere. - -The frogs are “peeping” now in every brook and mudhole. Damon shakes -his head wisely, and says if we could only stay here till they get a -little bigger and fatter, we’d live on frogs’ legs. For dinner today -Slade, Damon, Haynes & Gunnison had a great pile of fried oysters. - - ——————— - - _XLVII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES COUNTY, MD., _March 23, 1862_. - -Not a mail has reached us since last Monday. The Government has -chartered all the boats within reach for troop transports, and none can -be spared for side shows. Two expeditions have passed here this week. -Yesterday about thirty large steamers went down the river. These fleets -carried parts of Heintzelman’s corps, and have probably gone down below -Acquia Creek and landed. We are now a part of this corps, and will -probably be the next to move—as soon as the steamers can go back to -Washington and coal up. - -We will have to make pack-horses of ourselves when we do go. Are to -carry sixty extra rounds of ammunition in our knapsacks, and will -be equipped with some new-fangled French tent. This tent is in four -pieces, each man to carry a piece, and when put up it only makes a -screen from the dew and the sun, being open at both ends. - -I talked yesterday with a contraband who ran away from the rebels over -in Virginia. He says they are fortifying at Fredericksburg, a place -about twenty miles from Acquia and about thirty from here. Very likely -that is where we will first run into them; and it will probably be a -hard place to take, as they have a great many guns in position there -and a large force of soldiers. - -James O. Adams was here a few days ago. We had a good time together -that evening. - -Now comes the best joke of the season. Gen. Naglee is very -unpopular—thoroughly hated by everybody from highest to lowest. I said -so frankly in a letter which Farnsworth published. Then Halifax broke -loose. I don’t know how the matter ever got before the War Department -at Washington—but it did. And the first thing Farnsworth knew he got a -communication from Washington that scared him stiff. He showed it to -my folks, and I guess they went wild—expected me to be taken out at -sunrise and shot for high treason. The first intimation I got was in -a hysterical letter from my mother, that I could hardly understand. -Then in a day or two John Kenney came down from the hospital and said -Harriet Dame wanted to shake hands with the private soldier that -the War Department had to sit up and take notice of. Showing that -headquarters here had some orders in relation to me. I don’t know what -was in either of the communications, but the folks at home need have no -fear of anybody in Hooker’s division being very severely disciplined -for voicing the universal sentiment in regard to General Naglee. - -_9 o’clock in the Evening._—You will not hear from me again for some -time, probably, as it is given out that the advancing troops shall not -write home. The Chaplain says the 9 o’clock mail tomorrow will be the -last one out of here. I have eight letters to write to night, closing -up my correspondence for the present. - - ——————— - - _XLVIII_ - - CAMP BEAUFORT, - CHARLES CO., MD., _April 3, 1862_. - -I have just learned, late at night, that a mail is going out tomorrow -morning. It is getting to be very exasperating—these orders to leave, -and then having them countermanded. We expected to get off today, and -now the announcement is that we are certainly going tomorrow. The -transports have been ordered, and temporary piers built to load us -from. Captain Bailey has just got along with a batch of recruits. Don’t -know yet how many acquaintances I have in the lot. - -One of Company E’s men [Luther W. Fassett] was shot by rebel scouts -yesterday, on the other side of the river. The company was over there -digging up a big gun which the rebels had buried. He was sent back for -some shovels, when three rebels stepped into the road and shot him. He -had a brother in the same company and a wife and child in New Hampshire. - - ——————— - - _XLIX_ - - IN CAMP BEFORE YORKTOWN, VA., - _Monday, April 14, 1862_. - -A mail is going out, I am told, at three o’clock, and it is nearly -that time now. We left our old camp, with all its really delightful -associations, the day after I last wrote you, and were on the steamer -two days and two nights before she cast off from the pier. When we got -to Point Lookout, at the mouth of the river, a wild gale was blowing, -and it was not considered prudent to proceed down Chesapeake Bay, the -“South America” being a crazy old river boat, and overloaded. So we -ran in and tied up at the wharf, and almost everybody went ashore. It -was a seaside summer resort, out of season, and we took possession. -We made ourselves very comfortable in the cottages. There were good -fireplaces and plenty of wood, and though it rained great guns, and the -gale howled most of the time, we were dry and warm, and made ourselves -very comfortable there for three days. But we came pretty near starving -before a boat got down from Washington bringing us something to eat. -The boys gave it a very appropriate name—“Camp Starvation.” - -When we got away we went straight to Fortress Monroe. We got there -in the morning, just as the rebel ironclad “Merrimack” came out from -Norfolk. The harbor was cleared of shipping in double-quick time, the -“Monitor” and other war vessels moved up, and we thought there was -going to be another big naval battle. But there wasn’t; and the old -“South America” pulled out and ran up to the York river. - -There is now a tremendous army before Yorktown, as well as in it, and -there will be a great battle. _We_ have got the largest train of siege -artillery ever brought together, and _they_ have got some very strong -forts and batteries. Our guns will be in position and open on the -rebels before this letter reaches you. There is skirmishing every day. -Berdan’s sharpshooters are making themselves the terror of the rebels. -They have some wonderful marksmen, and firing from little pits dug -well out towards the rebel works, they make it mighty interesting for -the rebel gunners. In some of the rebel batteries it is as much as a -man’s life is worth to attempt to load the guns. The instant he shows -himself near the muzzle one of Berdan’s men gets him. Some of them use -telescope rifles. At some points the rebels put up planks to screen -themselves while working the guns. I was a little acquainted with one -of the Sharpshooters who was killed a few days ago—John Ide of Company -E—a New Hampshire man from Claremont. - - ——————— - - _L_ - - CAMP WINFIELD SCOTT, - NEAR YORKTOWN, VA., _April 20, 1862_. - -Today we received our first mail since leaving Camp Beaufort. We have -moved up three miles nearer the rebel lines and are now doing our full -share in the siege operations. We are working hard, building forts -and trenches and roads, and should soon be able to qualify as experts -with the pick and shovel. While our camp is probably a mile and a half -from the rebel lines, our work is being done very much nearer, you can -be sure. Yesterday and today we were out building roads. From where -we were working we had a better view of the rebels than they did of -us, and they didn’t pay much attention to us until we were on our way -back. We got a little careless then, I suppose, and the first thing we -knew one big shell burst directly overhead, while another tore up the -landscape not very far away. - -Day before yesterday a lieutenant of the Engineer Corps was brought on -a stretcher back by our camp, one arm torn off and otherwise mutilated. -He was sitting on the ground, making a sketch, when a rebel shell burst -almost in his lap. - -We are having, really, a pretty hard time of it. We are turned out -almost every night and held in line to repel anticipated attacks. [This -was one of Gen. Naglee’s fool stunts, that Hooker soon put a veto on.] - -Our camp is on a big plain, gullied here and there by creeks. Near to -us are the spots pointed out as the headquarters of Washington and -Lafayette during the Revolutionary siege. I saw a little earthwork -yesterday which was thrown up at that time, and a rusty iron cannon -ball was dug up by the working party. - -Our new four-piece [“shelter” or “dog”] tents have one great -advantage—perfect ventilation. The tent’s crew of four button their -sections together, and have a roof to crawl under; but the house is -wide open at both ends. - -It was just one year ago tomorrow that our company was first sworn into -the service. We hardly thought then that one year from that date would -still find us ’way down South. So far as I am concerned, I am enjoying -myself immensely. Was never in better spirits or in better health. - -_Wednesday, April 23._—At last I have another chance to write on my -letter. I have been on duty every day for six days. Today I am on camp -guard. Our siege guns are now almost all in position, and they will -doubtless get to work pretty soon. Thousands of men are working day and -night on the siege works and the roads. On this wing of the army we are -building a road along the side of a creek leading up to the rear of our -batteries. The roadbed is twenty-four feet wide, made by tumbling in -one bank of the creek. As this is mostly on the side toward the rebel -works, leaving the road under embankments from ten to twenty feet high, -troops and supplies going up to the front will have almost perfect -cover and protection. - -There is a continual skirmish all along the line, and men are killed or -wounded every day. The other night a large force of rebels made a sally -upon six companies of the Third Vermont, but the Sixth regiment, with a -section of artillery, came to their support, and the rebels were sent -back home in a hurry. We lost about 45 men, including two captains; the -rebels about the same number, including a colonel. - -Day before yesterday I managed to work about as much discomfort into -twenty-four hours as ever fell to my lot. We were working on the road. -It rained all day, and I was, of course, thoroughly soaked. And when we -got back to camp there was no warm, dry nest to crawl into. Instead, -the rain poured through the tent in streams, and there was no way to -get away from it. It has taken me till now to get back to anything like -normal conditions. - -I saw two deserters from the rebels, who came in this morning. One of -them was from Pennsylvania. He was pressed into the rebel service and -took the first opportunity to desert. - -My old tent-crew of Camp Beaufort is broken. It is no longer a matter -of choice and selection. We are counted off in fours and tent in the -same order we stand in the ranks. My present mates are Bill Ramsdell, -Lyn Woods and Joe Gleason—all royal good fellows. - - ——————— - - _LI_ - - CAMP WINFIELD SCOTT, - BEFORE YORKTOWN, VA., _May 1, 1862_. - -Physically I am pretty near used up. Night and day we are on duty in -the trenches or on fatigue work, supporting batteries, throwing up -earthworks, building roads, regardless of weather conditions. Last -night we were digging on a parallel, or trench for infantry, the end of -which was at the edge of the bluff overlooking the York river. It was -all open ground between us and the rebel works, and, though very dark, -the rebels kept the scene fairly well lighted up. Every two or three -minutes there would be a flash way up there to the front, then a roar, -another flash in the air down our way, and pieces of iron flying. The -big guns, though, did not worry us much. It was practically impossible -to land a shell in the trench from one of these guns. But they had one -big mortar working that was quite another matter. Every time this was -fired the burning fuse marked its course. Up, up, up it would climb, -then hang for an instant and come sweeping down, down, down. It did not -land one shell in our trench, although it put some uncomfortably close. - -I managed to steal one little nap, but it didn’t last long. I got quite -a comfortable seat at the end of the trench, overlooking the river. -I have a recollection of watching the lights on vessels far down the -river and in distant camps, and of listening to the lap of the waves -on the beach below me. And I went to sleep. And I woke up—quick. I was -trying to decide whether the rebels had sprung a mine or landed a shell -in the trench, when it happened again, and I saw what the trouble was. -Only a short distance below was the black mass of one of our gunboats, -which had crawled up unusually close, and was firing her big shells -right over our heads into the rebel works. - -The rebels made an effort to drive in our pickets on a part of the -line, this morning, but got rather more than they were looking for. -A burial party has just gone by, to give a soldier’s burial to a New -Jersey boy killed in the affair. The cemetery, near our camp, is -rapidly filling with the bodies of men who have been killed or have -died of disease. Each grave is marked by a neatly-lettered headboard. - -Company H of the Massachusetts First charged a lunette, or small outer -earthwork, which had become a nuisance, the other morning, and drove -the rebels out at the point of the bayonet. They had three men killed -and a dozen or fifteen wounded. One of their men had a remarkable -escape. A ball struck the eagle plate on his breast strap—a round brass -plate backed with lead—doubling it up and going through just far enough -to show the point at the back. The blow knocked him several feet, and -he naturally thought, for a little time, that he was a goner. - -That night we were in the trenches in support of the Hungarian battery. -The rebels appeared to have a pretty accurate idea of its location, -notwithstanding it was screened by trees, and sent shot and shell -thick and fast. One shell struck on the parapet and rolled down under -a platform on which six men were sleeping, but fortunately did not -explode. - -It rains or drizzles most of the time, so we are kept tolerably -uncomfortable. - -_May 2d, afternoon, 2 o’clock._—The regiment went into the trenches -to work today, but as I was not feeling well I remained in camp. The -rebels have been doing more shooting today than any other day before, -and many of their shot have struck near our camp. I went to sleep about -noon, but was awakened by the infernal screech of a shell, and took it -as a hint that I had better finish your letter. I do hope that May will -prove a pleasanter month than April. I hope our batteries will open -before long, for I want to see this affair closed up. If we thrash them -soundly here and at Corinth, I think the war will be about as good as -over. - - ——————— - - _LII_ - - WILLIAMSBURG BATTLEFIELD, VA., _May 7_. - -I am all well—not hurt a bit. Not time to write any. Mail going right -out by a private citizen. Go right up and tell my folks I am well. An -awful battle. Harder than Bull Run. MART. - -[Written on an irregular scrap of brown paper.] - - ——————— - - _LIII_ - - NEAR WILLIAMSBURG, VA., _May 8, 1862_. - -Have just come in from a trip over the battlefield, and was fortunate -enough to pick up the big sheet of paper on which I am writing this -letter. I will commence at the beginning and tell you all about it. - -On Sunday morning, as soon as it was discovered that the rebels had -evacuated Yorktown, we were ordered to pack knapsacks and be ready to -march immediately. We had no time to cook rations, and went for two -days with only the fragments we happened to have in our haversacks. We -marched up over the rebel intrenchments and through Yorktown. The rebel -works were very strong and would have been a hard nut to crack. The -rebels had planted torpedoes along the road, but none of our regiment -were hurt by them. The road was in a horrible condition and badly -crowded, and we did not get along very fast. It was nine or ten o’clock -at night when we filed out into the woods by the side of the road and, -with all our harness on, laid down for such rest as one could get under -such conditions and in a drizzling rain. We were up at half-past four -the next morning and soon on the road again, up through the woods. We -had gone about a mile and a half when we came to a big slashing, where -the trees over an area about twice as large as Merrimack Common had -been felled, criss-cross, in every direction. Beyond this, a large open -plain, with a line of small forts, one of which was directly facing -the road up which we were advancing. Our regiment filed out and formed -line to the right of the road, and the Massachusetts First upon the -left. We threw out skirmishers and advanced up through the slashing. It -was rough navigating in that network of prostrate trees and interlaced -limbs and branches, as we had all our housekeeping outfits on our -backs. My haversack got caught and was torn to pieces, but I made that -good on the field the next day. We wormed our way ahead, up to the edge -of the open field, and there halted for our artillery and the rest of -the division to come up. We had a pretty lively time there, but nothing -very fierce. The rebels had four or five field pieces in the fort and -skirmishers scattered along the front in little pits. We distributed -ourselves behind stumps and logs, and quite a number had a genuine -earthwork, made by punching holes through a thick mass of dirt that -clung to the roots of an overturned tree. The cannon in the fort sent -a solid shot, every little while, smashing and crashing down through -the timber; but a number of our crack shots paid particular attention -to those guns, while others devoted their talents to educating the -rebels in those little picket holes. Perhaps half a dozen, selecting -some particular hole, would lay with their sights covering the little -mound of fresh dirt outside. The instant a head showed, there was -trouble in that pit. They soon got enough of it, and for a long time -the pits in front of the Second, for all we could see, might have been -so many graves. All this time the rain was pouring, and we were fairly -waterlogged. As business dragged, some of the men unfolded the little -sections of tent and spread them over branches for a shelter. Others -nursed up little fires and cooked a cup of coffee. Up to this time we -had not had many men hit. Lieut. Burnham, of Manchester, was shot in -the leg, and will, I am told, have to lose it. A man named Cole [Uriah -W., of Co. H] was killed by a cannon ball. - -At length our artillery came up and went into position in front of us. -We lay supporting them an hour or two—and they were not having a very -hot time of it. Then in the woods to our left, beyond the slashing, a -tremendous fire of musketry broke loose. Volley followed volley, and -after a while it was evident the firing was coming nearer, which meant -that our troops in that part of the field were being driven back, and -the rebels were gaining ground towards us. They came upon us through -the slashing and along the edge of the field. I got in three or four -shots across the road—which was better than most of our fellows could -do—when the order was passed to fall back to the edge of the woods and -re-form. This was no boys’ play. Balancing on a log and looking for the -best path, my cap went flying and the bark from a limb I was holding -onto. I had no further doubts as to the proper course—a tunnel was -safer than an overhead bridge, just then, and the rest of the way I -kept as close to the ground as I could. - -Once again out of the slashing and in line, we were ordered across the -road, where the entire regiment was deployed as skirmishers through -the woods some distance back from the slashing. Then we were ordered -to sail in, and moving forward we were soon in as lively a mix-up as -you could well imagine. The first squad of rebels I ran onto I mistook -for Eleventh Massachusetts men, there being a similarity of uniforms, -and I was going right up to them, when Al. Simmons shouted, “Look out, -Mart—those are rebels!” and fired. Quicker than you could say it, -I was behind a big tree, and the ball had opened. It was a regular -Indian fight, dodging through bushes and from tree to tree, sometimes -forward and sometimes back. There were no end of personal encounters, -and fights between squads and detachments, and all sorts of mixups, -some ludicrous and some tragic. “Heenan” had his usual luck, coming out -damaged but alive. He had a sudden and close collision with a rebel -who came up out of somewhere like a jumping-jack. Nich. grabbed the -reb’s bayonet and pushed it one side just as the fellow fired. He says -he intended to polish that fellow off with his fists, but two others -jumped in, and things were going hard with Nich., when some of us saw -his predicament and started for the rescue with a big whoop and empty -guns. They faded into the background, however, and we didn’t get one of -them. Nich. is now nourishing a somewhat lacerated powder-stained hand. - -One of the funny incidents was when Dave Steele, a lieutenant in -Company G, made a dash into a squad of rebels, shouting, “Surrender, -you d— cusses, or I’ll blow you to Hell!” What he was going to do his -“blowing” with—as he had no arms but his sword—is still a question; but -the rebels took his word for it and dropped their guns. - -Gardner [Orrin S.] of my company—said to be part Indian and who looks -it—was peekabooed and pestered by a couple of rebs in the cover of an -old rifle pit, until he got out of all patience, gave a wild Indian -war-whoop, and closed in like an express train and put a stop to any -further foolishness. - -Toward the last of the fight, though, we had all we could do to keep -from being run over. From the way they swarmed in on our front it was -very evident the rebels were being heavily reinforced. We were in a -pretty solid line now, with stragglers from other regiments mixed in. -But we were getting short of cartridges. Hooker, plastered with mud -from head to foot, rode along the line and told us to hold that line -fifteen minutes longer. Back in the woods we heard a band strike up -and play “Yankee Doodle.” We were losing men rapidly. Captain Drown -was killed and others killed or wounded. Then our reserves came up, -paddling through the mud as fast as they possibly could, and we all -went in together and won out. - -It was pretty near night when the fight was over and the regiment got -together, counted noses, and bivouacked a little ways back, in the -woods. We began to realize then that we were mighty hungry. But luck -came my way. Lym. Dickey brought in a prisoner that he got the drop on. -Lym. and I hitched up together that night, made the best shelter we -could with our pieces of tent, and took our rebel friend into the mess. -Lym. and I had oceans of sugar and coffee, and that was about all. Our -guest had a corn pone and a quantity of excellent bacon, but no coffee. -So we pooled our issues, had a most enjoyable supper, and snuggled in -together for a fairly comfortable night. In the morning we shook hands -with him, said good bye, and Dickey turned him over as a prisoner. - -The day after the fight I went out over the whole battlefield, and a -dreadful sight it was. In an old Revolutionary rifle pit close to the -edge of the timber, where our last rush struck the main line, it was a -ghastly sight. In one spot seven bodies lay, literally, in a heap. They -were apparently cut off from rapid retreat by the barracade of felled -trees. Up half-way through the slashing I came into a path, hardly -wide enough to be called a roadway, which had been opened up for some -purpose. In this regiments of the Excelsior brigade had made their -fight and had suffered heavy losses. In some spots I could have walked -a considerable distance upon dead bodies. I followed this path out into -the woods at the left, where the Jerseys fought; and beyond them, dead -rebels scattered about. One of these had piled up a little cob-house -screen of rails, which was about as much protection as a pasteboard -box would have been. He was still there, prone on his breast, his gun -thrust through between two rails, a finger on the trigger, and a little -round hole in the top of his head. - -The dead were lying in almost every conceivable position, sometimes -absolutely grotesque if it were not so pitiful. Some apparently never -changed the position of a muscle after they were struck—arms in -position as if loading; some still clutching their piece in one hand -and in the other the ramrod with the charge driven part way home. The -rebels had some Indians in this fight—I saw at least two lying among -the dead. The dead are not all buried yet, but are being covered up as -fast as the details can get to them. I have quite a number of bullets I -picked up, and buttons from the uniforms of dead rebels. - -We will move on from here as soon as supplies come up, and will -probably have more fighting before we reach Richmond. It was awfully -rainy the day of the battle, but is sunny and beautiful now. I have -tried to give you some idea of what a time we had. I had just time to -write you the briefest sort of a note Wednesday morning. Did you get -it? I begin to feel now as though we should get through before many -months, for I know we are going to thrash them out before long. - - ——————— - - _LIV_ - - WILLIAMSBURG, VA., _May 11, 1862_. - -We are now encamped on a large field just outside the city and close to -William and Mary College. I have had a chance to look the city over a -little, and find it a very homelike, cozy little burg. It is one of the -oldest towns in the United States, with many nice buildings and ancient -residences of the old Virginia gentry. The college is the oldest in -America. Washington, Scott and many other famous men were educated -here. On the college grounds is a rather badly-kept marble statue of -Lord Berkley, one of the old colonial Governors of Virginia. - -The women here are the most rabid of all secessionists—fairly venomous. -Yesterday one of them, entirely unprovoked, hissed out to Gunnison, -“You vile wretch!” “Gunny” kept thinking it over, and getting madder -and madder, until today he stormed up to the house and demanded -satisfaction of the head of the household. The old man regretted the -unfortunate incident, and politely invited Gunnison to make the house -his home while in town; and Gunnison came back to camp not quite -determined whether he had won or lost. - -Most of the public buildings here are being used as hospitals—full of -wounded rebels. I suppose they enjoyed the parade of Yankees when our -army passed through here—an almost uninterrupted stream of men for -three days. The gayest sight was when a regiment of 1600 lancers went -by. The rebs left a few cannon here, and in some places quantities of -shells which they evidently could not take along with them. They also -planted torpedoes in places, and a number of men were blown up. Some -were discovered before they were stepped on, and it is said General -McClellan has ordered that rebel prisoners be set to work digging them -up. - -We are having glorious weather, clear and sunny, with the birds singing -merrily. And it seems rather nice to be in a city again, with signs -of civilization, albeit slightly ancient and mildewed. We are very -comfortably quartered now. The rebels left great numbers of big tents -[the old conical “Sibleys”] which we appropriated; and with only -three or four in a tent we are very far from being crowded. Yesterday -afternoon George Slade and I took a walk down to a little place about -two miles from here, called Cottage Creek. It is a delightful bit of -a place, where peace reigns in the midst of war. Three or four little -cottages, a picturesque old mill, with an ancient bridge over the -creek, make up as pretty a stage setting as one would see in many a day. - -Beginning tomorrow, we will have to drill two hours a day as long as -we stay here. The general impression is that we will not be here many -days—not longer than until the prisoners are sent to some safer place. -The rebs left most of their wounded in our hands, and they have the -same care as our own. I had a talk with one of them who was at Bull -Run, and it was very interesting to hear him tell of the battle as he -saw it. He belongs to a Virginia regiment, and when the war broke out -was living near Alexandria. He says he has been at his home since the -war. It was lucky for him he was not caught, as his life might have -been the forfeit as a spy. - -One of our “missing” men, of Co. G, was found in the brush yesterday, -where he had crawled out of the fight and died. - -I hear that a lot of our men who were taken at Bull Run have been -exchanged and are at Fortress Monroe. Won’t we have a jubilee when they -get back! [As a matter of fact, one at least of these prisoners—George -C. Emerson of Company B—joined in season to take part in the fight, and -was killed.] - -Gen. Grover, who has displaced Naglee as commander of this brigade, has -been appointed Military Governor of this district. I would like to look -this region over at my leisure, for a distance of a dozen miles or so, -it is so full of historic associations—Jamestown, Captain John Smith, -Pocahontas, Powhattan, and various other distinguished residents of the -long, long ago. - -If it were not for home I think, on the whole, I should be quite well -contented with army life. But I guess this affair will be settled up -before long, and when sleighing-time comes in New Hampshire I will be -there to help you enjoy it. - - ——————— - - _LV_ - - CAMP NEAR CUMBERLAND, VA., - _May 19, 1862_. - -Just where we are camped now I cannot tell, except that it is in the -woods, within four miles of the enemy and nineteen from Richmond. We -left our camp at Williamsburg last Thursday morning and got in here -this afternoon. This is a heathenish country, swarming with unpleasant -neighbors other than rebels. Day before yesterday when I aroused from -a wayside nap, one of the little snakes—common here, but harmless—slid -out from under me. I gave a yelp and killed him as if he had been a -rattlesnake. - -I thought I wrote you at the time about Solon Porter. He died at Camp -Beaufort, some time before we left there, of apoplexy. He was sitting -on his bunk, cracking a nut between his teeth, when he fell back, -unconscious, and lived but a short time. I was not tenting with him at -the time. He was the third of my Camp Sullivan tentmates to die. - -This ink is simply awful, and Gunnison, who is writing out of the same -bottle, is expressing his opinion very freely. That sprig of geranium -you sent me was a fragrant reminder of home. I will inclose a sprig -of cedar from a tree just in front of my tent. When I can I gather a -quantity of these cedar branches for a bed. - -A dear little baby rabbit just came running into this tent and we -caught him. The little rascal’s confidence—if that was what led him -here—was well placed. When I get through petting him I’ll take him out -into the woods and turn him loose in the safest place I can find. - - ——————— - - _LVI_ - - WHITE OAK SWAMP, VA., _May 26, 1862_. - -We are camped now some ways beyond Bottom Bridge, across the -Chickahominy. We have had a pretty strenuous time of it for the past -week or two, a good part of the time wallowing through swamps, and our -grub supplies very irregular and uncertain. I have had very little -to eat besides hard crackers. My first move when I get “out of the -wilderness” will be to get a good square meal with all the fixings. In -getting to this point, we have, a good part of the time, been literally -ploughing through swamp mud. Sometimes, where the road ran through a -particularly bad morass, the road was built up and retained by logs -along the side, upon which we picked our way after a fashion. But when -one slipped or lost his balance it was a serious matter. And when we -marched in the night-time it was a double terror. The night we arrived -at Bottom Bridge, about midnight and dark as Egypt, I was absolutely -cased in mud, and my gun as well, and I had to lie down as I was and -wait for daylight to get down to the river for a cleanup. - -We are now camped on a hill in the swamp [Poplar Hill,] in a nice clean -field of clover. It is going to rain right away, but we have pitched -our tent with extra care, have dug a good trench around it to carry the -water off unless we have a flood. It rains very often, and the other -day we had the fiercest hail storm I ever saw. The stones were very -large and came down like cannon balls. I was out of camp and got behind -a house, but was well pelted for all that. - -When I read the new call for more troops I gave up all idea of a speedy -return home. We expect a battle here before Richmond any day, but -whether we will get into it or not depends on circumstances. Our camp -strategists have got it figured out that we will be used to cut off the -retreat of the rebel forces at Fort Darling. - - ——————— - - _LVII_ - - FAIR OAKS, NEAR RICHMOND, VA., - _Sunday, June 15, 1562_. - -It has been some time since I last wrote, and you are doubtless getting -anxious. We are now camped on the battlefield of Fair Oaks. We were -not in the battle, but were in line, with skirmishers thrown out and -batteries posted, waiting for the attack that never came and listening -to the rattle of musketry off to our right. We did not come here until -the second day after the fight. Before we started all our baggage was -sent to the rear, and with my knapsack went my writing materials. We -are having rough duty now. Every third day the entire regiment goes on -picket duty for twenty-four hours, which means, as a rule, not even -a cat-nap in that time. I was just settling myself for a good sleep -today, when the cry went up that our knapsacks had come; so I sorted -mine out from the heap and set to work to write some letters. - -We arrived here about three o’clock in the afternoon and immediately -went on duty for twenty-four hours. It rained all night—a steady -downpour—and the whole country was flooded. Coming up, we waded for -considerable distances through ponds from ankle to knee deep. Here -it was just mud and water. The trenches we would have jumped into -in case of an attack were half filled with water. Even if it had -been permitted, there was no chance to lie down—no chance for much -of anything but to stand up and take it through the long hours of -the night. I did manage to get a few slicks of cordwood together and -cobbled up a roost that gave two or three of us a sort of perch out of -the mud. Directly in front of me lay a dead horse and a dead rebel. -Within a short distance were perhaps a hundred dead horses—all killed -when the rebels made their rush on our batteries on the first day. -These have about all been cleaned up now, by burning, wood being piled -upon them and great bonfires made. - -The battlefield presented one of the most horrible sights imaginable. -Many bodies of men killed in the later stages of the battle were still -unburied. Some were in shallow graves, but as a rule burial consisted -merely in covering the bodies as they lay. The heavy rains, washing -away the covering, had left many gruesome sights. I was an advanced -picket the other night, my position being in the midst of several dirt -piles, with enough in sight to show that each covered a dead rebel. -That day Eugene Hazewell accidentally shot himself through the foot and -had to have a toe taken off. We were posted so near the rebels that -we could hear them talk. We had orders not to shoot wantonly at their -pickets, and we understood they had similar instructions; but if so -they disregarded them and took a shot at a Yankee whenever they could -draw a bead on one. - - ——————— - - _LVIII_ - - FAIR OAKS, NEAR RICHMOND, VA., - _June 22, 1862_. - -Have been out with a work party all the forenoon, and go on picket -at three in the afternoon, to remain twenty-four hours, and feel as -if I was earning my salary. There can be no question but what we are -putting in full time. We are virtually on duty every minute, for, even -in camp, we are on the alert ready to turn out for a fight at any -moment. Yesterday the rebels attempted to drive in our pickets, and -the result was a very lively little skirmish, as our boys had not got -quite ready to come in. A few days ago the Sixteenth Massachusetts -made a reconnoissance, attacking the rebel pickets for the purpose of -ascertaining their position and strength. It cost the Sixteenth four -or five men killed and eighteen or twenty wounded. The Sixteenth has -recently been attached to our brigade. - -I am as well contented in the army as I could expect to be, but still -look forward with pleasant anticipations to the time when I will be -home again. I was talking with Frank Robinson today about the good -times we would have in Manchester. [He was killed, two months later, at -Bull Run.] I had a letter from a friend in Great Falls—one of my old -school chums—and he had so much to say of the happy times in the old -Manchester High School that I had to pinch myself to keep from getting -homesick. - -We are camped in a swamp, and yet water is one of the scarce articles. -We have had no rain for several days, and the sun has dried up most of -the surface water, so it is no easy matter to even fill our canteens. - - ——————— - - _LIX_ - - FAIR OAKS, NEAR RICHMOND, VA., - _June 26, 1862_. - -Since I last wrote you I have been in two lively fights—one last Monday -and the other yesterday. Monday afternoon our pickets were ordered -to advance and drive the rebel pickets as far as they could. Company -I happened to be one of the companies on the advanced line, so in we -went. It was a sneak-up, crawling through the thick swamp brush till we -struck the rebel pickets. Jesse Dewey and I, crawling along together, -had the luck to open the ball, and in one minute there was lively -popping along a half mile front. The rebels had no call to make a very -stiff fight—and they didn’t. Gen. Grover, mounted, with his upper works -all that was visible above the bushes, directed the movements, and we -rushed them back a long distance. Then their reserves came swarming -in—and we got back. Our loss was very light. In Company I only one man -wounded. - -Yesterday the entire Division advanced over the same ground, and we -had a mighty stiff fight [battle of Oak Grove.] We found the rebels in -heavy force this time, and it was only after a hard and bloody fight -that we drove them back over practically the same ground we had covered -on Monday. Only one man was killed in my company—John Brown, a fat, -hearty, round-faced, good-natured boy as ever lived. Company B had over -twenty men killed or wounded out of forty-six that went into the fight. -Gen. McClellan arrived on the field in the afternoon and complimented -us very highly for our work during the day. - - ON JAMES RIVER, - _Wednesday, July 2, 1861_. - -At last I have got a chance to finish my letter. Lots of things have -happened since I commenced it. I have had no good rest for three days -and two nights, so you can imagine the condition I am in. Sunday -morning we marched away from Fair Oaks with three days’ rations in -our haversacks. The way property and supplies were destroyed didn’t -look good to us. The rebels followed closely, and a few miles back we -went into line of battle, posted batteries, and were ready for them. -There was a short and sharp fight a little ways to our right [Savage -Station,] but we didn’t get into it. The rebels were repulsed, and -we moved on again. Along in the night we got into bivouac in the -dark, a great mass of troops, where we could see but little of our -surroundings until daybreak. Then we soon studied it out that we were -at a cross-roads, with an immense wagon train parked near by, and a -heavy force to protect it. During the forenoon the troops were moved -into position to meet any advance from the direction of Richmond. We -were not attacked until the middle of the afternoon, and then a great -battle was fought [Glendale or Charles City Cross Roads.] We whipped -the rebels at every point. The Second Regiment was all over the field, -generally in support of some battery or other regiment. We lost very -few men. I was hit in the groin by a spent ball and crippled about as I -would have been if a mule had kicked me. We were advancing up a slope, -in line, to support a regiment that was breaking. I heard that bullet, -and when it struck me it set me back out of the ranks and I thought I -was shot through and through. I saw some of the boys look back sort -of pityingly as the line went on. It did not take me long to find out -that I was very far from being a dead man. There was a dent in my thick -leather belt, but the bullet had not gone through. It had doubtless -struck the ground and lost much of its force before it hit me. I was -back in my place by the time the regiment reached the crest. But in a -little while I was very lame, and it was only by great effort that I -kept along with the regiment that day and the next. - -That night and the next morning we moved on a few miles farther and -took position on high ground not far from the James river. Here another -great battle was fought [Malvern Hill.] The artillery firing was -simply terrific, we having some of our gunboats in action. The rebels -charged again and again, and were driven back every time with frightful -losses. It was a terrible punishment we gave them. We were not actively -engaged, and so lost no men. - -I got in here this afternoon pretty well used up. It commenced to rain -last night, the roads were in bad condition, and there were thousands -upon thousands of stragglers. But aides were stationed to direct these -as they poured out onto the flats, and the disorganization was quickly -rectified. Don’t know when I’ll get a chance to send this. Go up and -tell my folks. - - ——————— - - _LX_ - - CAMP NEAR THE JAMES RIVER, - _Monday, July 8, 1862_. - -Can write only a short letter now, and my old excuse will have to do -duty again—“used up.” We are fortifying our position, and as there -is a good chance of Johnny paying us a visit most any time, we are -putting the house in order to entertain him. We work night and day on -our intrenchments. We are camped in an open field, on a gentle slope -along the crest of which run our rifle pits and earthworks. The weather -is frightfully hot, and as a consequence the men feel very shiftless -and lazy. I do, anyway, and judge the rest by their actions. Quite a -number of our boys were taken prisoners in the retreat. Perk. Lane -is probably among the number, as he was one of the sick sent back to -Savage Station, and they were nearly all taken. - -Eddie Dakin, the Captain’s waiter, is going home tomorrow, and I will -intrust this letter to him, to be dropped in the Manchester or some -other post office. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: BILL RAMSDELL] - - - ——————— - - _LXI_ - - CAMP NEAR HARRISON’S LANDING, - JAMES RIVER, VA., _July 11, 1862_. - -Received a letter from you last night. I am writing under very -unfavorable conditions, as it is a rainy day and mud and water reign -supreme. Whenever it rains hard the water beats through the canvas -like a fine sieve. If the wind happens to blow it is pretty sure, -in addition, to beat into one end or the other of the shelter. The -prospect now is that we shall lay in our present position for some time -and have considerable leisure. If we do you can expect a letter from me -pretty often. - -We are hard at work fortifying our lines. The camp of our regiment is -immediately to the rear of a redoubt where twenty or thirty cannon -will be mounted. Two eight-inch howitzers are now in position. We are -building rifle pits from the right of this redoubt down to a pond -[Rowland’s mill pond.] When you know that our intrenchments form a line -several miles in length, you will get some idea of the magnitude of -our works. This is a very interesting locality, plastered all over with -historic associations. President Wm. Henry Harrison was born near here, -and down by the river there is a stately mansion built long before the -Revolution of bricks brought from England. In the family burying ground -I saw stones dating back over two hundred years. - - ——————— - - _LXII_ - - CAMP NEAR HARRISON’S LANDING, VA., - _July 19, 1862_. - -Rod. Manning, my present tentmate, and I got tired of lying in the -mud, so we sallied over to where they were tearing down a house, about -three-quarters of a mile from here, and managed to gather in a quantity -of the old clapboards. With these spread on a framework of poles, we -have a bunk or platform high enough to keep us out of the water when it -rains, and making a very fair seat when, for instance, I want to write -a letter to you. This is not the only public improvement. We have built -a bough arbor over the front of our tent to give some shade from the -scorching sun, and are thinking of a bough screen at the back end of -the tent to keep out the wind and rain. - -Our rifle pits are finished, so we will have no duty except guard duty -and a short drill each day. I hope the North will send reinforcements -on quickly, for I want to see our army advance again on Richmond and -end the war. This is a good place to rest in for a few weeks, where we -can have our supplies landed at our very door from transports. - -In the retreat from Fair Oaks our company lost ten men taken prisoners. -We have a pitifully short line now, compared with what it was when we -left Manchester. - - ——————— - - _LXIII_ - - CAMP NEAR HARRISON’S LANDING, VA., - _July 23, 1862_. - -By the papers I see that a hospital is to be established in New -Hampshire for the care of sick and wounded soldiers from our state. -That is all very nice, but, as much as I would like to see home, I hope -I will never have any use for that establishment. I have been out today -to a review by Gen. McClellan and am pretty well fagged out. Now I will -try to answer some of your questions. There are not many houses about -here—it’s right out in the country. Such houses as there are are mostly -occupied as hospitals. Those outside our lines that would interfere -with the range of our guns have been torn down. Notwithstanding the -ravages of war, it is a most beautiful region. The busy place now is -down at the landing, where the negroes are kept busy unloading supplies -from the transports. Our food, for a few days, has not been quite up -to the New Hampshire standard. Our meat has been “smoked sides”—a very -poor quality of bacon. I have almost forgotten how a real first-class -meal does taste. - -“Those curls?” Well, I came to the conclusion, yesterday, that inasmuch -as I had lost my comb and didn’t know where I could get another, heroic -measures were necessary. So I hunted up a camp barber and had my hair -cut and my head shaved, sandpapered and varnished. I was looking at the -little round picture yesterday, and a little end of black hair that -straggled out between the case and the picture reminded me that you -placed it there the night I told you I had enlisted. It was braided and -tied just as you tied it that evening. We had but little idea then that -I was to be so long away. - - _Thursday, July 24._ - -It is about three o’clock in the afternoon, and I have just finished -my dinner. I looked over the miserable piece of miserable bacon -that the company cook handed out to me, and then started off into -the wilderness, and when I came back I had gathered in a pint of -blackberries, which helped out very materially. - -General McClellan was around today looking over the intrenchments. One -of his staff had quite a little misadventure down by the pond, where -a lot of us were having a swim. A small canal, or sluice, runs out -of this pond, which is crossed by a frail plank bridge. The General -and staff were crossing this bridge, when a plank gave way and down -into the ditch went one horse and rider. The officer managed to crawl -out—and a very draggled specimen he was—but it took the united efforts -of the whole party to get that horse onto terra firma. - -I received a letter from Roger [Woodbury] yesterday. He was of opinion -that the Third Regiment would come up to the Peninsula, as troops were -being sent from that Department to reinforce McClellan. I saw Hen. [W. -H. D.] Cochrane yesterday, and he told me the Third and Fourth were -actually embarked for here. - - _Saturday, July 26._ - -Yesterday morning the Second Regiment went out on picket and got in at -noon today. I had the most enjoyable picket tour in all my experience. -We were out about two miles from camp, and as there were cavalry -vedettes and patrols still farther out, we had no fears of a surprise -attack. There were so many of us that no man had to stand a post more -than one one-hour turn. The rest of the time we were at liberty to -roam, pick blackberries and gather green apples and have a good time -generally. No camp ever had a more perfect picket protection than was -given by that swarm of foragers and sight-seeing scouts. Close to -headquarters was a house—a well-shaded, cozy southern home. The owner -and his two sons are in the rebel army, but his wife and daughter -remain and have a safeguard of our soldiers. And you never saw such a -swarm of little negroes as there was about that place. - -Today has been feast day—the greatest dinner within the memory of man—a -genuine “biled dish”—potatoes, beets, onions, cabbage and boiled salt -pork. And just now Rod. Manning is frying some apples that are going to -make a pretty good dish, if I can judge by the smell. - - _Sunday, July 27._ - -Hen. Everett has just been over here, and we had a good long chat about -times in the old printing office in Manchester. The sun is coming up in -a way that promises a hot day—and a hot day down here _is_ hot. - - ——————— - - _LXIV_ - - CAMP NEAR HARRISON’S LANDING, VA., - _August 3, 1862_. - -Our Division went out, last night, on a reconnoissance most up to -Malvern Hill, where the last great battle was fought on the retreat. We -went on through woods, over stumps, wading brooks and bog holes, until -we were pretty near the enemy’s lines, when Gen. Hooker learned that -Kearney had accomplished what we had set out to do, and we about-faced -and blundered back to camp through the darkness. It was almost three -o’clock when we got back, and I was tired through and through. [The -expedition was really misled by a guide.] - -There has been some little stir here for a few days in relation to -transfers to the gunboats, as twenty-five or thirty seamen are wanted -from each regiment. Those who have been to sea and want to go again -have passed in their names, but we do not know as yet who, if any, have -been accepted. Gunnison sent in his with the rest. - -The company cooks are preparing a great dinner—soup, with potatoes, -onions and cabbages in it. It certainly is a feast to men who have -learned not to be surprised if they get nothing but hard bread, or even -nothing at all. I have just heard that we are to go out tonight on -another reconnoissance. I hope not. I had much rather lie comfortably -in my tent than go on any such tramp as we had last night. - - ——————— - - _LXV_ - - CAMP NEAR HARRISON’S LANDING, VA., - _August 8, 1862_. - -Since I last wrote we have been on quite a little expedition to Malvern -Hill and back. We left our camp Monday afternoon, just before sunset. -It was a beautiful evening, and as we followed a fairly good road we -trudged along very comfortably until about midnight, when we halted -and slept on our arms until daybreak. Bright and early we resumed our -march. The enemy’s cavalry pickets were struck within a few hundred -yards and our cavalry sent them flying, after the exchange of a few -shots. When we came out into a large field I saw that we were on the -ground where we fought on the second day of the retreat from Fair -Oaks—[at Charles City Cross Roads.] Then we swung to the left and -pushed down the road to Malvern Hill—the same we had followed once -before. When we came out into the great open area around Malvern Hill, -one of our light batteries was already engaged with a rebel battery of -four pieces. These guns naturally paid some attention to us, but with -the exception of one shell which burst in our ranks before we filed -out of the road and did some damage, not a man was hit in the Second -Regiment. We had, really, remarkable luck, as they did some very good -shooting and burst a number of shells and case-shots in our very faces. -The Eleventh Massachusetts had two men killed and eight wounded by -one shot. After half or three-quarters of an hour of this, the rebel -battery limbered up and struck up the river road for Richmond, and our -cavalry went after them. We gathered in quite a bunch of prisoners, -singly and in little squads—men scattered around on outpost and picket -duty, who came up out of the woods to see what the trouble was—and -found out. One of these was particularly low-down mean and “sassy,” and -he and “Heenan” had it out. After looking us over he said there was -one thing he cussed himself for, and that was that he looked so much -like a Yankee. Then Nich., leaning on his gun took Johnny in hand. He -looked him up and down, with _such_ a contemptuous sneer on his face. -He commented on his general disreputable appearance, and to wind up -with, set the fellow fairly wild with rage, by leaning forward and -confidentially asking him how much nigger blood there was in him. - -The rebel battery was posted under big trees in the grounds of the old -mansion house on the hill. When we advanced to the position we found -three or four wounded and one dead batteryman that the rebels had left -behind. The dead man had been hit on the head by a piece of shell, and -lay all curled up, but still tightly clasping in his hands the shell he -was carrying to his gun. - -We occupied the hill until Thursday morning, when we leisurely returned -to camp. It was really a delightful outing. When we returned, my -haversack was bulging with the fruits of my foraging—apples and plums, -fresh pork, hog’s liver, and one good fat chicken. - -Perk. Lane and four others of our boys who were taken prisoners have -returned. They have had a pretty hard time of it, but have many amusing -stories to tell of prison life in Richmond. Provisions there are very -high indeed—molasses six dollars a gallon, flour twenty-five dollars -a barrel, bread twenty-five cents a loaf, and everything else in -proportion. We are beginning to get a little soft bread now ourselves. -Yesterday we had a whole loaf to a man, and we have had one meal before -that. - - _Sunday, August 10._ - -I hear from home that a great many of the white-livered gentry swear -they will not submit to being drafted. Then shoot them—that’s my -advice—and the Second Regiment would like the job. I can hardly write -at all, the flies bother me so. They are here in millions, and nobody -can take any comfort, for the torments. - - ——————— - - _LXVI_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _September 6, 1862_. - -After being here two days I have managed to get the materials together -for writing a letter. We have had a mighty strenuous time since we -marched away from Harrison’s Landing [August 15]—in two hard battles, -to say nothing of hard marches and transportation by sea and land, on -crowded steamers and rattletrap freight cars. Marching to Yorktown, we -were there loaded onto transports. No sooner were we fairly landed in -Alexandria than we were toted out to Warrenton Junction and dumped, -late at night, in the fields by the side of the road. Here, we were -told, we would have a chance to rest, and we did, just one day and one -night. That night Stonewall Jackson showed up at Manassas, directly in -our rear, and we were sent after him. We came upon him at Kettle Run -and had a rattling smart fight, with several hundred men killed and -wounded on both sides. Two days later we were engaged in the second -great battle of Bull Run. Our brigade here showed its mettle as it -never had before, and especially the Second Regiment. We were ordered -to advance through woods, without any supports, and attack the rebels -behind a railroad grade five or six feet high. We went in. They gave -us a volley, and we charged them, the Second going over the work with -a yell and giving those fellows the surprise of their life. It was -savage work for a short time, but we were determined to drive them, and -we did. Then we went for the second line, a few rods further on, and -set them agoing. And pretty soon it became apparent that what there was -left of us were being surrounded. Then we got out—we had to or be taken -prisoners. We lost 147 men out of a little over 300 that went in, and -most of these within a very few minutes. Gen. Grover said it was the -greatest bayonet charge of the war. - -I got my first man as I went over the bank. I dashed round a big bush -in the very edge of the grade right onto a rebel, who threw his gun -up aiming at somebody to my right. He never fired, for I gave it to -him from the hip and doubtless saved the life of some Second Regiment -man—I’ll never know who. And just as I was starting on my return trip -something tickled my upper lip and the roots of my nose, and for a -while I was doing the ensanguined act on the smallest capital of any -man in the regiment. It was a pretty close shave, all the same. One -inch further, in the wrong direction, would have spoiled my beauty, and -three inches would have spoiled me. - -The actual fate of a lot of the boys is still in doubt. Charlie Smiley -is missing, and nobody can tell anything about him. [He never came -back.] Frank Robinson was shot through the bowels, near the railroad -bank. Captain Carr told me, a few minutes later, that he had to leave -him there, dying. - -Father is over in Washington, but so far has been unable to get a pass -to come over here, while I could not get a pass to go over there. It -will be pretty tough if, after all I have gone through, and he so near, -they do not give me a chance to see him. - -I do not know how soon we may be on the move, but hope not for some -time, for really the regiment is in pretty bad shape. The latest camp -rumor is that we are going down to Budd’s Ferry, which would be very -nice, but is entirely improbable. But we certainly should have a chance -to get our breath, at least. We have been in ten fights, and in some -of them have borne the brunt. There are regiments here that have never -been in any fight at all, but have laid back here in comfort, while -others were getting the rough of it. - -It is a beautiful day, and I am sitting in front of my tent, upon a -pile of corn husks, the Potomac at my feet and the cities of Alexandria -and Washington up there to the north. - - ——————— - - _LXVII_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _September 14, 1862_. - -It bids fair to be a very hot day, so I am starting my letter just as -early as I can get down to business. Father got over the river three -or four days ago. Dan. Clark [U. S. Senator] took it up with the War -Department and Gerry got his pass. He is going to stay several days -longer, and you can imagine how much I am enjoying his visit. He is -spending a good part of his time visiting the hospitals and hunting -out and cheering up the New Hampshire men he finds there. He doesn’t -say anything, but I have my doubts whether the lodgings here are fully -up to his standard of comfort. Rod. Manning and I, in our capacity as -chambermaids, make up the best bed we can with the materials at our -command, and give E. G. the middle berth, with us under the eaves. But -the ground is hard, and a knapsack or pair of shoes is not a real good -pillow until you get fitted to them. Our guest grunts a good deal and -turns over pretty often, and this morning I woke up before daylight and -found him outside, sitting on a cracker box, over a little campfire he -had nursed into action. - -Since my last letter we have moved our camp about two miles, over to -Fairfax Seminary, a brick building now occupied as a hospital, on the -heights overlooking the city of Alexandria. Our camp is right to the -rear of Fort Ward. - -Did you ever know Joe Locke?—[Joseph L., a Manchester boy.] I saw -him yesterday. He is in the Thirty-third Massachusetts, which is -temporarily assigned to this brigade. - -Father brought up from the city, yesterday, a big bag of flour, butter, -and about all the other “fixings” he could lug, and there will be high -living, for a time, in our tent. The laugh was on him, good and hard, -the day we moved camp. He started out in the morning from our old camp, -to visit the hospitals. When we arrived here he was at the Seminary, -only a few rods away. He watched us come and pitch our tents, without -any idea that it was the Second Regiment, and when he got ready to go -he tramped back to the old camp, only to find himself among strangers. -Fortunately, some one was able to direct him, and in due time he was -back here with four extra miles of travel to his credit. - -Those boxes that the boys sent for from Harrison’s Landing came along -yesterday, but a great deal of the stuff had been so long on the way -that it had spoiled. When I see these new regiments coming out now I -remind myself that when my term of service is ended they will be only -half way through. But I hope that with the new calls for troops there -will be enough to finish this up in so short a time that we can all be -home before long. - -Two or three of the boys supposed to have been killed at Bull Run have -turned up in the hospitals, but poor Frank Robinson is undoubtedly dead. - -What company is your brother in? I will hunt him up if I can get to his -regiment after it arrives. [James K. Lane, Company G, Eleventh N. H.] - - ——————— - - _LXVIII_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _Sunday Evening, September 21, 1862_. - -I have been down to the Eleventh Regiment to see James [K. Lane, “the -girl’s” brother] and other boys there. I went into the camp, stopped a -while at one of the Manchester companies, where I found lots of fellows -that I knew, and then started for Co. G to find James, when he bore -down on me with all sail spread. I knew him, and he knew me, at sight, -and we were just as well acquainted after we had shaken hands as though -we had known each other for years. - -We are doing a little digging now—just enough to keep our hand in—on -rifle pits between Forts Worth and Ward. Our knapsacks, which were -loaded onto barges when we left Harrison’s Landing, got here only two -days ago. I had begun to think they were gone for good, and was ready -to bewail the loss of all my valuables, when they turned up safe and -sound. - - ——————— - - _LXIX_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _September 29, 1862_. - -It is now almost nine o’clock in the evening, and I have had a pretty -busy day. And tomorrow I go on picket, which will spoil two days more. -So I guess I had better write tonight. This morning, as soon as I had -eaten my breakfast, I started off for the Tenth Regiment. Met lots of -old Manchester acquaintances, and Billy Cochrane, Ichabod, Sargent -Bartlett and I got together and had a real Excelsior Literary Society -reunion. On my way back I called in at the Eleventh Regiment camp, and -James walked a part of the way home with me. - -Tonight “Bobby” [Albert B.] Robinson, who was taken prisoner at the -first Bull Run, got back to the company and the reception he got from -those of us who are still left baffles all description. A camp story is -going the rounds that Gov. Berry is trying to have this regiment sent -to New Hampshire to recruit. - - ——————— - - _LXX_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _Sunday, October 12, 1862_. - -Have just got back from the Thirteenth Regiment, where I found not a -single man I knew, so I got a good long tramp for nothing. Got a mosaic -letter from sister Addie Friday, made up of contributions from half a -dozen of her friends. Have just had a pocket tourniquet given me, a -little instrument to stop the flow of blood from a wounded arm or leg. -I don’t see how it could be of much use in stopping a bloody nose. -Charlie Smiley has never been heard from and doubtless never will. - -So far as quarters are concerned, we are mighty comfortably situated -just now. We have folded up our pieces of shelter tent and in their -place pitched a camp of old-fashioned army “Sibleys.” My tent-crew -comprises seven good fellows. Each man has built himself a bunk, and -still there is room to spare. The heavy tent-cloth keeps out the rain, -so we have a perfectly dry nest. But there are persistent rumors that -we will not remain here much longer. - - ——————— - - _LXXI_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _October 19, 1862_. - -The Eleventh Regiment is now in the vicinity of Harper’s Ferry. Simons, -who used to keep the bookstore, was down here yesterday, hunting up -stragglers from the division. He thought that by this time the regiment -might be over in Virginia. - -The nights are getting to be uncomfortably cool. My two heavy blankets -are not enough to keep me from feeling right chilly some nights. And I -will have to draw an overcoat before long—something I have not felt the -need of for some time. We went up to the fort today to report to the -engineer for fatigue duty, but he was not at home and we didn’t feel we -had any call to hang around waiting for him. - - ——————— - - _LXXII_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _October 28, 1862_. - -My company went on picket last Saturday. It was a most disagreeable -outing. A miserable rain storm came on in the night, and when the -boys, after a very tardy relief, dragged themselves back to camp, they -were cold, wet, bedraggled and discouraged. The rain held up yesterday -forenoon, but the wind kept up in a wild gale. I hardly ever saw such -a blow. Some of our tents were blown over. The tent-pins of my tent -pulled out and I thought at one time the whole outfit was going sure -enough. But we managed to anchor it, and today is one of the most -delightful imaginable. - -An order was recently issued by the War Department designed to fill -up the regular cavalry regiments at the expense of the volunteers. -It permits the transfer of ten men from each volunteer company, by -re-enlistment for three or five years, or to serve out the unexpired -part of their present enlistment. Lots of our boys have been getting -sour over some of the conditions here and were more than anxious to -try a change. So yesterday ten from this company marched down to the -recruiting station at Alexandria and joined the cavalry. When Col. -Marston heard of this he was mad as a hornet, and when they shouldered -their knapsacks this morning and marched away to their new command, -he sent a guard down to arrest and bring them back. But Col. Starr -ordered the guard away, telling them they had no business there, and -that the men now belonged to the Second U. S. Cavalry. It is really a -pretty hard blow to the old company, and makes me feel a little blue -and lonesome. The lost men are among the cream of the old company—such -men as “Heenan” and Perk. Lane and ’Gene Hazewell and my bunkie Rod. -Manning. - -We have not a quarter of a regiment to do duty now, and yet we are -doing the work of a full regiment. And the people in New Hampshire -think we are resting up! Why, I am now, and for some time have been, -doing heavy guard duty every other day. There are lots of mighty cross -men here, just now, who blame some of the officers for everything that -goes wrong, and the dearest wish of many is to get out of the regiment -as soon as possible. - -I am sure the report that Charlie Smiley is in a hospital near -Washington is incorrect. We have heard nothing of it here, and I fear -we will never hear him sing those songs of his any more. - -I began this letter this morning, and now it is evening. I have written -little snatches as I had opportunity through the day. ’Gene Hazewell -and one or two more of the “cavalry boys” have just come up visiting. -They go over to Washington tomorrow. Col. Marston managed to get some -sort of a veto put on any more cavalry enlistment down where our boys -went, but some thirty or forty from other companies went off today -and found another place where they could enlist, so they beat the old -Colonel after all. Everything I can hear the boys talk about now is -“_Cavalry_.” Rod. Manning has just come in to bid me good bye. Good old -Rod!—I almost wish I was going with him. - -There is any quantity of noise about camp, and the new band of the -Eleventh Massachusetts is contributing to the general hilarity by -putting in some of its loudest work. It is getting awfully cold -now—frost last night—and I can hardly hold my pen in my fingers. - - ——————— - - _LXXIII_ - - CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., - _October 30, 1862_. - -Five minutes ago I received a letter addressed in your familiar hand. -Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds ago I tore open the envelope. -I extracted, first, a note, which I supposed you had inclosed from -Mary. I opened it. “_Dear Brother_” stared me full in the face. -The note surely was not for me, but for brother James—just your -carelessness, sending it with the wrong letter. I unfolded your letter, -and—what!—“_Dear Brother!_”—there it was again. The whole huge joke was -clear. I hope James was not as grievously disappointed when he got my -letter as I was when I got his. I return it, unread if not unopened. - - ——————— - - _LXXIV_ - - MANASSAS, VA., _November 4, 1862_. - -We are once more out here at famous old Manassas. We left Alexandria -Saturday afternoon, marching eight or nine miles in the direction of -Fairfax Court House. Sunday we got in seventeen miles and camped by the -side of Bull Run creek. Yesterday forenoon we marched up here—about -three miles—and by night had our canvas city of little shelter tents -set up and in good running order. Bill Ramsdell and I hitched up -together, and we have got as cozy and comfortable a mansion as one -could desire. There is any quantity of stuff lying around loose, and we -had no difficulty in finding canvas to close up one end of the tent and -boards enough to floor it. Then we got a quantity of hay for bedding, -and what more could we wish for? We expect our big Sibley tents along -soon, but Bill and I are well enough off as we are. - -You know the rebel army occupied this place last winter and strongly -fortified it. Their fortifications are on every side, very rough, but -very strong, and now covered with weeds. But a little ways from our -camp, littering the railroad tracks and the ground on either side, is -the wreckage of the railroad trains destroyed by Jackson in the raid -that culminated in the last Bull Run battle. In some places are great -piles of shovel blades, in others carbines—in fact, almost everything -in the shape of army supplies and equipments—nothing left but the -irons. Near by are the rebel log barracks, which we are tearing down -for firewood. We have the entire division, now commanded by Sickles, -here at Manassas, with about thirty pieces of artillery. I presume we -will stay here some time, although it will depend in a great measure -upon the movements of the main army. I see the mail bag has just gone -out, so there is no chance for this to go today. I hear, also, that -there are lots of apples outside our picket line, and I am going out to -see about it. - - ——————— - - _LXXV_ - - CAMP ON CENTREVILLE HEIGHTS, VA., - _Sunday, November 9, 1862_. - -You will see we have moved again. We remained at Manassas only two -nights, when the Second Regiment was sent over here. Centreville -Heights are four or five miles from Manassas, and, like that place, -strongly fortified. There are redoubts and rifle pits almost without -end, and the rebel barracks form a veritable log city. We relieved the -120th New York, which we found here, and now have the whole thing to -ourselves. It has been a busy camp since we arrived, as the approaching -winter warns us to prepare for storms. The abandoned rebel camps are a -rich quarry of building materials—boards, nails, bricks, &c.—with which -we have built a veritable shanty city on the ridge. Bill Ramsdell and -I have put together one of the cutest little mansions that ever was. -The ground dimensions are about seven feet by six, six feet high at the -eaves. The fireplace and door take up the entire front, and the house -is tight, snug and warm. The fireplace works to a charm, and there -is a delicious sensation of coziness in sitting by your own cheerful -fireside. We have an unlimited supply of wood, and tonight will sit -and bask and chat and dream. We have a long shelf across the rear end, -a mantle-shelf over the fireplace, and tomorrow will put in a bunk, a -little table and some stools. Our fireplace is built up of flat rocks, -the chimney of bricks, and topped out with a big iron kettle minus a -bottom. And our cabin has a good board floor. Now if they will only -let us stay here a while and enjoy the fruits of our labors we will be -a thousand times repaid. The winter season has fairly set in. Friday -we had the first snow of the season and it was bitter cold. I happened -to be on guard that day, and I had a pretty bleak time of it. My post -was in a redoubt, from which I had the whole country clear to the Blue -Ridge spread out before me like a map. The wind whistled and the snow -blew, and, crouching under the protecting walls of the work, I tried -to extract some comfort from the situation. When I went on at night I -decided to have a fire, and I gathered up wood and built a good one in -one of the angles of the fort. It was a little irregular for a sentry -on post, and still was the right thing under the circumstances, and I -got lots of comfort out of it. From my post I could trace the routes I -followed on my two pilgrimages to Bull Run. - -A long wagon train has come up, going out to McClellan, and six -companies are going along with it as a guard. I am glad our company is -not in the detail. They are to take four days’ rations. The village -of Centreville is close by our camp—a typical southern, village of -twenty-five or thirty houses, mostly deserted and all very dilapidated. - -It is now evening, and I have been writing in the glow of a good fire. -Just a few minutes ago Bill got up and went out of doors. In a few -minutes the smoke was pouring into the room like a coalpit. I stood it -till I was in danger of choking, then plunged outside just in season -to see Bill dodge out of sight up the street, and to find a big pan -covering the top of the chimney. When Bill came in I laid it to him -and he owned up. He said he tried to peek into the tent, but the smoke -was so thick he couldn’t see anything, and he waited until he thought -I never would be driven out. Bill is a good deal of a character. He is -smart, fine-looking, well-educated, and an adventurer, having spent -many years in California. His home is in Milford, and he went to -Portsmouth as a lieutenant in the Milford company—and he was the best -posted one in the line. When his company was broken up, he was too -patriotic to back out, and after looking the ground over, he enlisted -as a private in this company. - -This very day terminates one-half of my enlistment—have turned the -corner and am now headed for home. - -Bill wants to go to bed, so good night. - - ——————— - - _LXXVI_ - - CENTREVILLE HEIGHTS, VA., - _November 16, 1862_. - -Have had delightful weather the past week, but today it has come off -colder and looks as if it was going to snow. I do not care if it -does, having a snug, warm house and plenty of firewood. During the -week a great many of the boys have visited the Bull Run battlefield. -Some Company C boys who went over the first of the week found Frank -Robinson’s skeleton. It was fully identified by a peculiar filling of -the teeth. - -“Curley” [Granville S.] Converse and I took a day off and went over -together. That field, where the battle-lines locked horns, was a field -of horrors. The hasty and incomplete burials—in many instances no -burial at all—with the work of the elements for months, had made a -ghastly mess of things. Human skulls rolling about, with fragments of -disjointed skeletons here and there. We found the body of one man lying -all alone far out in the open field, which had lain undiscovered and -undisturbed right where the poor fellow fell and died. There was one of -the “missing,” whose friends only know that he was lost in that fight. -I could have gathered wagon loads of bullets, shell fragments and other -debris. I send one bullet, with fragment of blue cloth attached, that -tells its own story. It struck some poor fellow, going right through -him, flattening on a bone as it passed and making a hook which tore -off a fragment of blouse as it came out. But enough of horrors for one -letter. - -On our way back to camp “Curley” and I struck it rich. As we crossed -Bull Run creek at the stone bridge we noticed, on the flats below, an -old sow with a litter of pigs. And as we were studying the situation -reinforcements came up—a fellow from some New York regiment. He had his -old Belgian rifle with him, I had my six-shooter, and “Curley” had his -jackknife. We held a council of war, decided on a plan of operations, -and when we got through we had three of those pigs. They were neatly -and expeditiously dressed and “Curley” and I headed for camp with a -fine supply of pig pork swinging from a pole between us. Bill and I -have been living on fresh pork ever since—pork steak, pork chops, pork -cutlets, pork chitterlings. And Bill rigged up a wire contraption and -roasted one choice cut by hanging before the fire. - -Friday night we had quite a flutter in camp in anticipation of an -attack. As near as I can find out, some place fifteen or twenty miles -from here was threatened by some rebel cavalry sometime or other, and -our super-alert officers determined not to be caught napping. So along -in the night the men were routed up and ordered to pack up ready to -march at a moment’s notice, and to sleep with all their equipments on. -Bill and I packed our blankets, but were not foolish enough to get into -our harness—time enough for that after there was an alarm. And after -a while, having discussed the situation and the probabilities, and -feeling the need of our blankets, we pulled them out, made ourselves -comfortable, and are still alive to tell the tale. - -We have a battery of artillery here with us, two pieces in each of -three redoubts. They are now surrounding the redoubts with an abattis -of felled trees, the limbs and branches sharpened and pointed outward. -It makes a very troublesome thing to climb over, particularly of a dark -night. - -Bill and I are seriously considering the advisability of enlarging our -house. I think it probable we will tackle the job within a few days. -We are also planning to take a little trip for a winter supply of -walnuts and pork, both of which grow wild and are quite abundant out -in the country. If we had a shot gun we could get any quantity of gray -squirrels. If we get into any place this winter where we are reasonably -sure of stopping, about the first thing I will do will be to send home -for a box of good things to eat. - -There is a little girl here in Centreville that I have taken quite a -fancy to, she looks so much like you. She is about eight years old, and -I saw her while on guard duty. She has features like you, hair like -yours, and when she smiles her cheeks dimple up just as yours do. Yet -she is a little slave girl, just for that drop of negro blood that I -would never suspect. - -* * * It is evening now, and I have seated myself on the edge of our -bunk to finish my letter. Bill is sprawled out beside me, reciting -poetry by the yard. We had a dress parade at sunset, Major Bailey in -command. He has got a monstrous big overcoat, to match his gloves, hat, -and shoulder-straps, and when I first saw him coming I thought it was a -woman. I expect to be on guard tomorrow. Our detail for guard duty now -is two men a day from each company. As Company I now has only fifteen -for duty, this brings us on guard about once a week. I heard somebody -in the street say, just now, that Hooker has ordered us to report to -him at the front. I am not over-anxious to get out of my comfortable -little nest here, but if we are to go we will be delighted to serve -again under glorious old Joe Hooker. - - ——————— - - _LXXVII_ - - CAMP AT WOLF RUN SHOALS, ON OCCOQUAN CREEK, VA., - _November 23, 1862_. - -I have just finished reading letters from you and Addie that came in -this morning. My fingers are so cold I can hardly clutch the pen, and -the wind fairly howls as it comes tearing up the gorge. We left our -Centreville camp Tuesday and arrived here the next day. Up to yesterday -noon it rained without cessation, and as we trudged along through the -mud and rain, or shivered in our wet beds with no protection but our -little pieces of shelter-tent, you may be sure we thought of the happy -homes we had left at Centreville. This is one of the wildest places I -have seen in Virginia, the Occoquan rushing down through gloomy gorges -clothed in a dense vegetation. The river here is about as wide as Elm -street, and only to be crossed at fords, and at this season of the year -wading rivers has its disagreeable features. On the crest commanding -this ford the rebels had two forts, and along the hillside, between the -forts and river, a line of rifle pits. Our regiment is camped on the -hillside, between the forts and pits, and the declivity above us is so -steep as to be almost a precipice. - -Our entire division is now assembled in this immediate vicinity. The -wind blows bitter cold today, and there is a good fire going in front -of every tent. Bill is sitting on a half-barrel, outside the tent, -writing letters, and I am on my blankets at the portal. Every few -minutes we have to stop and thaw out at the fire. - -Bill and I have really been living pretty high on this expedition. We -lugged soft bread enough in our haversacks and knapsacks so that we -still have a good supply left. The day we got here I waded back across -the creek and went on an exploring expedition. Away back in the woods -I came upon a little clearing. In it was an abandoned cabin, and it -was a picture of desolation. I imagine there was a tragedy here. There -were the ruins of a garden patch which evidently had been raided and -plundered by vagabonds like myself. But they had not made a clean -harvesting, and ploughing around with a sharp stick I managed to turn -up quite a quantity of excellent potatoes. I also found some turnips -and onions, and some fairly good apples, and came back to camp loaded -with truck. We had fried chicken yesterday morning. Bill borrowed my -revolver, went off on a scout, and came back with the bird. I asked him -if he shot it or bought it; I suspect the latter. There are quantities -of walnuts, butternuts and persimmons about here. These last are a -wild plum, growing on a tree looking much like an apple tree. They are -awfully puckery when green, and sickish sweet when dead ripe. - -Two days before we left Centreville Johnny Ogden’s wife came out to see -him. It is no place for a woman, and my opinion is she had better have -stayed at home. She has had a chance to see some of the rough side of -campaigning. All that could be done has been done for her convenience -and comfort. She has a fully inclosed tent here, thickly bedded with -hay—the best quarters in camp. - -I have some hopes now that this awful war will be over before many -months. We all have confidence in Burnside and are hoping he will lead -us to victory. “Officers’ Call” has just sounded, and I am afraid it -means orders to march. - -P. S.—It was an inspection, and we are now ordered to carry an extra -pair of shoes in our knapsacks. That looks like some traveling. One -pair of my size will be about all I will care to tote. - - ——————— - - _LXXVIII_ - - CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _Sunday, November 30, 1862_. - -This is the last day of Fall. Tomorrow commences the Winter campaign, -which, if carried on, will necessarily be one of privations and -hardships. We arrived in our present position day before yesterday, and -are encamped, with the rest of the Army of the Potomac, opposite the -ancient city of Fredericksburg, which, with the rest of the territory -on that side of the Rappahannock, is held by the rebel army. I can -distinctly see their camps and camp fires from where I am sitting. All -the New Hampshire troops now in Virginia are camped right here within -a distance of a mile or two and I have met hundreds of old friends and -acquaintances. I have seen James several times, and we had a hearty -laugh over that mix up you made in our letters. - -I am going over to the cavalry, right away, to get something to -eat. The lean years follow the fat years and the famine follows the -feast—and I am almost starved. Have been on short allowance for -three days. Sutlers are simply giving their goods away—butter, 50 -cents; cheese, 45 cents; tobacco, $2.00 a pound—and everything else -in proportion. We have not had a mail for several days, but Bill -Pendleton, our mail agent, tells me there will be one tonight. - -Just this moment I have heard something that encourages me to have -hopes that I may see you before long. Johnny Ogden told Bill Ramsdell -that Colonel Marston told his (Johnny’s) wife that the time was -approaching when the question of this regiment going home would be -presented in such a manner that it could not be refused. He thought, -though, we would stay and see the Fredericksburg affair through. - -We have just got an order for inspection this afternoon, and the men -are sitting around on the ground taking their guns to pieces to clean -them. I might as well get busy with the rest. - - ——————— - - _LXXIX_ - - CAMP IN THE MUD, - OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _December 5, 1862_. - -I intend only to _begin_ this letter today, as I cannot hold on long -in my present position—the ground for a seat, my knees for a writing -desk, and my fingers blue with cold. A cold, drizzling rain set in -today, which drove me under my shelter tent. Every little while a -drop will splash down over my paper, and I cannot straighten up -without hitting my head and shoulders on the canvas. Sally Shepherd’s -brother—“Doctor”—was over here yesterday from the Ninth Regiment. - - _Saturday, December 6._ - -You see I didn’t get a great ways on your letter yesterday. The rain -changed to snow and beat in at the open end of the tent, so I had to -leave off writing and get boughs to close it up. This done, Bill and I -rolled ourselves up in our blankets and did not rout out until supper -time. As soon as supper was swallowed we denned in again and did not -dig out until morning. It snowed considerable during the night and our -light tent sagged with the weight of the snow, but, curled up like two -bears in winter quarters, we were very snug and warm. - -We have just drawn new clothing, and I was getting in need of it. Bill -and I have also come into possession of two extra pieces of shelter -tent, so we can now close our house in on all sides; and when we get -the rubber blankets we are expecting we will be pretty well heeled for -winter. - - _Sunday, December 7._ - -We are expecting to march soon with eight or ten days’ rations in our -haversacks and on the wagons. We are expecting orders to cook extra -rations right away. A good many troops are embarking at Belle Plain, -eight or ten miles below here, but for what destination I do not know. -All the line officers are confident we are going home before long. I -understand the Adjutant told some of the boys who were transferred to -the Regulars that the regiment was going home soon; but that may have -been simply to make them regret their desertion of the Second. - -It looks like winter now—as it is. The ground is covered with snow -and the wind blows cold. Woe be to him who has no overcoat. We are -beginning to realize the beauties of a winter campaign. But the -poorly-clad rebels must suffer much more than we do. Deserters tell us -a great many are barefoot, and that General Lee has issued instructions -for them to make moccasins of the raw hides of their cattle. - -I am on police duty today, so between lugging water for the cooks, -wood for my fire, and writing letters, I will manage to make a fairly -busy day. Johnny Ogden’s wife has gone home. There is a story that -two men were found dead in their tents last night in the camp of the -Seventeenth Maine—probably frozen to death, as it was bitter cold. -As for myself, I am equipped now so I sleep as well as if I was on a -feather bed. There are more than twenty stories afloat about our going -home. - - ——————— - - _LXXX_ - - IN CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _Tuesday Evening, Dec. 16, 1862_. - -There has been a terrible battle, in which New Hampshire has borne her -full share and lost many a loyal son. Thursday we began to lay pontoon -bridges at points about two miles apart, on which to cross over and -attack the rebels on the heights around Fredericksburg. The rebels -vigorously opposed this work, especially at the upper bridge, crossing -into the city, and there was heavy skirmishing and a tremendous -artillery fire before the bridges were laid and the army commenced -crossing. Our regiment crossed Friday night, at the lower pontoons, -which we were at once stationed to guard. The great fight took place on -Saturday, when thousands of men were killed or wounded. Our regiment -was not engaged that day, and by climbing a little elevation near the -bridges I could see the fringe of the fight, at long range, over the -trees and houses of Fredericksburg. Our men advanced with the utmost -bravery, but the rebels had an enormous advantage in position, upon the -hills and behind breastworks, and our men charged across the open plain -only to be slaughtered by thousands. - -Saturday night two regiments relieved us at the bridges and we rejoined -our brigade at the front. Early Sunday morning an audacious rebel -battery took position in a field on our front and opened on us. The -Pennsylvania boys on the picket line couldn’t do a thing with them; -but we sent out our Company B, and when their Sharp’s rifles began to -bark the rebels couldn’t get away from those guns fast enough. And they -made no further attempt to work them that day. We kept out one company -at a time, relieving as fast as ammunition was used up. I fired fifty -rounds. A dozen of us lay in a ditch by the side of the road, and kept -up a brisk fire on a couple of houses used by the rebels as a cover. We -fired over each other’s heads sometimes and had a merry time. Some of -our boys got cover behind a big pile of loose lumber, and we kept two -men behind an old chimney. - -After this work had been going on nearly all day, there was a truce for -some purpose or other, on that part of the line, the firing ceased, -and the two skirmish lines mingled together like the best of friends, -comparing notes and joking and chaffing each other. One rebel colonel, -for some reason or other, was especially interested in the man behind -the chimney and wanted to meet him. After a time the men leisurely -meandered back to their hiding places, but there was very little -shooting after that exchange of courtesies. - -We recrossed the river last night, and got back into our old camp -late this afternoon. I saw James this afternoon. He was unhurt and -was writing letters. His regiment suffered severely, losing over two -hundred. Jason Barker was killed. In the Manchester Battery two of my -old acquaintances—John Fish and Tom Morrill—were killed, and Bill Fish -was wounded in the foot. Charlie Vickery, of my company, was wounded in -the neck. The regiment lost only twelve men wounded [two mortally.] - -I will write home tomorrow, and meantime you must slip up and let -the folks know I am unhurt. I am glad I am to name my little sister. -Shall send some short, pretty name. For the past week my rations have -consisted solely of salt pork and crackers, and I am so hungry I think -I shall send for a box. - - ——————— - - _LXXXI_ - - CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _December 23, 1862_. - -Received a letter from Addie last night and she said they had thought -of naming the little sister _Flora_. I had written a day or two before -and suggested the name _Cora_. Now, isn’t it a queer coincidence that -we should think of names so near alike? Either is pretty enough, and I -do not care a snap which they adopt. Addie wrote she imagined I would -send _Nealie_ for a name—and I did think some of doing so. - - ——————— - - _LXXXII_ - - CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _January 1, 1863_. - -Happy new year! and a great many of them! The new year presents itself -to us in very pleasant fashion—clear and bright, but cold enough -to suit a Laplander. James was over here and stayed with me Monday -night, and we had a gay time. We sat before the fire and chatted and -laughed and planned good times for the future. Then we rolled up in our -blankets and slept. Jim was the first awake and kicked me out of bed, -whereupon I arose in my wrath and drove him out of camp. - -I went over to the Ninth Regiment to inquire concerning Sally -Shepherd’s brother [Enoch O., familiarly known as “Doctor.”] I could -learn nothing further than that he was missing and had not been heard -from since the battle. No one knew when he fell. I pity Sally and her -mother, as there can now be no doubt that he is another victim of this -accursed rebellion. The note written to Sally was doubtless from some -one of the burial party who went over, under a flag of truce, to bury -our dead, and who, finding the envelope on a body, was thoughtful -enough to write to the address. It must remove from her mind all doubts -as to his fate. - -For days the boys have been kept in a constant stew with stories of -marching, but I am not losing any sleep over any of them. My main -effort now is to get all the bodily comfort I can out of the situation. -Well well, of all the sights! A load of soft bread has just come in. -The most popular camp story just now is that Marston is to be appointed -Military Governor of Washington and the Second Regiment is going there -as provost guard and is to be armed with Allen & Wheelock breechloading -rifles. - -Bill Ramsdell, who disappeared some little time ago, has been heard -from. As near as I can make out he thought that while furloughs were -being passed out to the favored few he was entitled to one himself, and -applied for it. He got turned down, and now he turns up at his home in -Milford and writes that he is recruiting his strength and is coming -back “when his furlough expires.” - -I have got my tent raised up on logs, with a good bunk of poles and a -turf fireplace. Have a big pile of wood to burn tonight, and will have -a good fire to drive away Jack Frost. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: HEN. EVERETT] - - - ——————— - - _LXXXIII_ - - CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _January 9, 1863_. - -Charlie Vickery is going home on furlough tomorrow. So am I—in about -sixteen months. We have moved camp about a mile and a half, and already -have very comfortable winter quarters fixed up. Yesterday I wrote home -for a box. The chances are good for our staying here long enough for -me to get it. I am tenting now with George Lawrence, who was one of -my tent’s crew at Camp Sullivan. Of my six tentmates there, two have -been killed, one died of disease, and one joined the cavalry. Ed. -Bailey [Major commanding the regiment] is under arrest on charges of -disobeying orders of General Carr. I don’t imagine it is anything very -serious. - - ——————— - - _LXXXIV_ - - CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, VA., - _January 16, 1863_. - -Everything seems to be going wrong today. The wind has been blowing -a perfect hurricane; last night it rained hard; just now there is a -good prospect of our having to leave the snug huts we have built and -go somewhere—the Lord only knows where. Marston has been appointed -Brigadier-General, and the story persists that he has had this regiment -detached for special duty at Washington and that the order is now at -headquarters. - -Bill Ramsdell’s “furlough” appears to be still in good working order. -There are doubtless some details under the surface that we don’t know, -but I’ll bet on Bill. So will all the old boys. He was not the type of -patriot who couldn’t serve his country unless he was ornamented with -shoulder straps, and there is a quite general sentiment that smaller -men than he is have refused him a square deal. - -There was a terrible catastrophy in my tent last night. Over our bunk -was a shelf loaded with a miscellaneous assortment of a little of -everything—letters, papers, portfolio, a dish of cooked rice and a -can of molasses. All of a sudden, Lawrence, in performing some of his -antics, sent the shelf flying, and such a mess! The molasses seemed to -have a chemical affinity for everything there was in that tent, and it -is unnecessary to say it was a total loss. - -Perk. Lane, Rod. Manning and the other boys who went into the cavalry -are visiting in camp. Their regiment is near here. Hen. Pillsbury and -Joe Hubbard are here and well. Joe is captain of Company B. He is one -of the best fellows and most popular officers in the regiment. - - ——————— - - _LXXXV_ - - CAMP NEAR FALMOUTH, VA., - _January 24, 1863_. - -Since last Tuesday we have been paddling around in the rain and mud -to our heart’s content—and a good deal more. The short of the story -is that Gen. Burnside intended to cross the Rappahannock a few miles -above here and attack the enemy, but owing to continuous rains the -roads became impassable and the army was obliged to wallow back to its -old position and wait for better conditions. Our division left camp -Tuesday noon, in a pouring rain, and accomplished about a mile and a -half, under difficulties. Then we waited until about nine o’clock at -night, when we were ordered back to our camps. Wednesday we tried it -again and managed to get about six miles. The mud was simply awful, and -it was almost an utter impossibility to move the wagons and artillery -at all. The Manchester battery was striddled along the road, a gun -here and a caisson there, over a stretch of three miles. And that was -the way everything on wheels was hung up. General Burnside had issued -an address to the army, saying they were soon to meet the enemy and -enjoining them to display their old-time bravery. But God willed that -the battle should not take place just at present, and with the elements -at command He prevented it. Yesterday the division made its way back to -the old camps. Lawrence and I rehabilitated our old shanty and are now -as comfortable and cozy as you please. - -I saw George Dakin day before yesterday—the first time since he went -into the army. I got a letter from Addie and expect my box is on the -way. I am actually suffering for something good to eat. Have you seen -the picture I sent Addie? Did you ever see a more disreputable-looking -outlaw? - - ——————— - - _LXXXVI_ - - HEADQUARTERS SICKLES’ DIVISION, - NEAR FALMOUTH, VA., - _Sunday, February 8, 1863_. - -Have you begun to wonder why I have not written for a fortnight? Well, -I have made another lightning change and am now on the provost guard at -division headquarters. I am not prepared to say that I exactly relish -the change. I was denned in for a comfortable, easy-going winter, -without much work, when I was pitchpoled into this place, where it is -nothing but hard work. Lawrence and I were notified by the Orderly -Sergeant that we were detailed for special duty, that we were to take -our entire outfit with us, and report to the Adjutant. We dismantled -our shack, packed up, and reported. We found nine more victims, from -other companies. I was placed in charge of the squad and ordered to -report to the Provost Marshal at Sickles’ headquarters. It snowed and -was awful cold. Along with detachments from other regiments of the -division we were quartered two nights in a barn, which was dry enough, -but we came near freezing. Then we pitched our tents and began to -hustle to make ourselves comfortable. In company with four from my own -squad and two from the First Massachusetts, I am now comfortably housed -in a log and canvas palace, 17x7 feet, inside measurement, with a big -fireplace and good bunks. - -I have been promoted, “for gallant and meritorious”—_cheek_. When I -reported my squad, I gave in, of course, the names and rank of all as -privates. My first detail was for guard duty. I stood a post for two -hours, and I did a lot of thinking. I had been taking things in, and -had discovered that a private soldier on provost guard had about the -worst job in the army. It was not only guard duty, but police duty -of all kinds, and they were hewers of wood and luggers of water for -everybody. I wasn’t brought up that way. And at last I made a guess, -and I guess that I made a pretty good guess. When I came off post I -marched up to the Marshal’s tent, saluted, and delivered the following -oration: “Captain, I am Private Haynes of the Second New Hampshire. -The order for detail from my regiment called for ten privates and a -corporal. We are very short of non-commissioned officers, so I was -placed in charge as an acting corporal. It was my oversight in not so -stating when I reported my detachment. So I was given a post as sentry -today and have stood it, but I thought it best to call your attention -to the matter.” When the next relief was called Sergeant-Major -Featherstone announced: “Corporal Haynes takes charge of this relief.” -Relieved from a common laborer’s drudgery and from the heavier part -of guard duty, I will get along, probably, as comfortably as I would -with the regiment. And I am in position to make it easier for my boys -from the Second. Featherstone seems to have a pretty high idea of the -average capacity of my New Hampshire Yankees. The other day he called -on me for a skilled wood worker, who could do repair work mainly. I -recommended my bunkmate Lawrence, and now George has the softest job -of any man on the Guard—nothing to do but whittle. And the axe-helves -and tool handles he turns out to replace the broken ones are really a -credit to his skill. - -My box has not come yet. The express matter is at Belle Plain, but it -is hard to get anything but army supplies up over the railroad. I have -not seen James for some time. His camp is a mile and a half from here, -and I have to stick pretty close to these headquarters, just now. I -have heard that the Ninth Army Corps, to which his regiment belongs, -is on the way to North Carolina. If so, I shall not see him again. He -was over here a few days ago, but I was off in the woods with a squad -of men. [I never saw him again. He was killed, the following year, at -Spottsylvania.] - - ——————— - - _LXXXVII_ - - HEADQUARTERS BERRY’S DIVISION, - NEAR FALMOUTH, VA., - _February 15, 1863_. - -Out I go again into the cold—the same old story. Somebody else is -enjoying the cozy quarters I helped build over at the Fitzhugh -house, while I am sitting in my little shelter tent, hardly big -enough for two, with the rain pouring and all my surroundings wet -and uncomfortable. It all comes from the fact that Sickles, having -been put in command of the corps, retains his old quarters as corps -headquarters, while Berry, put in command of the division, has to set -up housekeeping somewhere else, taking the division provost guard along -with him, of course. We are now about two miles from the camp of the -Second, and fully a mile from any of the division, and it is said we -are to move again in a day or two. The entire brigade is out on picket -now. Went out three days ago, and rations have been sent out for three -days more. They are out six or seven miles, above Falmouth. My box has -not reached me yet, and I am getting a little mad about it. Many of -the boys have got theirs, which started at the same time; but there is -still a great pile at the landing and mine is probably among them. - -Charlie Vickery has got back looking like a new man. I was glad to see -him, for he brought me a half-dollar’s worth of postage stamps just as -I was all out and wondering where I would get more. - -The furlough excitement might as well be set down as a delusion, except -for the favored few. Only one man in my company—Dave Perkins, the -orderly sergeant—has got one yet. One a week—or every ten days! You -see, by the time the last man gets his furlough it will be time for -his discharge. It will not be many weeks before Uncle Joe Hooker will -be making a forward movement and the furloughs will be shut off with a -snap. As a matter of form, and just to see what he would say, I asked -Lieutenant Gordon, commanding the company, to send my name in among -the first. He said he should give the married men the preference. When -I asked him if the men who were engaged had any special standing, he -looked as if he thought I was trifling. - -Major Bailey was before a court martial a few days ago. Ed must be -getting used to it. The charge was, I believe, disrespect of superior -officers. I have not heard the result. - - ——————— - - _LXXXVIII_ - - HEADQUARTERS BERRY’S DIVISION, - NEAR FALMOUTH, VA., - _February 23, 1863_. - -A week ago or so, the story was afloat that the regiment was going home -right away, “and no mistake.” Col. Marston had been down here, and had -the consent of the President, the Secretary of War, and General Hooker, -and we were sure to go. All the officers took stock in the story, and -I did really hope that by next Saturday we might be in Manchester. But -even now the hopes of going have died out and the excitement subsided. -Such stories have been let loose every two or three weeks as regular as -clockwork. - -You would have screamed if you could have seen the ridiculous -sleighride I did today. It was a lark of the General’s staff officers. -They had a set of sleigh-runners made and a wagon body mounted on them. -The sleighing would not have been called sleighing at all up in New -Hampshire. But they started out, with one lady in the party, tipped -over twice, and then went to smash entirely. - -Ed. Bailey’s commission as Lieutenant-Colonel has come. His court -martial is ended, and whatever the findings he is returned to duty. -Frank Wasley is now Sergeant-Major. One of the boys saw my box at the -landing yesterday. There are several inches of snow on the ground, -which fell yesterday; but it is warm today and the snow will not last -long. - -_Wednesday._—I have been busy the past two days. Yesterday my patience -about gave out. We had two choppers out in the woods, and along in the -afternoon I was sent out with teams and a squad of men to gather up and -bring in the wood they had down. Before we got to the woods we met one -of the choppers, who told me there was no need to go any farther, as -there was no wood cut; that they would not allow him to chop anywhere, -as the trees were wanted to build corduroy roads with. Of course I -turned around and went back—a distance of two miles. We had not been in -camp fifteen minutes before the other chopper came in and said he had -been chopping all day and had lots of wood down. The first chopper had -not been out at all, but had been having a glorious drunk, and told me -the story he did to get himself out of a scrape. Of course we had to -go out again—and of all the times! It looked sometimes as if we never -would get out of the woods. The teams got stuck, and chains broke. -There was an apology for a road, but its main features were stumps, -roots and bog holes. Nothing but an army wagon could ever have stood -the strain, and nothing but a team of army mules, guided by army mule -drivers, would ever have attempted to get in and out of that place. But -we got our wood, and were back at headquarters, tired but triumphant, -about eight o’clock in the evening. - -Captain Gordon told me, yesterday, that Colonel Marston had declined -his Brigadiership and was coming back to take command of the regiment, -much to Bailey’s disappointment. - -George Lawrence is expecting a furlough to come along tomorrow, and he -says: “Finish a long letter and I will carry it as far as Lawrence for -you.” But I guess it will go as quickly by mail. - - ——————— - - _NOTE_ - - _The interval of time between the preceding and the following - letters is explained by the fact that the stories and rumors - of “going home” actually materialized at this time. The regiment - left the Army of the Potomac February 26 and arrived in New - Hampshire March 3. It left the state for the front again May 25, - arriving in Washington May 27. The “Soldier Boy” and “The Girl - I left behind me” were married March 9._ - - ——————— - - _LXXXIX_ - - WASHINGTON, D. C., _May 27, 1863_. - -Got into Washington this morning at half-past six—less than forty-eight -hours on the route from New Hampshire. George Slade lost his knapsack -somewhere on the way. Mrs. Wasley was at Concord and rode down on the -train. The last I saw of her she was standing on the plank walk, her -eyes full of tears. I was glad you did not come to the depot when the -regiment passed through. George Slade’s wife was at Concord, almost -heart-broken. [It was their last farewell—George never came back.] - -We are stopping now at the “Soldier’s Rest.” Captain Gordon tells me we -are ordered to report to General Casey, in command of the defenses of -Washington, and will probably stay about here some time. The Fourteenth -New Hampshire are here, camped on the hill not far away. - -We rode from Norwich, Conn., to Jersey City on an old freight boat. -There were no bunks, and I found the deck planks of about the usual -quality and finish. The good grub the family so liberally stocked me -up with at Manchester is not all gone yet, notwithstanding I have -shared it freely with the poor and needy. I saw Norm. Gunnison at -Philadelphia. He was discharged for disability, not long ago, and is -now working on some newspaper. - - ——————— - - _XC_ - - CAMP MARSTON, WASHINGTON, D. C., - _May 30, 1863_. - -We are now fairly settled down in camp on what is known as East Capitol -Hill, with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and drill, and make ourselves -as comfortable as we can. The camp is right out in the open, with not -as much as a huckleberry bush for shade. But we have A-tents to sleep -in, which are roomy and comfortable—much more so than our “shelters.” -There are only three in my tent—Herm. Sleeper, “Curley” Converse, and -yours truly. George Slade did come in, but he was detailed as company -cook and now has a tent of his own. - -I saw Farnsworth over in the city day before yesterday—[Major Simeon -D., Paymaster, onetime publisher of the Manchester _American_.] We -were marching toward Long Bridge, headed for Camp Chase on Arlington -Heights, and I had a chance to speak to him a moment. Our destination -was changed however before we reached the bridge and we were -about-faced and marched to our present camp. - -I saw Captain Bruce [John N.] Tuesday. He is a sergeant in the -Fourteenth. He tapped his chevrons and observed, with a smile: “Coming -_up_, you see!” Which reminded me of the old, old times before the war, -when he used to parade the streets of Manchester at the head of his -crack company, the admiration and envy of every boy in town. - -“Old Beauregard” [Orrin S. Gardner,] the old sinner whose picture I -sent home once, has deserted. Before we left the state he was arrested -and put in the guard house on mere suspicion that he was going to -desert; but the morning we started off he was missing sure enough and -has not since been heard from. My own private opinion is if he had been -let alone he’d have been all right. - -General Martindale was in camp yesterday, and the camp gossips greased -up the old rumor machine and ground out the following: Martindale said -he should try to keep us here, as he wanted one such regiment in this -place. And it is supposed that Marston is doing what he can to keep us -in the defenses. - -_Afternoon._—One of our boys has just come in from the Fourteenth and -says they are going to march tomorrow. I wish we could move over to -their camp, as it is a delightful location, with shade trees and nice -clean grounds. - -Our batch of brand-new lieutenants are having the usual experience in -getting fitted into their places, and are subjected to the merciless -criticism of the old men for any blunder they may happen to make. Frank -Wasley was officer of the guard yesterday and got badly rattled and -mixed up. It was especially mortifying, as many officers from other -regiments were out to see our guard mount. We are to be inspected -tomorrow forenoon by an officer from General Casey’s staff, and I have -been polishing up my old Springfield. I have been in swimming once in -the East Branch. - -_Sunday._—Two of our boys who were in the city yesterday saw General -Marston and asked him what was to be done with us. He said we would be -with our old division in the Army of the Potomac within eight days. - -Our inspection is over. It was not an exhausting ordeal. The inspecting -officer, as it was very hot and dusty, probably was as anxious as we -were to have it over with. He directed the Quartermaster to draw straw -enough to bed every tent. - -I have sure-enough cow’s milk in my coffee quite often now. Quite a -number of cows find free pasturage and very good grazing on the open -lands in the vicinity of the camp. - - ——————— - - _XCI_ - - CAMP MARSTON, WASHINGTON, D. C., - _Saturday, June 6, 1863_. - -Just at present we are not living very high—not near as well as we -did at Falmouth. But George Slade is cook for the company, and he -says: “When you want something special, Mart, just give me the wink, -and if it’s in the cook house you’ll get it.” This noon we had boiled -potatoes and boiled salt pork. Tonight we are to have hasty pudding and -molasses. Somebody has been stealing everything eatable lying around -loose in the cook house, and Slade has gone down to the city to buy -some ipecac. He will set his trap and there is bound to be some awfully -sick fellows about camp before long. - -I cut a lot of bullrushes down by the East Branch this afternoon—enough -to thickly carpet the whole floor of our tent—and they make a glorious -bed indeed. - -Monday evening the third brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, who -have been camped on this side for some time, crossed the river, and the -Second and Fourteenth New Hampshire and Thirty-fourth Massachusetts are -now the only troops on this side. The Fourteenth is doing provost and -guard duty in the city. - -We got a belated mail last Tuesday. I had a letter from Frank Morrill -dated March 2, one from you dated February 24, and a paper from Roger -mailed in February. This mail had been hung up in Washington ever since -we went home. Of course the boys had lots of fun circulating items of -“news.” - -Last Wednesday, as I had a pass, I went down to the city, sight -seeing. In the forenoon I visited the Patent Office and was greatly -interested. Besides the models of inventions there were many relics and -curios—Washington’s effects, the presents from the Emperor of Japan, -treaties made with various nations, the coat Gen. Jackson wore at New -Orleans, and thousands of other objects of interest. In the afternoon -I went down to the Capitol. I have been there many times before, but -never tire of looking over that building. There are now about five -hundred men at work on it. The next time I have a pass I am going down -to the Navy Yard. - -Gen. Marston was up here Wednesday, looking fat and hearty. - -Our cooks have got a barrel of potatoes and a lot of cooking utensils, -bought from the “company funds.” This is about the first use that has -ever been made of this fund. Our company’s fund now amounts to several -hundred dollars, and some of the boys were making ugly inquiries as to -why it was not being used for the benefit of the men to whom it belongs. - -The drummers and fifers of the regiment have been on exhibition for -the past half hour, at the same time giving us a concert that it would -not be easy to catalogue. Of all the rattletybang and screeching! On -dress parade they made a blunder, then had a big jabbering over it, -and came pretty near having a fight. As a punishment they were mounted -on barrels out on the parade ground and ordered to do their best. They -have a very appreciative and enthusiastic audience, but are about the -maddest set of men I ever saw. I wouldn’t be surprised if, after we get -paid off, some of the indignant musicians turned up missing. - - _Sunday, June 7._ - -We had a good rain last night and it is cool and nice today. We have -had our morning inspection and expect to be gone over, later, by one of -Gen. Casey’s staff officers. We had forty rounds of cartridges dealt -out this morning. They are called “musket shells”—made to explode—and -woe to the Johnny that stops one! We had boiled ham this morning. I got -a big bone for my ration, gnawed off all I wanted for breakfast, and -have enough left for supper, when no meat ration is served. Just think -of it—your husband hiding away bones, like a dog, against future needs. - -Alba Woods just sailed down by my tent spreading a story he heard in -another company—that Companies I and F are going up to Chain Bridge -today. I don’t care a darn, one way or the other. - -Being right here in Washington, we put on a good many airs—white -gloves, shiny boots, &c. To see the regiment on dress parade now one -would hardly recognize it as the same set of men that we have seen -plugging through the Virginia mud or dust, dirty, ragged, and lousy. - -We have another man in our tent—one of the Seventeenth—James C. Rand. -He is nineteen years old, was married just before he came away, and was -in the Sixth New Hampshire a while. - - ——————— - - _XCII_ - - CAMP MARSTON, WASHINGTON, D. C., - _June 10, 1863_. - -You must not be disappointed if I make a short letter of this. I came -off guard this forenoon and am going to have a pass to the city. -Tomorrow morning, at sunrise, we start to rejoin the army on the -Rappahannock, and I will write more as soon as we are with the old -crowd again. - - ——————— - - _XCIII_ - - TEN MILES ABOVE FALMOUTH, VA., - _June 12, 1863_. - -Do not know when I shall have a chance to finish or to send this -letter, but just now I have plenty of time to begin it. We left -Washington about noon yesterday, on the steamer “Hugh Jenkins,” for -Acquia Creek. There we took a train for Stoneman’s Switch, where we -arrived about dark and bivouacked for the night. I did not go to the -trouble to pitch any tent, but “Curley” Converse and I made up a bed -together and slept soundly. I woke up once during the night and found -the rain beating in my face, which was very easily remedied by simply -pulling my head down under the blankets. This morning we were off -again at about sunrise. I understand our destination is Warrenton, -about forty miles from Falmouth. The rest of the Third Corps started -yesterday, and is on ahead somewhere. We may not catch up with them -before they reach Warrenton. We halted here about noon, having made a -march of a dozen miles or so during the forenoon. Notwithstanding the -showers in the night, the roads were dusty and the march fatiguing. - -I made a pretty busy day of it the day before we left Washington. I -went down to the city in the forenoon, after getting off guard. First, -up to the post office and posted my letters. Then down to a Dutch -cobbler’s shop, where I had some staving thick soles and heels put on -my boots. I waited while he did the job, and when he got through it -was dinner time. So I went into a restaurant and ate ham and eggs, -strawberries and cream, and other luxuries. I didn’t know as I should -have another chance at a decent meal for eleven months, and I filled -up accordingly. Then I went around and laid in a big stock of writing -materials and stamps and was ready to go to the front. - -About two miles back from here is a little brick church, known as -“Hartwood Church,” which possesses a great deal of interest on account -of the pictures and inscriptions on the walls. There is a picture, -drawn by one of our cavalrymen, representing a cavalry charge. It is -on a grand scale, drawn with charcoal, and is wonderfully well done. -The cavalryman artist—so the story goes—began it for his own amusement, -and was “laying on the colors” when the Rebs dropped in and took him -prisoner. They insisted on his finishing up his picture, so he drew -in a lot of ragged, unkempt Rebs running as fast as their legs would -carry them; and the artist’s captors laughed and roared and thoroughly -enjoyed the lampoon on themselves. There is an inscription on the wall -which is a rather neat little puzzle—“Major BBBB CCCC.” Have you made -it out? Major Forbes’ Forces. - -We have run across a good many of our old brigade boys, and they were -mighty glad to see the Second again. Ran across Hen. Everett today. -Also Stearns, who used to keep store in Manchester. He was on a -sutler’s wagon—is sutler for some Pennsylvania regiment, I understand. -A two-years regiment, whose term had expired, passed us on its way home -today. - - RAPPAHANNOCK STATION, _June 13_. - -We have had a hard march today and I am very tired. The dust was simply -stifling, and some merciless old rascal on horseback, at the head of -the column, evidently set the pace and gauged the capacity of the men -at what he and his horse could do. We were hustled right along, hour -after hour, without a moment’s rest. Fool orders were read in the -morning, that if three men straggled from any one company the officers -of that company would be tried by court martial. But this did not -prevent straggling, for many men simply _could not_ keep up—especially -our Seventeenth recruits. - -We are getting mighty hard up for grub and are anxiously looking for -our supply train. When I started out this morning I had a piece of -boiled salt pork about as big as two fingers. At noon we halted about -three-quarters of an hour for rest and refreshments. We were short -on both. Other troops had camped on the same ground and moved on, and -among the embers of one of their campfires I saw some ribs of fresh -pork. Some old Virginia razor-back had died to make a Yankee holiday, -and perfectly good pork had been recklessly and wastefully thrown onto -the coals. I pulled out a chunk that looked good to me, carefully -scraped and pared off the charred outside, and never had a better pork -roast than I got by picking those ribs. Tonight I made a sumptuous -repast on hardtack and water. I missed, however, the “one day’s -solitary” that usually goes with that fare up in New Hampshire. - -We do not know whether or not we are to go back to our old brigade, but -we are now with the old Excelsior Brigade. Rappahannock Station, where -we are camped, is a fine location—open, rolling country, with two or -three little redoubts in sight from our camp. The rebels are on the -other side of the river, and we have a strong force here, facing them. -It is getting so dark I can hardly see, so good night. - - _Sunday, June 14._ - -We drew three days rations today and are under orders to be ready to -march at a moment’s notice. Three regiments from this brigade are on -picket, and it is very evident that trouble is apprehended in some -direction. We will probably move from here very soon, and the fact that -our wagon trains are not brought up here is a pretty good indication -that we are going to move fast and don’t want to be encumbered with a -train. - -I had as much beefsteak as I could eat this morning. George Lawrence -cut up the fresh beef, and as pay for his trouble took what he wanted -for breakfast. This noon we were served with “_beef soup_”—the water in -which our fresh beef was boiled, with hardtack crumbled into it. - -We are camped, I am told, on one of the estates of John Randolph, well -known in Virginia history. One of the natives tells me the soldiers -have burned thirty-five miles of fences on this plantation. I suppose -while I am here by the Rappahannock, crouched in my tent and wondering -if those dark clouds over yonder mean rain, you are listening to the -words and admonitions of good old Parson Wallace. - -We have just had a little excitement. Three foolish hogs ventured out -into sight upon the meadow on our front, and more than two hundred -whooping savages started out in chase and killed two with clubs. - -We have just got word that we are to march tonight at sunset, and -of course are speculating as to the movement. The favorite opinion -of our most astute camp strategists is that Hooker is going to fall -back to Washington and the Potomac, and that we are way up here as a -sort of rear guard, to give the rebels a hack if they try to crowd -too hard. I have got back again to the old, careless army spirit -of don’t-care-a-cent, and take everything as philosophically as -circumstances will permit. We have just heard the roar of guns in the -direction of Warrenton, which is ominous. I have had all the cherries -I could eat today. Have been jotting this letter down, bit by bit, -through the day. The old fellow who lives in a house near the camp has -a son who is a colonel in the rebel army. “Curley” Converse is smashing -up a blacking brush that he won’t carry any further and won’t leave -for the enemy. He says: “If I had a house out here I would burn it up -before I would let those fellows have the use of it.” I must pack up -now and be ready to march. - - MANASSAS JUNCTION, _Tuesday, June 16_. - -After a most exhausting march we find ourselves here at Manassas -once more. We left Rappahannock Station Sunday night at ten o’clock -and marched to Catlett’s Station—about fifteen miles—arriving there -yesterday morning at seven o’clock. At two o’clock in the afternoon -we continued on to this place—another fifteen miles. When we arrived -here, about midnight, I was actually all in. Half a dozen of us, all -in the same condition, consulted together and decided that if the -column passed out of the line of rebel redoubts we would drop out, get -a little rest and sleep, and chase on and catch up with the regiment -early in the morning. We fell out, went up into one of the redoubts, -laid down on the grass carpet that covered everything, and slept. We -were up before sunrise, and the first thing to greet our vision as we -looked over the parapet was the old regiment bivouacked out on the -plain, only a few rods beyond. - -It was a frightfully hot day yesterday and a number of the men were -sunstruck. George Lawrence was one of the victims. Every one of the -Seventeenth men gave out. We marched over the same road as a year ago, -and several men were sunstruck at that time. - -I saw Sam. Newell yesterday—one of the boys who went from our company -into the regulars. He said Perk. Lane was either killed or wounded and -taken prisoner, in the fight at Beverly Ford. The last seen of him he -was shot from his horse and surrounded by rebels. Nich. Biglin—our -famous “Heenan”—has gone up to one of the gaps in the mountains, with -the pioneers, to obstruct the roads against the rebels. - -During our march night before last our whole division made one of the -most ridiculous breaks on record. We were marching along the railroad -when, at a highway crossing, a runaway horse bolted into the column. -It got the right of way right there, and the men beyond, unable to see -what the trouble was, got off the track without stopping to ask any -questions. It went through the whole division like the tumble of a row -of bricks, and the ditches, stumps and pitfalls made an awful mess of -things. - -There has just been a little excitement out in camp. Some of the -men rushed a couple of sutlers’ carts that were passing. One of the -sutlers whipped up and managed to get away after a smart chase, but -the other was not as fortunate. The raiders surrounded his cart and -tipped it over, and would doubtless have robbed him of his stock but -for a mounted officer who plunged into the crowd and put a stop to the -lawless raid. - - ——————— - - _XCIV_ - - CAMP NEAR CENTREVILLE, VA., - _June 18, 1863_. - -I heard, last night, that a mail was to go out this morning. I had an -unfinished letter in my knapsack, but it was so dark I could not see to -write; so I did it up just as it was and put it in the bag. They say we -will get a mail before long, and then I shall expect enough accumulated -reading matter to keep me busy for a while. Today is the hottest yet. I -could not stand it in camp, so I went over and filled my canteen with -cool, fresh water, gathered up my writing materials, and came down here -into the shade of the bushes. Now I will tell you what we have been -doing. - -As I have written you, we got into Manassas about twelve o’clock -Monday night. We lay on the plains all day Tuesday, and drew three -days’ rations. The meat ration was salt pork only, but we were very -glad to get that. I had the use of a fry-pan for a short time, sliced -and fried the whole of my ration, and carefully packed it away in my -haversack, convenient for transportation. - -We turned in for a night’s sleep, Monday, but didn’t get it. An orderly -came in about midnight, with orders, and the regiment was moved out -about two miles on the Centreville road and deployed as pickets. I -was on camp guard that night, and had not had a wink of sleep when we -started. O, how sleepy I was! I actually fell asleep walking in the -ranks, until I would wake myself by running into the man ahead of me. -When the regiment was distributed as pickets, the camp guard detail -was held in reserve, and had nothing to do but wait for something to -turn up. I sat down without loosening a buckle of my equipments, leaned -my back against a small tree, and was asleep on the instant. I slept -perhaps a couple hours, and then woke up out of a nightmare. I dreamed -I was in swimming and dove to the bottom, but when I tried to come up -again it was no go. I kicked and struggled in vain. When at last I -awoke I found I had slipped away from my tree and was lying with my -head down hill, but so cumbered with my harness that I had hard work to -straighten myself out again. - -Wednesday morning the entire Fifth Corps passed us, and then our -regiment marched down to Blackburn’s Ford and waited for the division -to come up. We got away from the Ford about three o’clock in the -afternoon and marched three or four miles, to our present position -about a mile out of Centreville on the old Bull Run road. - -What I am suffering for now is a newspaper, so I can find out what is -going on. I have not seen one since we left Washington. - - GUM SPRINGS, VA., _Sunday, June 21_. - -We have made another hitch, about a dozen miles, and now find ourselves -in this great Virginia metropolis, consisting of a meeting house, a -cooper’s shop, and half a dozen houses and hog pens, none in very good -repair. We marched here day before yesterday, leaving Centreville after -noon and arriving here before sunset. The fool camp story now being -passed from mouth to mouth is that the corps is now surrounded by the -rebels. There can be no question, though, that there are any quantity -of guerrillas lurking around, and a man outside the camp lines does -well to keep his eye peeled. [This was Mosby’s country.] It is said -they picked up some thirty stragglers on the march up here. Yesterday -they scooped in one of General Birney’s aides and two of his orderlies. -A couple of them made the mistake of their lives yesterday. The -lieutenant-colonel of one of the New Jersey regiments with which we are -now brigaded had dismounted and gone some distance from his horse, when -he spied two innocent-looking “farmers,” with shot-guns in their hands, -coming the sneak act. At the proper moment they looked into the yawning -muzzles of two six-shooters, with a very determined Yankee behind them, -and didn’t hesitate a moment in accepting his polite invitation to drop -their guns and come along. - -We had one of the heaviest rains I ever saw, Thursday afternoon. I did -not have any tent pitched, but sat down on my knapsack, covered myself -in with my rubber poncho and let her rain. It did much good by laying -the dust for a few hours. That night there was a very large detail from -our regiment, for picket, and my good luck kept me off the job. Charlie -Parrott [killed, a few days later, at Gettysburg] was one of the -detail, and I loaned him my poncho in exchange for his piece of shelter -tent. That night several of us joined together and patched up a shelter -with as many gable ends, almost, as there were pieces of tent. We made -a very thick bed of leaves and bushes and managed to keep pretty dry -and comfortable, notwithstanding there was a good deal of rain through -the night. - -We are camped in a very pretty location, on a little ridge with a -railroad along its crest and a little creek at the foot. Just across -the creek is the little hamlet of Gum Springs. There is a spring there -with reputed medicinal qualities. Ed. Kenniston and I have pitched our -tent in the shade of a mammoth persimmon tree. - -There is a commotion now in that select corps familiarly known as -“bummers,” such as cooks, officers’ waiters, &c. There is an order that -every enlisted man shall tote a gun. This means that our kettles will -be thrown away and every man be his own meat cook. But that won’t make -much change. We have been on a salt pork diet, almost exclusively, and -every man has been privileged to fry, broil, or eat raw, according to -his fancy. - -The big guns are booming over towards the mountains, and in compliance -with orders we have put ourselves in marching order—knapsacks packed, -&c. But I have pulled my portfolio out to write a little more. We may -move today, or we may not, but we are ready. Several prisoners have -been brought in today—probably scouts or guerrillas. Our bands are -playing all the time and making all the noise they can, possibly merely -for their own amusement. The firing off to the west is growing heavier, -and there is evidently a lively little fight on somewhere. - - _Monday Morning, June 22._ - -Late yesterday the long-expected mail came, and with the rest were two -letters from you. We were formed in line, ready to march, when the mail -was distributed, and as I looked down the ranks I could see many a man -leaning on his gun and eagerly scanning his news from home. We didn’t -have a very long march—about six rods. The corps was placed in battle -order ready to entertain company in case the Johnnies should see fit to -honor us with a call. - -I was on guard last night, but only had to stand one round, so got -a good sleep. The mail goes out at ten o’clock this forenoon. I ran -across an old friend the other day, in the Seventeenth Maine—George -Parker, who once lived on the Corporation. I am pretty well supplied -with meat now. When George Slade distributed the rations he saved me -out an extra piece big enough for a good square meal. It pays to be all -hunks with the cook. - - ——————— - - _XCV_ - - TANEYTOWN, MD., _June 29, 1863_. - -I am awful, awful tired; but we got a mail tonight, the first in some -time, and as a mail goes out tomorrow morning I must write a few lines -to let you know I am alive and well, but pretty well used up from the -tremendous marches we have been making. We have been constantly on the -move, tramping from sun rise to sun set, and sometimes far into the -night; but we are now halted a little earlier in the day than usual, -within five miles of the Pennsylvania line. There is much I would like -to write, but as it is almost dark now I must wait until we get into -camp for a day or two, if we ever do. Good night! Send me a few stamps. - - ——————— - - _XCVI_ - - TANEYTOWN, MD., _June 30, 1863_. - -My note of last evening will let you know I am still alive. As there -are no signs as yet of an immediate movement, I will commence a letter, -not knowing when I will have a chance to finish or to send it. The -Second Regiment, in company with two other regiments, left Gum Springs -on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 24th, marched out about three miles -on the Leesburg road, camped, and threw out patrols on the road and -in the neighborhood. The boys foraged about and brought in an unusual -abundance of fresh meat of all kinds. As for myself, I not only gorged -at supper, but had my haversack loaded when we started in the morning. -There was a house close to camp, occupied, so far as we could see, only -by two solitary women. Some of the boys discovered a great quantity of -bacon in storage—enough, in fact, for a small army. They intimated to -the women that it looked very much as if they had unearthed a guerrilla -base of supplies. It probably was a good guess, and the women were -very much frightened. But our men wanted that bacon, and a business -arrangement was concluded under which the women were paid a fair price -for it in good Yankee money. - -Thursday forenoon the whole corps marched past us and we fell in and -brought up the rear of the column. That was a hard day’s march. Late -in the afternoon we reached the Potomac at Edwards’ Ferry. There -were three pontoon bridges over the river, on which we crossed over -into Maryland. As it was near night and raining we expected to halt -somewhere near the ferry. But we were not permitted even to cross the -canal to the turnpike beyond. Instead, were switched onto the towpath -of the Ohio and Chesapeake Canal, heading up stream. The night settled -down, dark and gloomy, but no halt or rest. There was no place for -either. The path was but a mule track with the canal on one side and -the river on the other. Occasionally there was a little point or elbow -of land on the river side. Then the rain came, and we were soaked. -The towpath became muddy and slippery. The men had not had a chance -since morning to cook coffee. By ten o’clock there was no organization -left. The division was a straggling, swearing, disgusted mob. The men -“went into camp” whenever and wherever they could find a place big -enough to lie down on. I dug along until I was all in. I slid down the -bank to the river’s edge, along with Jess. Dewey and Joe Gleason, and -camped down on a pile of brush. Jess, was a fair example of the utter -demoralization. He was the color-sergeant and had the regimental colors -with him. “Anybody that wants to carry the flag can have it,” he said, -“but I won’t lug it another inch.” The rain was pouring, and all I -could do was to cover myself with my piece of shelter tent and take -what came. I had lost my good old rubber poncho at Edwards’ Ferry—sat -down on it while waiting a passage, and forgot to pick it up when I -started for the bridge. - -Friday morning we cooked coffee, had a good breakfast, and started -up the towpath again. There was no chance to get out of the trap -till we got to Monocacy Bridge, fifteen miles from Edwards’ Ferry. -There the General—who probably has learned something about driving -cattle—collected his command as they came straggling along for hours. -We camped, that night, about a mile from Point of Rocks. I had a -share in a big fire of fence rails, and made up in a great measure -for the discomforts of the previous night. Had a great warming up and -drying out, hung my boots before the fire, got into my reserve pair of -stockings, and slept soundly and restfully. - -Saturday we marched through a very rough, broken country. We passed -through one village—Jefferson. South Mountain, where the battle was -fought last fall, was in sight all day. At night I was detailed for -brigade camp guard. The brilliant idea of a camp guard in that place -was conceived by the colonel of the Ninth New Jersey, commanding the -brigade. It was about as much use as a second tail for a cat. I felt -that I had done enough marching for one day, so when I was posted I -laid down where I could watch my beat and, of course, went to sleep. I -didn’t wake up until “Curley” Converse, on the next beat, shook me and -told me the relief was falling in. I was greatly relieved, on looking -around, to find that nobody had run away with the camp in my absence. - -When we started out Sunday morning we were assured we were going only -nine miles—to Frederick City. We marched to that place on a splendid -turnpike, over a mountain with an unpronounceable name, and arrived in -good season. We found quite a town, old and quaint, largely built of -brick. But we did not stop according to the advertised schedule. We -pushed on and on until we had passed through Walkerville, about eight -miles beyond. The first thing on getting into camp, we were ordered not -to take any fence rails, as wood would be hauled to us. It was late, -and we couldn’t wait the arrival of wood teams, in which we didn’t take -much stock anyway. But the men were sparing in their use of rails. -It didn’t take many to cook our coffee and keep all the campfires we -needed. - -Yesterday morning we started again, early, and marched to this place, -which is, I should judge, about fifteen miles from Walkerville. We are -now in a country where the people are our friends, and where the Old -Flag and cheers for the Union are the rule and not the exception. We -can buy about anything we want in the grub line, as the country has -not been ravaged and plundered by the armies. I have just had a good -meal of home-made bread, right out of the oven, with delicious butter. -The butter was a streak of luck for me. Strolling off a little ways -into the country, I saw a swarm of men from various regiments at one -of those stone spring-houses which answer the purpose of an ice-box in -this country. An old lady was peddling out her stock of butter in pound -pats, and there were a dozen hands reaching for every ball. Being a -late arrival and on the outskirts, it didn’t look as if I was in the -game. But I was. The old lady held the last ball in her hand. There was -a wild competition for that. “No!” she said, decidedly, “this belongs -to a gentleman over there; I promised him he should have one, sure.” -“Thank you, ma’am!” I called out, “I knew you wouldn’t forget me!” -and I reached over half a dozen heads, got the butter, passed over a -quarter, and struck for camp. - -Just now, old Dan. Desmond is assuring me, “By cripes, Mart., ye’ve -saved me life.” And I don’t know but what I have. The old man was off -his feed and flat on his back, in almost complete collapse, when I -sailed forth. I divided my plunder of fresh bread and butter with him, -and he ate ravenously, and in a little while was on his feet, bright -and chipper. He got just the medicine he needed. - -The talk is that we are not going farther today. We hope it is so, for -we need rest badly. Today I look all your letters from my knapsack -and fed them to the flames. Several times I have come near losing my -knapsack and all it contained. I have a bad toothache and am afraid of -neuralgia. - -General Sickles returned to the corps yesterday, and the men are giving -him the credit for the long rest we are enjoying. Birney and Humphrey -are not as careful of the men as Sickles. The wish is perhaps father -to the thought, but the report is that Humphrey has been censured or -disciplined in some way for that towpath scrape. We saw General Marston -in Frederick and cheered him heartily. The sun is out and we have -orders to pack for a march. - - ——————— - - _XCVII_ - - GETTYSBURG, PA., _July 4, 1863_. - -I write on the blank pages of an orderly’s book, which George Slade -picked up. It is the only paper I have, as I lost my knapsack and all -its contents in the battle day before yesterday. Our corps was engaged -that day, and the Second Regiment was in the very fiercest of the fight -and met its heaviest loss yet in any one battle. About two hundred -are gone out of our little regiment, but, as usual, I came through -all right. I don’t know now how I did it. While we lay supporting a -battery, before we had fired a shot, one shell burst right in my group. -The man who touched me on the right [Jonathan Merrill] had his thigh -cut away, and the two at my left [Lyndon B. Woods and Sergeant James -M. House] were very severely wounded—and I never had a scratch. Talk -about luck! A little while after, we charged to save the battery, and -it was a wild time. As many of our wounded were left in the hands of -the rebels, no accurate list can be made now. Charlie Vickery and a -Seventeenth man in my company are killed. [Vickery did not die until -the 11th.] Joe Hubbard, Lieutenant Dascomb, Frank Chase and Johnny -Barker are among the killed. [Barker recovered from his terrible wound -and lived many years with a trephined skull.] Ed. Kenniston was shot -through both legs. I blundered onto him in the field hospital near -where we bivouacked. He was lying by a stone wall, in a field packed -with wounded men. He had lost everything but the bloody clothes he -wore. I fixed him up with what I had left—filled my canteen with water -and laid beside him, with my haversack, in which there happened to be -a few really tasty pieces of grub.[1] Ed. wants father to go down and -tell his folks it is only a flesh wound, and with a little assistance -he will be able to stand on his feet. - -George Slade wants me to send you this wayside rose that he picked on -the battlefield. The Johnny who had the overhauling of my knapsack got -a fine picture of a certain black-eyed Yankee girl, but he didn’t have -the reading of any of her letters. - -A shell burst right on our colors, early in the action, breaking the -staff into three pieces. The batteries were so close together, some of -them, that they threw grape at each other. I never was under such an -artillery fire. Gen. Sickles lost a leg. - -There was a great fight yesterday, but not over the same ground as the -day before. The rebels made a tremendous effort to smash our lines -[Pickett’s charge,] but were thrown back in great disorder and leaving -a great many prisoners in our hands. We were not in it, simply because -they didn’t happen to hit the part of the line we were holding, but -struck a little to our right. Today we are waiting for something to -turn up. Out to our front the skirmishers are industriously popping -away, but it is a little early for the real business. Before night, -somewhere along the line, we will probably have a real old-fashioned -Fourth of July celebration, with plenty of fireworks. The armies are -holding practically the same lines we started in on here, but the -advantage is surely with us. - -Our new recruits stood up to their work like men—none did better. I -cannot write more now, but when this fight is over and I can get my -hands on some writing paper, I’ll try to do better. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: JESSE DEWEY] - - - ——————— - - _XCVIII_ - - CAMP NEAR BOONSBORO, MD., _July 11, 1863_. - -Knowing how anxious you must be to hear from me, and having a little -spare time on my hands, I have traded a postage stamp for a sheet -of paper and an envelope, and here I am. We have been doing some -pretty tall marching since I last wrote. The rebels retreated from -Gettysburg, leaving their dead unburied and thousands of their wounded -as prisoners. Our army started at once in pursuit, our corps being, I -think, the last to get away. I had ample time to go, at my leisure, -over a good part of the field. And I got rid of that toothache that -I told you about. For two or three days I wasn’t thinking much about -my teeth. But when the strain was off a little, it all came back, and -at last I got simply wild. Bill Stark [hospital steward] gave me some -powder—morphine, I think—to tuck in, but I might as well have used so -much flour. Our surgeons said they didn’t have a pair of forceps in -their entire kit that they could tackle that tooth with. So I started -out to find somebody that had. I had determined, if necessary, to go -into Gettysburg, or even to Baltimore, to find a tooth-puller. The -surgeon of one of the New Jersey regiments was my Good Samaritan. He -was all packed up, ready for a start, but he overhauled a mule’s load, -dug out some forceps that looked like a pair of tongs, seated me on a -cracker box, and fastened on. That was the only time, in my experience, -that it really felt good to have a tooth pulled. - -Our corps left Gettysburg at two o’clock on the morning of July 7th, -and now we are lying out here, somewhere within a thousand miles of -Boonsboro, they say. Since the battle we have had reinforcements enough -to organize a third division, and it is said to be larger than the -other two combined. We are being hustled around pretty lively, and are -likely to be rushed off in any direction at any moment. Last night we -went into camp on Antietam battlefield, and I had just got to sleep -when we were tumbled out and started off again. I marched and marched -and marched, until I was completely fagged out. Then Jess. Dewey and I -turned in by the side of the road, slept soundly and comfortably until -morning, then raced on and caught up with the regiment. Just at this -immediate time Company I is a little topheavy. Herm. Sleeper and I are -the only privates on duty, with five non-commissioned officers. The -rest are used up and camped along the roadside, or in hospitals. The -Army of the Potomac is doing some great marching and is in good spirits -for a fight. We are sorry to lose General Sickles. He is very popular -with the Third Corps, being very considerate in marching the men. Right -or wrong, the average estimate of Birney is that he classes his men -along with his horses and mules. - -I do a little foraging now, but not as much as when in Virginia. But -I pay for everything I get here, except apples and plums, while in -Virginia I enforce the principle of confiscation. I have fried apples -about every day. I got a pound of splendid butter yesterday for -twenty-five cents, and once in a while I get a loaf of bread, some -biscuits, or a pie. - -Jess. Dewey and I have made a calculation, and find that since leaving -Falmouth we have footed it about three hundred miles. My load was -materially reduced by the loss of my knapsack. I picked up another one, -but all I am carrying in it just now is a single piece of shelter-tent -cloth. One of the bummers attached to the regiment found a box in a -ditch, at Emmitsburg, containing two hundred dollars, mostly in gold. -[The finder was a disreputable camp follower familiarly known as -“Culpepper”—the brother of one of our officers—and there is reason to -believe that his loot was the poor-box of the convent at Emmitsburg.] - - ——————— - - _XCIX_ - - CAMP NEAR SHARPSBURG, MD., _July 15, 1863_. - -We are now lying in camp with a promise of remaining all day. Not a -word have I had from you for many a day. We move so often and travel -so fast that we cannot complain if the mail wagon doesn’t catch up -with us. The rebels have escaped across the river out of the net we -boys fondly hoped had been thrown around their army, and now we are -anticipating another series of hard marches. Yesterday morning our -skirmishers advanced upon the rebel positions and found them abandoned -and the rebels across the river. This morning the Thirds Corps started -at six o’clock and marched until two in the afternoon with but one halt -of a very few minutes for rest. You can be sure the man and horse who -set the pace at the head of the column came in for the usual amount of -cussing. The day, although cloudy, was very hot, and the road was lined -with stragglers. - -We came pretty near having a wild riot here this afternoon. We were no -sooner in camp than a sutler pitched his tent close by and opened up -for trade. Pretty soon there was a big crowd around his establishment, -and some of the lawless began to steal and pilfer. He very naturally -tried to protect his property, and soon there was a wild tumult. It -looked as if the guard that had been posted would have their hands full -to save any part of his gingersnaps and cheese. The major of the Sixth -New York Heavy Artillery, a young bud with shoulder-straps as big as -a barn door, rushed down from their camp, near by, and made himself -conspicuous. His regiment had never seen active service, having done -garrison duty at Baltimore and Harper’s Ferry, and when he ordered the -dirty old fighting men to go to their regiments it was like waving a -red flag before a bull. One of our small boys—a camp follower—told him -to go to H—ot Place. The major made a reach for the boy and missed -connection, then foolishly chased him into our camp, and caught him. -Then somebody knocked the major down, and somebody else picked him up -and pitched him out of camp. In a few minutes his regiment was seen -to be falling in, under arms, whereupon the Sixth New Jersey bugles -sounded the “Assembly,” and every other bugle in the brigade caught -up the call. Just at this time General French came tearing up, who -listened to the major’s story and bluffly told him he had no business -or authority in that camp—and that was the end of it. - -We passed over Antietam battleground today—where Hooker fought, and -the bridge Burnside carried by a charge. I have a rebel roundabout, -cartridge box, and plate with letters “C S” on it. I inclose an Indian -arrow head I picked up in the road. It rains almost every day now, and -we must go to work pretty soon and put up our shelter. Jess. Dewey, -Bill Pendleton and I are hitching up together just now. - - ——————— - - _C_ - - CAMP AT ASHBY’S GAP, VA., _July 21, 1863_. - -Came up to this place yesterday, and may stay here two or three days, -as it is quite an important position just at the present time. On -the one hand is the little village of Upperville, now devastated and -dilapidated; on the other hand is Ashby’s Gap, a pass through the -Blue Ridge. We are camped in fields on the slope of a mountain, from -which point there is a broad view of the country far to the east. The -bleached skeletons of horses tell of fierce cavalry fights, at various -times, for the possession of the gap; and close to our camp are four -fresh graves of men killed in Stahl’s fight with Stuart. It is a -country of wornout land nourishing a big crop of blackberry bushes. No -sooner are arms stacked than the men make a break for blackberries, and -even an army can hardly make any impression on the supply. - -You will probably see Steve Smiley at home before long. Three -commissioned officers and six enlisted men from each regiment are going -home to drill the drafted men, and Steve expects to be one of the -detail from this regiment. Perhaps I will send this letter out by him. -Our mail is a very uncertain factor, both coming and going, judging -from the fact that you had not heard from me a week after the battle. -But as my name was not in the killed and wounded list you were probably -not much worried. We are drawing nice ham for a meat ration now. I -found a lot of little onions in a deserted garden yesterday. - -Four of our wounded officers have died in the hospitals. Charlie -Vickery was shot through the back, injuring his spine. The rebels -robbed him of everything he had. A rebel major came along, asked him -some questions, then ordered some rebel soldiers to carry him to a -barn near by and leave a canteen of water with him. The next day this -barn was in the line of fire, and he was wounded again, slightly, in -the shoulder by a grapeshot. When our men got possession of that part -of the field he was carried to one of our hospitals, where he died on -the 11th. He would not believe he had got to die, and did not send a -word to his wife; but after he became speechless he tried to whisper -something to one of the boys, but could not make himself understood. - -We crossed the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry on the 11th. I have seen some -wild places, but never any to beat this. Two rivers here unite, rushing -down between towering perpendicular cliffs, with only room for a road -between cliff and river. This is the second anniversary of the battle -of Bull Run. Two years ago this very minute I was making good time -toward Centreville. And here I am, only one day’s march away, and still -on the job. But we will win. - - ——————— - - _CI_ - - WASHINGTON, D. C., _July 28, 1863_. - -Suddenly and unexpectedly, after all our troubles and tribulations, the -Second Regiment finds itself in clover. Day before yesterday we were -marching through Warrenton, sweating and puffing, when we saw General -Marston standing in front of one of the houses and looking mighty -pleasant and smiling. Pretty soon it was passed along that he was up -there to get the Second, Fifth and Twelfth regiments for the formation -of a New Hampshire brigade to serve under him in his new department -on the lower Potomac. It seemed too good to be true; but when, after -our next rest, the corps marched on and left us, it began to look -as if there was something in the story, after all. Then we marched -back to Warrenton and camped by General Meade’s headquarters until -yesterday morning, when, about ten o’clock, we loaded onto a train of -flat-cars, and at nine o’clock last evening we arrived in Alexandria. -After waiting over two hours for cars to bring us up to Washington, we -“huffed it” about half way to Long Bridge and bivouacked until morning, -then continued on, took possession of the “Soldiers’ Rest,” and are -waiting for orders. - -General Marston’s department, I understand, is to be called the -“Department of St. Mary’s,” and will take in St. Mary’s county, -in Maryland. It is on the lower Potomac, and probably a depot for -prisoners of war will be established, the guarding of which, with the -prevention of smuggling, will comprise our duties. This will be an -agreeable change from the past few weeks—to be in a settled camp, no -more long marches, mail and rations regular, a chance to bathe, fish, -and have a good time on the water. We expect to stay in Washington a -few days, though, until we can get new clothing, and perhaps be paid -off. I shall lay in fish lines and hooks among my prime necessities. - -Now I will go back and tell you what else we have been doing since -I wrote last. Last Wednesday, the 22d, the Third Corps left Ashby’s -Gap and reached a little railroad station called Piedmont, and the -following morning marched to Manassas Gap. This pass is about five -miles long, and when we got there the rebels held one end and our -folks the other. Our cavalry had been skirmishing with the enemy for -three days, and this day we moved in and took our turn. The fight -commenced early in the afternoon. The rebels had a strong position -along the crest of a high hill or ridge [Wapping Heights] that blocked -the western end of the gap. For a time our brigade lay massed on the -lower slope of an opposite hill and watched the preparations. And -when the movement started there was something about it that reminded -me of some of the “dioramas” you and I have seen in Manchester. -There was the steep hillside, with the long line of blue dots—our -skirmishers—crawling up and up, and the solid blue lines of the -supporting regiments not very far behind. The height was soon carried, -and we pushed on beyond, our brigade two hundred yards in rear of the -Excelsior Brigade, which we followed and supported. - -The Excelsiors made one charge, and it was a hustler. They and -the rebels were facing each other across a deep, rocky gulch. The -Excelsiors charged down through this with a yell. Colonel Farnham, of -the Second Excelsior, and Gen. Spinola dashed ahead of everything, on -their horses, and took two rebel sharpshooters prisoners, although -Spinola was badly wounded. Farnham was the captain of the slave ship -“Wanderer,” which was the cause of so much excitement a few years ago. -By this day’s work the rebels were cleared entirely out of the gap. - -The next morning our division advanced into the Shenandoah valley, -the entire Second Regiment being deployed as skirmishers in advance -of the column. We had not gone thirty rods when, on coming into the -road, I came upon the sprawling form of one poor Johnny who had met -his fate the previous day. He was apparently fighting in the shelter -of a sunken road, when a bullet pierced his brain and he rolled down -the bank to the roadbed. The cartridges were scattered from his -open cartridge-box, and picking one up I noted it was of peculiar -construction. None of us have ever seen one like it before. The paper -is set firmly in the base of the bullet, so all one has to do in -loading is to break the two apart with his fingers, pour his powder and -ram his bullet home. It is the toothless man’s sure-pop cartridge fast -enough. [I still have it among my war relics.] We advanced clear to -Front Royal without any serious opposition, then rallied on the colors, -about-faced and marched back to the gap. - -I intend to carry this letter down to the post-office myself, so you -will be pretty sure to get it. Hen. Everett is going down before long -and I will wind up so as to go along with him. - - ——————— - - _CII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, LOWER POTOMAC, MD., - _August 1, 1863_. - -We have a mail at last, and I was fortunate enough to get _four_ -letters from you. Now that we are here, it looks as if I would not have -much of anything to do except to write letters. We got here yesterday -forenoon, and are now fairly well settled. We are camped close to the -beach, on smooth, level ground. We have A-tents and a plenty of them, -so we are not crowded for room. Dan. Desmond and I have a tent all to -ourselves. Jess. Dewey is acting orderly-sergeant, so he has his own -tent. - -_Afternoon._—I was called away rather suddenly this morning, to go on -guard. Now, coming back to the guard headquarters from dinner, I have -brought my writing materials along, so as to finish my letter today. -Talking of comfort! I am sitting in the shade of big pine trees, within -two rods of the shore of Chesapeake Bay, a delicious breeze blowing -from the water and the waves rolling up on the beach. [This was at -General Marston’s headquarters.] The first thing this morning, when -reveille was blown, nearly every man in the regiment made a dash for -the water, for a plunge and a swim. This was a fashionable summer -resort before the war. The waters abound in crabs, and the boys have -already got to catching them. When I was up to camp this noon one of -the boys had a kettleful on boiling. We had a ration of “salt horse” -[corned beef] today—the first we have had since leaving Washington for -Falmouth. It seemed like an old friend. - -On the steamer, coming down, I had a long chat with one of the batch -of prisoners we were taking along. He was a native of Alexandria, and -on the way down the river he pointed out the places where he had been -for a good time before the war. We had been in the same fights, quite -a number, and it was very interesting to compare notes. The day we -left Washington I was on guard at the gate, and there was a flock of -secesh women there to bid good bye to friends and give them things to -eat or wear. Among the prisoners was an Irishman who formerly lived in -Manchester. I recognized him as soon as I saw him. He was down south -when the war broke out, and was forced into the army. He fell out on -the march on purpose to be taken and is very anxious to take the oath -of allegiance, as are many others, especially the foreigners. - - ——————— - - _CIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 4, 1863_. - -This forenoon “Curley” Converse and I went out to a creek near camp, -hunting for oysters. We found and shucked till we had three pints of -solid meats. There were lots of crabs there, some almost as big as -lobsters, and I soon found out that a crab is a very pugnacious animal. -I ran across one in shoal water hardly deep enough to cover my feet, -and playfully tapped him with my knife, just to see him run. He ran. -So did I, for I was barefooted and he made straight for my toes, with -the water boiling. Soon I encountered another, and just to make sure, I -rapped him. He came on like the other; but there was no surprise this -time, and I speared him with my knife. The boys bring in bushels of -them, and they are excellent eating—as good as lobsters. - -George Slade has not been with us for some time, but we expect he will -join us soon. [We did not know it then, but he was in fact a prisoner, -having been picked up by the rebels somewhere below Harper’s Ferry. He -never got back to the regiment, but died at Camp Parole.] - - ——————— - - _CIV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 8, 1863_. - -Ed. Bailey’s father came down here night before last and is going to -be regimental sutler, so they say. There is some pretty sharp talk by -some of the Manchester men, who affirm that he would be more at home as -sutler for a rebel regiment. I do not know, but I guess we can balance -the colonel’s good services against his father’s political shortcomings. - -You ask me to tell you about Steve Palmer and —— ——. So the story has -got to Manchester, has it? These are the facts: On the first day’s -march from Falmouth Steve had some whiskey in his wagon, which he was -selling to those who wanted the stuff. —— was officer of the guard -that day. He went to Steve and Steve gave him a drink. Then he brought -a canteen to Steve and said: “Here, Steve, let me have some whiskey -in this canteen and I will pay you when I get some money.” Steve let -him have it, and he went directly to the colonel and reported Steve -for selling whiskey. Steve was at once taken from his wagon and put -into the ranks, and at Gettysburg was very badly wounded, and if he -lives will be a cripple for life. [He died of his wounds.] The affair, -naturally, has created a good deal of feeling. Steve did wrong in -taking liquor upon his team to sell; but there was an element of -treachery in what —— did that I wouldn’t want charged up to my credit. - -We are living pretty well now, for army rations. Here is our bill of -fare for the past three days: - -_Wednesday:_ Breakfast—Baked Beans, Coffee. Dinner—Beefsteak. -Supper—Coffee. - -_Thursday:_ Breakfast—Potatoes, Boiled Pork, Boiled Fresh Beef, Boiled -Salt Beef, Coffee. Dinner—Soup, Parsley Greens. Supper—Coffee. - -_Friday:_ Breakfast—Potatoes, Boiled Beef, Coffee. Dinner—Boiled Dish -of Potatoes and Parsley Greens. - -In addition, we have, each day, a loaf of “soft tack,” baked here on -the Point, and occasionally a ration of molasses. We call that high -living. And Company I is going to have something extra for dinner -today—roast beef and potatoes. The beef is roasting in two Dutch ovens. - -A big school of porpoises went up the river yesterday. They came so -near in shore that some of the boys fired at them, and I should judge -hit some, from the commotion that was created and the way they dug away -from shore. Ed. Bailey and I struck up the beach for an old boat that -lay there, in which to get out and have a crack at them. The colonel -had a carbine and an old stocking full of cartridges, and I picked up -an ancient oar. We got the craft afloat and I paddled it out quite a -piece. But the waves ran high and the water poured through the boat in -a dozen places, until it was a question of pull about or swim for it. -So we put about and got ashore before the old tub sank. Sixteen of us -took a sail out to the mouth of the river two or three days ago. It was -very rough and the boat was terribly overloaded, and it was only by -good seamanship that we saved ourselves from going under. - -I have just run across another Manchester fellow—James, who used to be -City Messenger. He is with the Twelfth Regiment sutler. - -Now I must tell you the story of Bill Ramsdell, for it is decidedly -interesting, although rather rough on Bill. A short time after we -came on from New Hampshire Bill went to Concord and reported to Major -Whittlesey. Well, no sooner has he reported than he goes away again -and is not seen about Concord for two or three days, when he again -reports; but this time the major puts him under arrest as a deserter, -and when the squad of deserters leave New Hampshire under a guard of -convalescents Bill is packed off with the rest. They go to Boston and -stop at Fort Warren for a time, and while there the prisoners are put -to all sorts of menial work. Part of the time Bill was haying on the -parapet, which was not at all bad, but after that he was given a mule’s -job, hauling coal. A dozen of the prisoners would load a cart, hitch -on and drag it along, dump their load, and so on. All this I learned -from George Cilley, who was left in New Hampshire, sick, and who was -guarding prisoners three or four weeks. He said Bill took it all very -philosophically—he couldn’t help himself. He is now in Washington and -will probably be sent to the regiment before long. - -The guard duty is divided now so that we do it one week and the Twelfth -the next. During our week every man is on guard every other day, but we -are not overworked, as we have no drilling to do. - -My tentmate, Dan. Desmond, is one of the quaintest old Irishmen you -ever met. He loads me with his adventures and experiences until my ribs -fairly ache from the laughing. Every night he regales me with some -story—and a good one—to go to bed on. - -The Seventeenth fellows will be discharged within a few days. Two in my -company have died in the service—Tibbetts, killed at Gettysburg, and -Ingalls, died of disease. - -The laugh is on Steve Smiley, and it is too good to keep. The day we -came down from Washington Steve ran down to some place on the street -to get some papers—I don’t know just what. But he didn’t get them, -because the colonel had been there before him. On his way back to the -barracks—only a little ways—he ran into the provost guard, and as he -had no pass they gathered him in and chucked him into the central guard -house, where they kept him over night. The next morning they let him -out and he got on a boat and came down. He is pretty touchy about it, -and the boys like to thorn him about patronizing the “Central Hotel.” - -The boys catch some nice fish here, among which are sea trout, which -the natives tell us will be very plenty in a short time. There is a big -kettle of beans on the fire, parboiling, which will be ready baked for -breakfast. You see I have to keep bringing up grub matters; but it does -seem good to have a plenty. - - ——————— - - _CV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 10, 1863_. - -I want something to do, and so “I take my pen in hand,” &c. And yet, -after all, I have been pretty busy this forenoon. We had to move our -tents so as to give the officers more breathing room—delicate souls! -Then I went out and did my week’s washing in a skillful and artistic -manner. When that was “hung out” I watched the operations of a pile -driver. We are to have a sink way out over the river, and the piles for -its support are being driven into the sand. - -The toads here! Their number is legion, of all sizes and conditions. -There is the very best of understandings between them and the boys, -for they are our dependable fly-traps. The men drive them into the -tents rather than out. I am fairly in love with some of the bright-eyed -little fellows that are tentmates of mine. They sit so demure and still -until a fly comes within reach, when there is the flash of a tongue, -and one less fly to plague us. Long live the toads, and may they -multiply and increase at Point Lookout. - -We had another instalment of rebel prisoners yesterday, five hundred -coming down from Washington. I could not help noticing the feeling -between the men from North Carolina and those from the Gulf States. -On their arrival here the prisoners were formed into companies of one -hundred men each, and as far as practicable those from the same state -were put together. There were not quite enough North Carolinians for -a company, so some Mississippians were put in with them, who began at -once to berate their new messmates, twitting them of being unpatriotic, -and telling the guard that those fellows wanted to get back into the -Union. - -Dan. and I are going to fix up our tent. First, we will raise it up -a few inches, so as to give the air a chance to circulate under the -bottom. Then we will build a couple of nice bunks, one on each side, -and between the heads of the bunks a table just big enough to eat and -write on. - - _Tuesday Evening, August 11._ - -I have been on fatigue duty today. This forenoon I was digging a hole -on the beach in which to set a pile post, and this afternoon I helped -pitch some tents for the adjutant. About half a dozen of our boys came -down on the boat yesterday, some of whom had been in the convalescent -camps, or in the distributing camps at Alexandria, ever since the -regiment left Washington for the front. But George Slade was not among -them, and now I am wondering what has become of him and where he can be. - -Company I had fried fish both for breakfast and dinner today. They -were fine sea bass, brought in last night by a fisherman in his boat. -He had an iron bucket full of blazing pitchwood for a light, and his -two little bareheaded children were with him—a boy and a girl five or -six years old. They were very pretty, fair-haired, and their appetites -evidently had not been spoiled by indulgence, for their father cut -slices from a huge loaf of bread in his basket, which they put out of -the way, clear, as fast as their little jaws could work. - -Well, my boy Dan. has made up the bed and gone to bed, and I guess I -will follow suit. - - _Wednesday Evening, August 12._ - -I made a great discovery today—nothing less than a newspaper in this -out-of-the-way place. It is named _Hammond Gazette_, and is published -for the benefit of the sick and wounded in the Hammond General -Hospital. It is a little fellow, just the size of _The Literary -Visitor_ that George Batchelder and I used to print. This afternoon -I went down and hunted up the office, along with old printer Smith -of the Twelfth—familiarly known in Manchester as “Snuffy” Smith. We -found quite a neat little office, with a real sociable Vermont printer -running the establishment. - -About the middle of the forenoon we had a wild gale here, coming off -the bay, and the river was full of vessels fleeing to shelter under -the Point. Desmond and I went out this evening and brought in a couple -boards, which we have cut up into length for bunks; but as we have yet -to make a raise on some nails, we will use them tonight for a floor, -and I guess we will need one, for it looks as if we were going to have -a great shower. - - _Thursday Morning, August 13._ - -Last night we had a holy terror of a storm. The wind blew almost a -hurricane, the water was a continuous deluge, and the thunder and -lightning were terrific. Many of the tents went down, but ours stood -up nobly. Those boards of ours were a perfect godsend, as a brook of -no mean proportions ran through our tent, and we were perched above -it, high if not dry. Jess. Dewey’s tent was one of those that blew -over, and everything in it got thoroughly soaked. I thought, at one -time, ours would have to go. It must have been a sight, Dan. and I each -hugging a tent-pole and holding it down for dear life. - - ——————— - - _CVI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 18, 1863_. - -I was terribly provoked this evening. I had just got comfortably -settled down to write a letter when I was ordered out on a detail. I -soon found it was to load boards, at the wharf, for the sutler. As I -was on guard last night, and going on again tomorrow, it looked to -me very much like crowding the mourners; and more than that, I did -not like being ordered out to do work they have no right to put on a -soldier anyway; but to keep peace in the family I went and did the -work, and now, at ten o’clock, I have got back to my letter. I have -been very busy today, and have something to show for it. Dan. and I got -hold of some more boards and immediately proceeded to build a palace. -We have a good one, the walls four feet high with our big tent perched -on top, a bunk on each side, a table, and lots of spare room, not to -mention a well-fitted board floor. - -We have an addition to our company in the shape of a contraband who -come across from Virginia in a little dugout canoe the other night. -We took him in to the cook, and he is earning his keep. - - _Wednesday Morning, August 10._ - -We are getting quite a gathering of prisoners here. Several hundred -arrived yesterday. The increasing force of prisoners calls for extra -vigilance on our part. We now have two Dahlgren boat howitzers posted -so as to command the rebel camp, and are going to have four more. The -rebels are set to do their own work—to dig wells, build cook houses, -&c. In such a crowd you will always find a proportion of smarties, and -a few of the lordly ones kicked up a rumpus and swore they would not do -any work for the United States. They changed their mind when they were -strung up without any parley, and the joke of the thing was that a good -many of the prisoners were tickled to death to see them disciplined. - -Did you ever know Sam. Newell? He was one of the squad that enlisted -from our company into the regular cavalry last fall. When we were in -Washington on our way down here, he came on from the front with a lot -of dismounted cavalrymen, and when we came down here he simply got -homesick. So he got on board the boat and came along with us. This was -nothing more nor less than desertion, and he was arrested here and put -under guard. But one fine morning Samuel turns up missing and is not -heard from again for several days, when he appears at the guard house -under full military escort and is again in the toils and more carefully -guarded than before. When he ran away he went up country about forty -miles and let himself to work in a sawmill. The owner has a schooner on -which he ships wood down here to the Point, and the next trip he made -Sam. came along to help work the boat. He kept pretty shady while they -were unloading here, but one of our officers got his eye on him and -Sam. was ingloriously dragged out of his hole. I guess most of those -fellows who went into the cavalry wish they had stayed with the old -Second. They missed that long furlough at home, and life with the -regulars is not like soldiering with your own crowd of old-time friends -and acquaintances. - - ——————— - - _CVII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 22, 1863_. - -Irene [Mrs. Wasley,] Mrs. Col. Carr and some other women came down -on the boat day before yesterday. I got the little bundle, ate the -cakes, enjoyed your cooking, and was delighted with the fine towel. We -now have four or five times as many prisoners here as there are men -to guard them. I put a picture in the mail today. It will look quite -pretty framed, but I value it most as a record up to date of the boys -of Company I. I only wish the copy had been prepared by some one a -little more accustomed to that sort of work. - - ——————— - - _CVIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _August 26, 1863_. - -Have just been up to see Mrs. Irene Stokes Wasley, and she had lots to -tell me about you—so much she almost made me homesick. Mrs. Bailey came -down on the boat Monday evening, and we catch a glimpse of her and the -colonel parading. Dan. expresses the opinion that they are a mighty wee -bit of a couple. - -The other night, while I was on guard at Marston’s headquarters, we had -a queer lot there under guard. There were fifteen men who said they had -run away from Richmond to escape conscription. Some of them would not -take the oath of allegiance, and it is said they will be returned to -their friends—sent across and landed on the Virginia shore. They were -mostly Irishmen and Jews, and it was the Irishmen who were willing to -take the oath. - -Now I must tell you of one of the meanest little skunks that ever -lived. He is a brother of our second lieutenant. He is familiarly -known as “Culpepper,” and the boys hate him devotedly. He is not -enlisted, but ran away from the Reform School and came on with us. He -is one of the most incorrigible little thieves that ever was. On the -march through Maryland, while we were camped for a little while near -Emmitsburg, he had a large sum of money which he pretended to have -found in a box in a ditch, but which some of the boys now believe was -stolen from the poor box of the convent there. Be that as it may, he -has been engaged in two or three bad scrapes here which should furnish -sufficient cause for having him arrested or sent home. His latest -exploit was to crawl into the house of a man named Murphy, near the -camp. He got in through a window, and Mrs. Murphy came in and caught -him rummaging her bureau. She grabbed him, but he fought and scratched -and bit until he got away, and now he is roaming around as big as ever, -notwithstanding Mrs. Murphy declares several dollars in money are -missing. The young scoundrel says he knocked a bag in at the window and -climbed in to get it. His brother pretends to believe he is innocent, -and shields him. - -We are going in for improvements here, just as they do in other -enterprising cities. A brick oven is being built which will take in a -pile of beans, meat or bread. Bill Summers, our company cook, is the -architect and mason; the next company’s cook is the tender. Clay is -used for mortar, and where the bricks come from is one of the company -secrets. Another job that it has taken all day to accomplish is the -raising of a flag staff, eighty feet high, on the parade ground in -front of the regiment. - -_Evening._—Dan. and I have just risen in our wrath and put an end -to—well, I won’t try to tell how many millions of flies. By the -judicious application of a couple of towels we wiped cartloads of them -from the face of the earth. If any escaped to tell the tale, some fly -historian will record August 26 as the fateful day when a wild Irishman -and a crazy Yankee ran amuck at Point Lookout. Now Dan. is reading, -in peace, an account of the operations at Charleston, the knocking to -pieces of Fort Sumter, and wishing we could take the cussed city. - - ——————— - - _CIX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _September 3, 1863_. - -Guard duty has been pretty strenuous for a time—every other day, but -with three reliefs. Now, however, the prison camp has been extended, -doubling the number of posts around it, and we are put to it to find -men enough to make two reliefs—the men being on post twelve hours out -of twenty-four, every other day. Monday I marched a beat three hours -at one time, and over four hours at another. But Marston has taken the -matter in hand and ordered up reinforcements—that is, he has ordered -that every man in these two regiments shall take a gun. All officers’ -waiters and other bummers are to be returned to their companies for -duty and their places filled by contrabands. If carried out it will -help us out some. Yesterday I had a very pleasant tour of duty, being -on picket some distance from camp, on a narrow neck of land between the -bay and creek, where I could sit down while on post. - -There is, naturally, more or less discussion as to the possibility of -the rebels raiding over here from the Virginia shore, but they will not -venture on any such foolhardy expedition. They took two of our small -boats up in the Rappahannock river the other day and are reported to -be mounting heavy guns on them, but they would have about as much show -against our gunboats here as a boy with a bean-shooter would. - -Last night about forty prisoners and convalescents came down from -Alexandria, and among the number was Bill Ramsdell. Notwithstanding his -escapades he is a fine fellow and I was glad to see him. Our oven is -completed and is a work of art. There are a great many schooners out -in the river, raking for oysters, and people here say mackerel will be -plenty before long. - -Some of our Johnny Rebs have been trying to get away. By some means -three of them got out by the guard the other night and started for -the country. They didn’t get far—only to the creek which makes Point -Lookout almost an island. It is pretty wide at this end, quite a little -pond, and looks more formidable for wading than it really is. One of -their party couldn’t swim, so they finally hid in the bushes, where -they were found the next morning. They didn’t make a very good job of -it. “Hang ’em!” said Marston, “they won’t stay and let us treat ’em -well, when we want to.” - -George Slade has not made his appearance yet, and I think he has not -been heard from. - -I see by the list of drafted men in the papers that some of the meanest -Copperheads in New London and Newbury have been drawn, and now I am -interested to see what they propose to do. I wish they would send a few -of the worst ones out here for the old Second to break in. - -The Paymaster came down here a week ago and paid us up to the first of -July, but he didn’t have to disburse a great amount of money to the -rank and file. The clothing account was squared up, and there were but -very few men who had not overdrawn their allowance. Some did not have -pay enough coming to balance their clothing account. To add insult -to injury, company property, such as canteens, haversacks and rubber -blankets were put down on the men’s clothing accounts. Alba Woods had -74 cents coming to him and I was not much better off. We doubtless have -to thank some desk officer up at Washington, who is drawing, perhaps, -several thousand dollars a year and perquisites, for this raid on the -fellows who are drawing thirteen dollars a month and doing the fighting. - - ——————— - - _CX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _September 7, 1863_. - -The men who like to fish are having the time of their lives. My -particular passion is crab fishing. The outfit consists of a boat, a -piece of fish or meat on the end of a string, and a dip-net. Three or -four of us coast along the shore, and when a crab is sighted the bait -is thrown to him, he fastens onto it and is tolled up within reach of -the dip-net. There is a big sea turtle here in the cove. We see him -every day. Some of the boys _say_ they are just dying to get hold of -his tail or flippers and be towed out a piece. - -What some negroes will risk for liberty was well illustrated by a slave -family that came over last night from Virginia. There were a man and -his wife and three children. They traveled all day, on foot, to reach -the river. Then, although the water was very rough, they all packed -into a little “dugout” canoe and got safely across the six or eight -miles of tossing waters that to them was the highway to liberty. A -syndicate of us bought the canoe, and Sam. Oliver and I tried it out -today. - -Day before yesterday we were reinforced by a company of regular cavalry -that came down from Washington on the boat. They were from the same -regiment so many of our boys went into a year ago, and we have learned -the fate of some of them. Rod. Manning was killed, a few days ago, in a -cavalry fight near Culpepper, and Nich. Biglin—our “Heenan”—is supposed -to have been killed, as he had a bad saber cut and a bullet wound and -could not be carried away. [He died in Andersonville.] Father will -remember Rod. Manning as my tentmate at Alexandria. I am glad I did not -blunder into the regulars with the other boys, for although we have had -a rough time of it, they have had a rougher. A third of those who went -from Company I are dead. When the boys went off to get transferred they -urged me to go with them, and perhaps the only thing that saved me was -the fact that I had come off a hard picket turn the night before and -hated to crawl out of my warm nest. - -Several more rebel prisoners have escaped, and in consequence of the -growing propensity to run away they have had their watches, money and -other valuables taken away from them, and they have been restricted in -many privileges they formerly enjoyed. I understand a board fence is to -be put around the prison camp, and that will help some; but the crying -need is for more men to do guard duty. Some of the men who ran away -have been recaptured. - -Most of our married officers have their wives here and are keeping -house in the little tenements on “Chesapeake Avenue.” - - ——————— - - _CXI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _September 9, 1863_. - -Bill Ramsdell had his trial today, but I have heard nothing of its -course or result. Bill told me he was going to plead his own cause. In -any civil court he would be acquitted; but this is a military court, -and Bill is only a private, and I am not so sure. It is getting to be -more and more so that there is one law for officers and another for -enlisted men. Shoulder-straps are a great protection to the men wearing -them. For instance: At Washington Colonel Bailey broke a sergeant -for getting drunk, and issued a terrible manifesto decreeing condign -punishment for any one who should disgrace the regiment in a like -manner. Now for the sequel. A few days ago one of our officers appeared -at guard-mount so gloriously drunk that he could not walk straight, and -made a big bull of the whole ceremony, to the disgrace both of himself -and the regiment. Has he been disciplined as the sergeant was? Not on -your life. - - _Friday Evening, September 11._ - -Now for a tale of wild adventure! I came off guard at nine o’clock this -morning, and Sam. Oliver and I arranged to go a-fishing. We did not -get off until after dinner, which for Dan. and I consisted of a big -mess-pan of potatoes and bread and butter. We worked pretty hard to -find some worms for bait, but not a worm could be found on the Point; -so we caught a few grasshoppers and a crab and started in a dugout -for a point about two miles up the river. We fished diligently and -faithfully, but not a fish came to our hooks. But we were repaid for -our trouble by several very near views of the giant turtles which have -lately made their appearance here. Several times they came up close to -the boat. If they can bite as savagely as a “snapper” in proportion to -their size—O, my! Their heads looked as large as a man’s, and their -spread of flippers was tremendous. They would stick their heads out of -the water, give a big puff, and lazily roll under again. As we couldn’t -catch fish, we went ashore, had a good swim, and then went home. Then I -found I had left a rebel officer’s belt on the beach, and I paddled the -boat back again and picked up the belt. - -Here is another: Colonel Bailey, Steve Smiley and a few others went out -sailing, yesterday, in a dugout they had rigged up with a keel and a -sail. They had no trouble running out before the wind, but when it came -to beating back they couldn’t get anywhere. They went kiting about, -hither and thither, and their boat did everything but what they wanted -it to. One of our armed schooners fired two shots to bring them to, but -they couldn’t heave to if the fate of the world had depended on it. At -last they came within an ace of running down one of the gunboats, which -obligingly lowered a boat and towed them ashore. - -I do not know yet the result of Bill Ramsdell’s court martial, but -he says he is perfectly satisfied with the way he got his side of the -case in. The President of the court did not hesitate to say that Bill’s -treatment had been “shameful” in some particulars. - -We have not had a drop of rain here for some time, although it is -cloudy almost every day and looks as if it was going to pour right -away. But we have an almost constant breeze, which is very refreshing, -although it is so late in the season that it begins to be a little cool. - -Old Dan. is the prince of story tellers. He tells me stories of Ireland -and of his own adventures there and elsewhere. I like to hear him. He -will start in with some entirely reasonable and probable narrative. -Then he tells me something a little steeper, which I pretend to -swallow. Properly encouraged, he goes on, each time improving on his -last, until Gulliver and Munchausen sink into insignificance. Then I -say: “Och, Dan., what a divvle of a liar ye are!” He twists his picked -nose, snaps his eyes, and the show is over. - - ——————— - - _CXII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _September 18, 1863_. - -I was on guard yesterday, coming off this morning, and it was a lucky -strike, as a rain storm has just set in. So while the poor fellows -on duty today are paddling up and down in the wet, I will sit in my -comfortable tent, nice and dry. But if the storm holds on tomorrow -my crowing will be over and I’ll be the one out in the cold. Our -Seventeenth men will leave us very soon. Their time is up, but they -are being kept here on the plea of waiting for a mustering officer and -paymaster. There are three still doing duty in Company I. We had six, -but three have died. Since our arrival here the regiment has lost five -by death, four of whom were from the Seventeenth. - -A good portion of our Reb prisoners, being out of ready money, have -taken to manufacturing little trinkets for sale to our men. They make -bone rings and bosom pins and other ornaments, some of which are of -remarkable workmanship. And they make wooden fans which are very -ingenious. - -If the Fifth Regiment are coming down to help us I wish they would come -along. I have got tired of standing guard every other day as regularly -as days come around. We hear they are not having as good a time at home -as we did. I had rather be out here than to be cooped up as they are, -right at their homes and yet not permitted to spend their time there. - - _Sunday Evening, September 20._ - -The Governor, Jack Hale and Dan. Clark were down here yesterday and -made speeches to a crowd at headquarters. Hale said we would probably -stay here until we are discharged, and that we had not got much longer -to serve. - - ——————— - - _CXIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _September 28, 1863_. - -Now I can answer your question as to what I think has become of George -Slade. This very minute I have received a letter from him, dated at -Camp Parole, Annapolis. He has just got in from Richmond, where he has -been a prisoner at Belle Isle. - -I am going to burn just four inches of candle. When not on duty the -boys have fine times boating and fishing. As soon as we got off guard -today I went a-fishing with two other fellows, and did not get back -till the middle of the afternoon. We had a grand time and poor luck. I -got only three. - -There was a great naval disaster last Saturday. Steve Smiley and three -or four other bold mariners have been fitting up a boat that was -intended to be the boss of the fleet. Saturday, with a stiff breeze -blowing, they set out for a sail. They went down the river in grand -style and out into the bay. There was an injudicious combination of a -cranky boat, too much sail and too much wind, and the first thing they -knew the boat was bottom side up with care and the crew afloat on the -fierce rolling tide. A gunboat sent a boat to pick them up, and they -returned to camp wiser and wetter men. - -We are receiving batches of prisoners every few days now. The Fort -Delaware prisoners are being transferred here, a steamer being kept -busy all the time. There are said to be about nine thousand there -awaiting transfer. Day before yesterday we had an arrival of prisoners -taken on Morris Island, S. C. - -We are building a stockade across “the neck,” a narrow strip of sand -connecting the Point with the mainland. I don’t know whether I wrote -you, a short time ago, about five rebels escaping from here. Well, in -a squad which was brought in a few days ago who should appear but one -of these same fellows, back again! He had made his way to his regiment, -got into a skirmish immediately on his arrival, and was again taken -prisoner and returned to his old quarters. - -Some of our officers are a good deal exercised just now with fears -for their positions. Under the new regulations a regiment must have a -certain number of men to entitle it to a colonel, and a company more -than sixty men to entitle it to a second lieutenant. And the fact that -our regiment, with its reduced rolls, is not entitled to anything -higher than a major in command, and no company has men enough to give -it a second lieutenant, has impressed our officers with a settled -conviction that the regiment should be filled up with conscripts. Our -second lieutenants have nearly all been made since the first of July, -when the order went into effect. But one of them told me, yesterday, -that Governor Gilmore had got ahead of the Government by dating their -commissions back beyond the first of July. But for all that, some of -them who have not yet been mustered are fearful they never will be. -It is a solemn fact that we now have more officers, commissioned and -non-commissioned, than we have privates doing duty in this regiment. - - _Thursday, October 1._ - -Last night I was on patrol duty in the prison camp—really a sort of -policeman to see that order was maintained, and especially that there -were no unusual gatherings which might develope into an attempt to rush -the camp guard. The only assemblage permitted was a religious meeting -in an open space in camp—a regular old fashioned prayer meeting, the -character of which was accepted as a guaranty against treachery. -Marston thinks some of the prisoners are plotting an outbreak, which -is not at all improbable, as in such a gathering there are sure to be -more or less enterprising hot-heads. One of these insisted on passing a -sentry’s beat the other night, in spite of all commands to halt. When -he did halt he had a wooden “tompion” in his leg, the sentry having -forgotten to remove it from the muzzle of his gun. - -I have a good mattress, made by filling my bunk with hay, then pulling -my old shelter tent over it and nailing down at the sides. - - ——————— - - _CXIV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _October 8, 1863_. - -The story is going that, the last of this month, the colonel, -lieutenant-colonel and all the second lieutenants of this regiment -are to be mustered out, as we have not men enough to allow us these -officers. In my company there are seven privates doing duty, and -three commissioned officers, which seems to be rather a top-heavy -organization. The men are watching the course of events with a good -deal of amused interest, and the officers with an equal amount of -anxiety. - -A shanty for a Masonic lodge is being put up today. Desmond suggests -that there is more need of a comfortable guard house. But Dan. is a -devoted Catholic and doesn’t believe in Masons anyway. - -The fence around the prisoners’ camp is progressing rapidly. It is -about a dozen feet high. Five of the Rebs made an attempt to escape -night before last. One hid himself under the commissary building, but -was soon found, and the hole through which he had crawled was securely -boarded up. - - _Friday Evening._ - -I went on guard tonight at 5 and did not get relieved till after 8 -and am feeling pretty cross. I saw in a paper tonight a list of the -men drafted in Manchester. There were some I was glad to have drawn, -although I doubt if there is the making of one good soldier in the -whole crowd. - -Our guard duty will be somewhat easier hereafter, as the fence is -nearly completed and less posts will be required around the camp. -Already we can divide our men into three reliefs instead of two, thus -giving us a chance to get a little sleep between times. - - ——————— - - - [Illustration: THE SOLDIER BOY] - - - ——————— - - _CXV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _October 27, 1863_. - -Two of our fellows who were captured at Gettysburg have got in from the -parole camp at Annapolis. When they came I expected to see George Slade -with them. I had a letter from him only a few days before announcing -that he had just got in from a “hell upon earth”—a rebel prison—“tired, -dirty and lousy,” as he expressed it—and asking me to send him five -dollars. And now they bring me word that he is dead. I had no better -friend in the regiment than good, loyal old George Slade. - -Another detachment of the Second Cavalry has arrived here, among whom -are some of the boys who went out of our regiment at Alexandria, and -from them we get authentic news of all the boys. Rod. Manning was -killed instantly at Culpepper—shot in the mouth. “Heenan” was not -killed, although he had a fierce saber cut on his head. When our boys -went to pick him up he told them to let him die where he was. They -were, in fact, so hard pressed that they could not have got him off -anyway. But he has since turned up as a prisoner in Richmond. - -There has been a little disturbance up country. One of our officers -engaged in recruiting negroes was shot by an exasperated slaveholder. -Another officer came down today for a force to go up and preserve -order, and also for a gunboat to prevent them from running their -slaves from Maryland over into Virginia. A detachment of cavalry has -gone up. It beats everything how the contrabands are coming in both -from Maryland and Virginia. They come sometimes in squads of fifteen -or twenty, and most of the men go into the army or some branch of -the government service. Those coming from Maryland are not sent back -into bondage, as formerly, but if the owner is loyal he receives -three hundred dollars for his man, who is put in the army. This will -make Maryland a free state before many years. The situation is very -displeasing to the old secesh planters. - -We are building a combination guard- and block house, of logs, in which -a howitzer will be mounted to command the main entrance to the prison -camp. - -One of our men who deserted at Yorktown returned today—brought back -under guard; and I hear there are quite a number of men at Washington -who deserted right after the first Bull Run battle. It will be a corker -on them if they have to make up the time they have lost. - -I have a bundle of curios I would like to send home by express. There -is no express office here, but the sutler brings down all the express -matter directed to the Point. Bill Pendleton, of this company, who was -mail agent, used to carry bundles to Washington for the boys, but he -had some trouble with the captain of the boat and has been relieved. - - ——————— - - _CXVI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _November 1, 1863_. - -My box came today, bringing a good supply of clothing, so I think I can -hold out pretty comfortably this winter. I am, also, unusually well -fixed as to quarters. Have rearranged to take in Bill Pendleton. Bill -and I have an upper bunk, and Dan. a lower bunk all to himself. Bill -has a good mattress and half a dozen quilts and we undress and go to bed -like folks. I found much more of an eatable nature than I expected in -my box. We are clearing out cakes, pies and apples, and are surveying -one of those big onions to find the most available point of attack. - -Bill Ramsdell won out in his court martial, was acquitted, released -from arrest, and returned to the company for duty yesterday. I find -Bill has a very bitter feeling against Captain Gordon and attributes -most of his troubles to him. The captain warmly congratulated Bill and -told him he had done everything he could to secure his acquittal. But -Bill grimly says he knows better. - -Last night was a night of excitement over attempts of prisoners to -escape. Three or four different parties had their plans all laid. One -squad had made arrangements with a sentry to let five men pass beyond -his beat, paying him a handsome sum in greenbacks; but no sooner did -he get their money than he betrayed them to the provost marshal. The -consequence was that a squad of cavalrymen was lying in wait and two -of the adventurers were severely wounded. The sympathies of our boys -are all with the Rebs and against the fellow who was mean enough to -take their money and then give them away. Two other parties had tunnels -completed from their tents to a point outside the fence, but their -schemes miscarried. I was down at my tent, eating my supper, when the -“long roll” beat at the guard house, and I never knew before that there -were so many logs and mud holes on Point Lookout as I tumbled over and -into in my haste to answer the call. - - _Monday Evening._ - -More improvements! I wish you could see our stove. It is the biggest -box stove ever made, I guess. It is not exactly _in_ our tent, but one -end is. If the whole apparatus was there wouldn’t be room for anything -else. It is a government stove. We discovered a nest of about fifty, -and one dark night not long ago the Second confiscated the whole lot. I -hear they are coming around tomorrow to pick them up, in which event we -have done a good deal of heavy lugging for nothing. - -Col. Bailey has been living in one of the houses “down town,” but today -his tent is being fixed up for his reception. I do not know whether he -is going to move his wife up to camp or not. - -Being off duty today I went oystering. Got lots of them, and cut my -fingers all to pieces shucking them. - -Two volunteer recruits for our company came down on the boat tonight. -They are a decided novelty—living proofs that there are a few left who -do not wait to be drafted. - - ——————— - - _CXVII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _November 8, 1863_. - -There is more trouble for our last batch of second lieutenants. When -commissioned, their names were dropped from the rolls of enlisted men; -but when it came to being mustered, it could not be done, the regiment -not having men enough. They are not on the rolls of enlisted men, and -cannot be mustered as officers, so they are wondering where they are -and how they are going to get any pay for the past four months. It is -a serious problem for some of them who have spent considerable sums on -officers’ outfits. - -My big stove, “The Swamp Angel,” has been taken away, and I don’t know -as I am very sorry, it was such an infernally clumsy contrivance. We -had the fun of stealing it, anyway. Captain Gordon says he has made -arrangements for a little sheet-iron stove for each tent, which will be -much better. - -Our two new recruits from Manchester have both been placed in my tent. -One, named Messenger, was in the Sixteenth Regiment. I do not remember -the name of the other. [Jason Sherwood, a Seventeenth man, who served -in Company F and re-enlisted shortly after his discharge.] - -A couple of steamers were in collision, out on the bay, Friday night. -One, the “Curfew,” was sunk, and the other, the “Louisiana,” was towed -in here the next day by a gunboat. One of them, it is stated, has been -engaged in the hunt for the “Alabama.” - -Last Wednesday was state election day in Maryland, and several wagons -rigged out with flags and banners, and loaded with citizens and unarmed -soldiers, went up to St. Mary’s. It reminded me of some of my old -election rackets in New Hampshire. - -The wild geese are beginning to come along. One small flock passed over -the camp yesterday. Quite a number of shots were fired at them, and one -big fellow came down. The residents here say there will be big rafts of -them on the river this winter. - -A schooner has just gone ashore near camp, in trying to get around the -point. Our guard details are so arranged now that we are on duty only -every fourth day. If this continues, we will have an easy time this -winter. - - ——————— - - _CXVIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _November 14, 1863_. - -The Fifth Regiment has just landed and gone into camp. They came down -from Washington yesterday afternoon, but did not land until this -morning. There are 750, mostly substitutes, and I hear they have not -come to help us on guard duty, but to be drilled preparatory to going -to the front. We have the cutest little sheet-iron stove that ever was, -set up and in running order. - - _Monday Afternoon._ - -Our new-comers of the Fifth are the toughest crowd I ever saw -credited to New Hampshire. They are loaded with money paid to them as -substitutes, and no sooner were they landed than almost every man was -loading up with supplies from the sutler’s. They are not going to do -any guard duty, so we hear and so it appears. They are kept very close, -having a guard about their camp, and cannot get out without a pass. If -they had the same freedom the Second has, there would doubtless be a -grand hiatus of the bounty fellows. - -Two prisoners were shot yesterday. The Fifth’s drum corps was playing -“Dixie,” and when they got through the Rebs crowded up to the fence and -gave “Three cheers for Dixie!” The demonstration soon became riotous -and threatening, and was passing beyond all control, when the Twelfth -man on guard at that point fired into the crowd and brought the crazy -fellows to their senses. - -Bill Ramsdell is doing duty right along, but he came very near getting -into another scrape the other night. You must know that we soldiers -have a free-and-easy way of appropriating to our own use any little bit -of government property that will contribute to our comfort. It isn’t -stealing. We all do it. The government has sent whole shiploads of -boards here, for fences, houses, &c., and if we fellows want one or two -to build a bunk or fix our quarters, we take them, and no harm done. -Well, the other night Bill went out on a piratical cruise, shouldered -a board, and was almost into camp with it when, as ill luck would have -it, he ran up against General Marston himself, who ordered him to drop -his load, personally escorted him down to headquarters, and turned him -over to the guard. But Bill pulled up two or three tent-pins, crawled -out under the canvas, and in due time appeared in camp lugging his -board, which he had gathered in again on his way up. As all this took -place at night, and as the Twelfth was on guard, Bill flattered himself -no one would ever be any wiser as to who the prisoner was. But he was -recognized by one of the guard, who thought the escape of Marston’s own -prisoner too good a thing to keep, and it leaked to the officer of the -guard. In due time a guard appeared in camp hunting for “a man named -Ramsdell.” But nobody knew any such man. The guard was a mighty decent -fellow, and didn’t rake with a fine-tooth comb. We kept Bill out of -sight until a new officer of the guard came on, when the matter was -forgotten or dropped at headquarters. - -I did not get off with my guard duty day before yesterday quite as -well as I expected. A cold rain set in, and if it had not been for -the overcoat and rubber blanket that came in my box, I should have -suffered. That day we occupied, for the first time, the new guard -house, which, however, had not been shingled, and it rained harder -inside than out. So I came down to my tent and sat while not on post, -and in this way made the best of a dismal situation. - - ——————— - - _CXIX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., - _Saturday Evening, November 21, 1863_. - -Rainy and dreary outside, but inside is warmth and comfort. There is a -good fire in the little stove, the tent is tight as a drum, and there -is a snug warm bunk for me when I get ready to turn in. - -You appear to be having quite a little run of adventures. Well, here -is one of mine. The other day I took an outing up into the country, -just to see what sort of a place it is up there. It was dark when I -got within a mile of camp, and I was tired and anxious to get in the -shortest way. I knew that by the route which would save me half my -travel I would have to wade a network of little creeks, but that didn’t -trouble me, and across-lots I started. Wading into creek No. 1, I found -myself up to my middle, with a strong tide setting in. But I was in for -it, and I kept forging ahead, but when I came to the last crossing I -wished I had gone the other way. This was at the point where the creek -empties into the river. It was not wide, but the tide was setting into -it like a millrace. I waded in. Once or twice I thought I would be -swept off my feet and floated up the creek like a piece of driftwood. -But I got through—and so ended my soul-stirring adventure. - -It is reported that we are to have “Sibley” tents for winter quarters, -and that all the improvements we have been making will have to go to -make way for the new arrangement. The Sibley is much larger than our -A-tents, and is a great canvas cone supported by a center pole. Ours -are to be stockaded about four feet high on logs planted on end in the -ground, and ten men will make a tent’s crew. Each tent is equipped -with a stove, and the whole outfit makes the most comfortable quarters -imaginable. The only drawback is the trouble of making the change. - -The new men of the Fifth are making a great deal of trouble by their -attempts to desert. Last Tuesday several made the venture, and one -party got clean away by taking a boat from the beach at our camp. As a -result, Marston has ordered all the boats taken away, and there is the -end of our boating and oyster raking. Two Subs managed to get out to a -schooner, and struck a bargain with a negro—who was captain, cook and -all hands—to set them on shore outside our picket line. As they landed, -a squad of mounted men went tearing up the beach and gathered them in, -while a gunboat went after the schooner and brought it in as a prize. - -Colonel Bailey has had an old shanty moved up here, which I suppose he -intends to have fixed up for himself and wife. He has been quartering -down on the point, and it is reported that General Marston has ordered -him to make his quarters with his regiment. - -Rats! Rats!! Rats!!! We are overrun with them. They swarm everywhere, -and are big enough to waylay a cat. They run over us as we lie in our -bunks, and the other night one dropped plump in my face from the upper -bunk. One of the fellows in that bunk got his hand on one and combed -it across the tent, where it struck the boards with a loud thump and a -terrified squeak. - -I hear the Fifth are going to take their turn at guard duty tomorrow. -If they do it will make our duty much easier. - - ——————— - - _CXX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _November 28, 1863_. - -Quite a relief it is to us overworked fellows to have the Fifth take -their turn at guard duty. We cannot now be called upon oftener than -every third day, and probably not as often as that. You need have -no uneasiness about small pox here. There is only one case in this -regiment, so far as I know. Most of the cases are from the prison camp. -The small pox hospital is outside the lines, and the guard are immunes -who have had the disease. - -_Evening._—I have just had a good supper of oysters, and the papers -bring us news of a great victory at Chattanooga, so I am feeling pretty -well both in body and mind. - - ——————— - - _CXXI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., - _Sunday, December 6, 1863_. - -If I had only known, I need not have been dreading, as I have, the cold -nights coming, with guard duty out in the snow and rain. I have served -now coming on three years, without asking any favors nor getting any. -But last Tuesday Colonel Bailey issued an order detailing me as mail -carrier for this regiment. It is decidedly the softest job at Point -Lookout. I am entirely relieved from all guard duty and drill. Our mail -comes in every other day, and I go down to the boat—about a quarter of -a mile—bring up the mail and distribute it, and the next morning carry -the outgoing mail down to the boat. That is all there is to it. Really -an army postmaster, Jesse Dewey has been performing double duty for a -time, as orderly sergeant and mail carrier, but the two jobs interfered -with each other, and I am the beneficiary. - -During the past week our regiment received an installment of about 175 -substitutes. Company I got a dose of twenty. There are a few good men -among them, but they are mighty few. Most of them are foreigners, and -many of them are just watching for an opportunity to desert. Three or -four got away the other night in a boat that came ashore from one of -the gunboats. The officer left his boat without a guard, and perhaps -there wasn’t any swearing when he came for it and it was gone. It -takes the iron hand to keep such a gang in bounds. More than twenty of -them have already been tied up to the flagstaff, bucked and gagged, or -otherwise disciplined. We have never had a guard around our camp until -today, but now it is to be a fixture. So much extra work for the boys, -all on account of these human vermin that New Hampshire is filling -up her old regiments with. The old men are terribly disgruntled. It -makes no difference to me personally, and it does seem good to turn in -every night for an unbroken rest. The story is going that we are to -be relieved by detachments of the Invalid Corps and sent to the front -before long. I have no idea though that we will be sent away until the -spring campaign opens. George Colby came down the first of the week -and is clerking in Bailey’s sutler shop. [Geo. H., then of Manchester, -and later, until his tragic death, in the employ of the railroad at -Plymouth, N. H.] - - ——————— - - _CXXII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., - _Sunday, December 13, 1863_. - -The mail did not go to Washington today. Last night, after I had gone -to bed and to sleep, the mail agent came in, woke me up, and told me -to have my mail at headquarters before three o’clock. So I turned out -of my bunk at half-past two. It was dark as a pocket, raining great -guns, and the wind blowing a hurricane. I put on my overcoat and rubber -poncho and paddled down to headquarters. But, a few minutes ago, Jess. -Dewey stuck his head into the tent and told me the mail agent was still -here and the mail had not gone out yet. - -It is among the possibilities that the rebels may attempt to rescue the -prisoners here, and every precaution is being taken against any such -movement. The road up into the country is patrolled at night, and the -gunboat squadron has been reinforced until we now have ten vessels here -ready for any emergency. - -Frank Everett, in the Manchester _Mirror_ office, writes his brother -Henry that Farnsworth is back in the _American_ office, having resigned -his position in the army. - - _Monday, December 14._ - -There has been a terrible gale today, and it is a wonder to me that my -tent has not taken to itself wings and flown away. Efforts are soon to -be made to get the old men to re-enlist. They will be given a furlough -of thirty days and a big bounty. Captain Gordon is to be the recruiting -officer for this regiment, and will commence operations very soon. I -shall not re-enlist. - - ——————— - - _CXXIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _December 19, 1863_. - -Our old regiment got another dose today—350 Subs., off the same piece -as our first lot. It is tough on us old New Hampshire boys. Quite a -number of our precious Subs got away night before last, and yesterday -morning a detachment started out to scour the country for them. Four -were picked up and sent in yesterday. The detachment has not yet -returned, and are searching every barn and haystack, and we hope they -will get some more, living or dead—preferably dead. - - _Sunday, December 20._ - -This is comfort—the wood pile for a seat and my overcoat for a cushion. -It is cold and blustering outside, but a good fire in our hide stove -makes it warm and comfortable within. By the way, I am going to move -before long—am to have a tent all to myself, for a post office. - -The old rumor factory is in full operation. The latest story is quite -ingenious. According to this story, which has leaked down to some -veracious fellow from some headquarters, the old men of the regiment -are to be mounted and take the place of the cavalry detachment now -here. Bill Ramsdell is to be sergeant-major of the new organization, -but our non-commissioned officers are to stay and look after the -conscripts. - -Mrs. Bailey has gone home—went a few days ago, with Hen. Pillsbury as -her attendant. He has a twenty days furlough. - -A few days ago the Reb. prisoners, led by their sergeants, made an -organized assault on one of their cook houses. I don’t know what their -grievance was. One was shot dead by a sentry and several wounded. The -next day ten of the sergeants who had been conspicuous in the riot were -tied by their hands to the posts of the fence and given several hours -in which to meditate on their sins. - - ——————— - - _CXXIV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _December 25, 1863_. - -Xmas Greetings! One of our captains said the other day that the old men -would probably be discharged inside of two months, but I take no stock -in the story. I was talking with Captain Platt yesterday, and he had -lots of nice things to say about my wife. I learned a great deal about -you and Arie Platt, and you may be sure I was an attentive listener to -all he had to say. - -General Ben. Butler was here yesterday, looking things over very -closely, and I understand he is arranging an exchange of prisoners. - - _Tuesday, December 29._ - -Since I began this letter no mail has come in until this morning, and -none has gone out. The mail boat was sunk by ice, and I have been -anxiously watching for the boat that didn’t come. I have got to carry -the mail down in half an hour, so must close. - - ——————— - - _CXXV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _December 31, 1863_. - -I am in Quint’s sutler shop, writing on the head of a barrel. Quint -[Atherton W., of Manchester] is sutler at the prison camp, and I help -him a little, just enough to pay for the butter and other sutler’s -goods that I want. I have an ocean of waste time, and the arrangement -is profitable and highly satisfactory both to Quint and myself. - -We had rather a jolly time here Christmas day. First, there was a -greased pig, which made no end of merriment. He was one of those gaunt, -ugly creatures that run wild in these southern woods. He had just been -brought in, and was as wild and savage as a wolf. So when his pursuers -closed in, on, over, around and under him, he made a gallant fight for -liberty and freely used all the defensive weapons the Lord had provided -him with. Then there were wrestling and sparring matches and a footrace. - -Seven boatloads of negroes have come in from Virginia today. I was -down on the beach when one load landed. There were 32 men, women and -children, with all their household truck, packed into one boat. It -was a smart likely-looking lot of contrabands, and no doubt some poor -misguided rebel is now mourning the loss of several thousand dollars’ -worth of live stock. A great many of the negroes that come in are -probably from Maryland, but all are received alike, and but very few, -if any, of the refugees ever get back into their masters’ hands. - - _January 1, 1864._ - -I wish you a Happy New Year! I sat up pretty late last night playing -“muggins” down at the sutler’s shop. - -Colonel Bailey issued orders to company commanders this morning which -are received with greater satisfaction by the _old_ boys than by some -of the officers. The “company funds” which have been accumulating -during the past two years now amount to a very considerable sum in each -company. This money is in the hands of the company commanders, and the -good it has done to the men to whom it belongs has been very slight -indeed. In fact, some of the captains who have left the regiment have -carried off the company funds without making any account of it, and -that was the end of it. Well, since these mercenaries came along, with -hundred-dollar bills sticking out of every pocket, Captain Gordon has -commenced using this fund that had been taken out of the hides of the -old men, to buy potatoes, onions and other luxuries, the greater part -of which are consumed by our cussed Subs. There is a bit of malice in -this, attributable to a feud between Gordon and the bulk of the old -men, for there have been several times in the past when this fund could -have been used to very good advantage for the men it belonged to. The -old boys were indignant, and Bill Ramsdell told Colonel Bailey, and he -was mad, and this morning the company commanders were instructed that -the company funds were to be used for the benefit of the old men only. -By Gordon’s account, the amount due each of the old men is about six -dollars, and we are not willing to divide that with the Subs. - - ——————— - - _CXXVI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _January 2, 1864_. - -Cannot write a long letter now, but will in a few days. I have been -hard at work all day constructing the walls for my new post office -tent, and am very tired indeed. It will be on the extreme left of the -field and staff line, and I will be a near neighbor to Bailey’s sutler -shop. - - ——————— - - _CXXVII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _January 10, 1864_. - -We got about two and a half inches of snow a few nights ago, and -although we have had pleasant weather since, it has been so cold -that much snow still remains. During the past few days the work of -demolishing and cleaning out the shantytown where contrabands have -quartered has been going on. The ground where the camp stood is a -perfect labyrinth of rat holes, and the swarms that are domiciled there -are almost inconceivable. Rat hunts are a standard amusement, and -bushels of them have been unearthed and killed. In the regimental camps -they are thicker than flies in summer time, and an awful pest, running -over everything and everybody at night, and stealing everything eatable -they can get their teeth onto. But Jess. Dewey has got the deadest open -and shut on them. Some of the boys caught a little owl out in the woods -and gave him to Jess., and since Mr. Owl assumed charge of affairs in -that tent rats and mice have given it a wide berth. He is a cunning -little fellow—sits all day long on his box, pulling away at his piece -of fresh meat. If you whistle to him, he looks up as grave as a judge, -and he is really a great addition to the company. - -Our mail is very irregular now. The boat that got in from Washington -yesterday was three days late, being delayed by ice in the river. -She had to break her way for fifty miles through ice thick enough to -bear a man. One wooden boat attempted to force her way up the river, -but was so badly cut up by the ice that she had to turn back. But we -have a connection for outgoing mail by way of the Fortress Monroe and -Baltimore boat, and I now send much mail that way. - -The prison camp is soon to be enlarged, and all the rebel officers now -at Sandusky, Ohio, are to be brought here. I hear that 200 men from our -regiment, with a battery, are going over into Virginia on a scouting -expedition. - -Two of our tent’s crew will, I expect, move out tomorrow. If they do I -shall be in no particular hurry to get into my new quarters, as Dan. -and I can be as comfortable as you please right where we are. - - ——————— - - _CXXVIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _January 16, 1864_. - -A mail reached us yesterday—the first we have had since the 9th. -Reason, the ice in the river. The boat started from Washington all -right, ran down as far as Mount Vernon, about fifteen miles, and -anchored for the night. When she started, she _didn’t_ start, for she -was frozen in as tight as a drum. And there she lay in the ice, for two -days, with our mail aboard. Then another boat came and cut her out. -During this lay-up some of our boys on board went ashore on a visit to -Washington’s home and tomb. - -The monotony of camp life has been broken by a raid across the river -into the counties of Northumberland, Lancaster and Richmond. The -expedition left here last Tuesday, the 12th, and was made up of 150 -cavalry and detachments of 150 men from both the Second and Twelfth. -Bill Ramsdell was one of the marauders, and he says it was one of -the greatest larks of the war. The men came home loaded with every -conceivable kind of plunder, but they were pretty well fagged out. -The expedition went up the river about fifteen miles, then up a creek -several miles, where they destroyed a sloop and several schooners, -then landed and marched inland. They spread out over the country, and -picked up quite a number of prisoners—soldiers on furlough, conscript -officers, &c. One of these was a captain, who was enjoying a carriage -ride with his lady love. He was politely requested to get down, one -of the boys politely took his seat in the carriage, politely drove -the young lady home, politely helped her out, bade her good bye with -exquisite politeness, and drove away with the team as a prize of war. - -You ask me about Charlie Farnam. It was not here, but down in South -Carolina, I think, that he was drowned. He had been discharged from -this regiment and had joined the navy. As we hear it, he was in a boat, -which capsized, and he had nearly reached the shore when he sank. - - _Sunday, January 17._ - -I must tell you, before I forget it, all about our crazy man. One -of the fellows in my tent, who came out about two months ago, had -evidently got tired of the service, and began to play crazy, for a -discharge. He began to sleep all day, so as to be in good shape to -lie awake all night. For two nights he kept us awake with his “Boots -ten feet long,” “Man in the tent,” “Where am I?” “Who am I?” and such -nonsense. When awake in the daytime he was continually hunting for -horsehairs on his hands, and it was a decidedly interesting case of -amateur lunacy. He couldn’t eat anything—so he said—but he managed to -pack away a good quantity of grub on the sly. Well, he started in -on his third night, and kept his twaddle going until midnight, when -something happened. Dan’s Irish got the best of him and he could hold -in no longer. He kicked off the blankets that covered us, elevated his -heels, and fairly kicked the top bunk into kindling wood. The crazy -man landed on the stove, and the wreckage was scattered all over the -tent. Then old Dan. opened up with his tongue and gave our amateur -lunatic Hail Columbia, Rule Britannia and Erin go Bragh, all rolled -into one, and threatening to take him out and pitch him into the river -if he didn’t become immediately and permanently sane. Dan’s treatment -effected a complete and wonderful cure. - -One of the old men of the regiment was married a short time ago to -the daughter of an old planter living up country a short distance. -The fellow was Pete Gravlin; the girl seventeen and very pretty; the -parents rich. The old folks were dead set against any such arrangement, -but Pete and the maiden were determined, so down to the Point he -brought her and she became Mrs. Gravlin. - -A collection has been taken up in this regiment for a fund to build -a chapel. The human desire to outstrip our neighbors has made the -“collection” a success. The Twelfth built one which cost $300, and now -twice that sum has been raised in the Second, and we are congratulating -ourselves, not upon the prospect of having a chapel, but upon the fact -that it will be bigger than the Twelfth’s. - - ——————— - - _CXXIX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _January 23, 1864_. - -I am seated in the sutler’s shop at the prison camp with a whole ream -of paper before me, waiting to be written over. The mail got in last -night, for a wonder, on time. A warm spell has opened the ice in the -river. I got a letter from Frank Morrill, and he writes me, “I want you -to assume command of Frances and Nealie when you hear that I am coming -home, meet me at the depot and escort me to the house.” [When he came, -he came in his coffin, having received mortal wounds the following -July.] - -We have had a most delightful day, and the boys of Company I have been -busy stockading their new Sibley tents. As soon as they move in I -will have a post office tent all to myself, and I have got it in my -mind now just how it will be rigged up for my business, even to the -establishment of an art gallery, the nucleus of which I already have in -a highly colored lithograph from a cigar box. - - _Sunday, January 24._ - -I am messing now with Hen. Everett, who is clerk for the Adjutant, and -a fellow named Soseman. We do our own cooking, and as a consequence -live better—much better-than we should if we depended entirely on the -company cooks and rations. We have beefsteak, baked beans, fritters, -and the best coffee on the Point, and gathered about our little mess -table at the Adjutant’s quarters, envy no man his share of the good -things of life. - -Last night I saw about fifty rebels take the oath of allegiance. It was -an impressive sight when these men raised their right hands and with -uncovered heads swore to support the Constitution and the Government of -the United States. They have a camp outside the prison camp and are on -practically the same footing that we are. - - ——————— - - _CXXX_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _January 29, 1864_. - -Busy time now, putting up the new tents, and when the work is done the -regiment will certainly have good winter quarters. The fine weather -continues. It is as warm and pleasant as a New Hampshire May, and the -breezes from the south are balmy and exhilarating. - -Day before yesterday we witnessed a magnificent _mirage_, which brought -the “Eastern Shore,” distant twenty-five or thirty miles across the -bay, to within an apparent distance of not more than five miles. The -optical illusion continued until afternoon, when it faded gradually. -The trees and houses became less and less distinct, and at last -the outlines of the shore faded, until nothing met the eye but the -sparkling waters of Chesapeake Bay. - -The story is going the rounds that we old fellows who have not -re-enlisted are to be discharged next month, so that we may be home -for the March election. There may be something in this, as nine-tenths -of the old men are stanch Republicans, and most of the others are -staunch War Democrats, which is just as good, and if the election is -to be very close they would be a mighty reliable reinforcement. One -of the boys in my company has a letter from one of the Governor’s -staff, who writes that we are coming home in February; and Marston’s -Assistant-Adjutant-General says we are going home soon. - - _Sunday, January 31._ - -Dan. has moved into one of the new Sibley tents, leaving me all alone, -in solitary grandeur, and I declare I am lonesome. Large numbers of -the Rebs here have taken the oath and enlisted into our army or navy. -Day before yesterday officers of the navy came ashore and had all -they could attend to until late in the evening, enlisting these men. -A regiment also is to be recruited from them, which will probably -be stationed where there is not much danger of their being taken -prisoners, as in such an event, if recognized, they would be promptly -executed. - -Jess. Dewey has got a pleasant job as forage master up at Leonardstown, -a few miles above here on the river. I am told that the paymaster came -down on the boat last night and has gone up to Leonardstown today -to pay off the cavalry and other troops up there. The men who have -re-enlisted will go home on furlough as soon as they are paid. - -The laugh is most decidedly on one of our fellows who, tiring of -army fare, went out into the country to get a good square home meal. -He found a place where they expressed their ability and willingness -to give him just what he was looking for. He, of course, expected a -rare feast, and what do you suppose he got? Bacon and hoecake, coffee -without milk, no butter, nor any of the little trimmings that round out -a Yankee “home meal.” He came back to camp thoroughly disgusted with -the Maryland farmer’s bill of fare, and filled the aching void with a -good square army ration. - -The joke on another fellow came through a massive gold pen, which was -given to him on condition that he send and have it repointed. In a few -days the pen came back with this indorsement: “Your pen is _brass_, and -I return pen and money.” - -One of the Fifth’s substitutes was found drowned in the creek the other -day. He probably tried to desert by swimming the creek, but could not -make a go of it. - - ——————— - - _CXXXI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _February 7, 1864_. - -I have moved into my new tent at last, and have a mighty homelike -little domicile, all to myself. It has a good floor and a nice roomy -bunk. At the head of the bunk a little table equipped with writing -materials. On one side of the door is my drop letter box, and in the -opposite corner one of those cute little sheet-iron stoves. And other -furnishings will come as they may be required. I already have my boxes -arranged for distributing the mail—ten cigar boxes, one for each -company, nailed to the wall. By the time I am discharged I will have an -office that will rival Boston and New York. - -I got a letter last night from an old schoolmate of mine—Lucius -Chilson. He was my especial chum in the old South Grammar School on -Park street. His home was then in Bridgeport, Conn., but his father -sent him to Manchester especially to get him under Webster’s iron -discipline. He writes me that he has been in the Second Massachusetts -regiment, that he was wounded in the wrist at Gettysburg, losing the -use of his right hand, and is now in the Invalid Corps, at Cincinnati, -Ohio. He has learned to write with his left hand, and is a first-class -back-hand writer. - -Rumors of our going home are flying as thick as ever. The latest is -that all who desired would be granted a furlough of fifteen days to go -home and vote. Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Platt, Mrs. Wasley and other officers’ -wives are coming down within two or three weeks, and quarters are being -fitted up in anticipation. - -A little mail robbery came to light in a queer manner today. A fellow -who used to have the run of my tent down in the company gave away a -cheap little brass breastpin. The recipient recognized it at sight as -the identical pin he had, some time before, sealed in an envelope for -one of the men, and addressed and mailed to that man’s little girl. The -thief purloined it from the box, and was caught in a trap which nobody -set for nobody. - -The old boys of Company I are to present Colonel Bailey with a costly -sword. The little remnant still left of the old “Abbott Guard”—the -boys of 1861—have chipped in $150, and Jess. Dewey and Steve Smiley -have gone to Baltimore to buy the sword. The breach between Captain -Gordon and the old men is now very wide and the feeling very bitter, -and this sword business is in some degree an outcome of the feud. In -this way the old men can show, in a way not open to criticism, how -much more they think of their first captain than of their last. In -addition to this, somebody has put the subs up to get a sword for -our second-lieutenant, Dave Perkins. They have more money than they -know how to spend, and you can work a collection on them for almost -anything. With a sword presentation on each side of him, I don’t see -how a more adroit snub could have been arranged. I see Bill Ramsdell’s -fine Italian hand in the whole thing. - -[This sword presentation record would not be complete without the story -of the exploit of one of the subs who sailed under the name of Cady. -He made himself conspicuous in denouncing the old men for slighting -their captain. He solicited contributions from his fellow subs for a -sword for Gordon, which, you may be sure, Gordon was fully advised of. -Then he asked Gordon for a furlough of five days to attend to “a little -private matter at Baltimore.” He got his furlough, and that was the -last ever seen of him in that regiment.] - -But Gordon holds one trump card, and he is playing it for all it is -worth. He has been making corporals of some of the last batch of bounty -jumpers—actually putting these men in authority and position over the -old fellows who have given nearly three years of faithful service to -their country. I, on my special detail, am out from under it. If not, I -think I should find some honorable way out—perhaps through a commission -in a negro regiment. - -On the night of the first day of this month, one of Gordon’s new -corporals was in charge of a squad of four men at the wharf. There were -several boats there in their charge, and the corporal and his entire -squad, with others to whom the word evidently been passed, made off -with one of the boats during the night. Two days after, another squad -of three deserters was brought in, having been picked up by one of -the guard boats, many miles down the bay. It was a very cold, rough -night, and one of the bounty jumpers had done a really good service -to the country by freezing to death, while his two companions were, -unfortunately, still alive. - - ——————— - - _CXXXII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _February 10, 1864_. - -Bill Ramsdell has just gone out of the tent. He is to make the -presentation speech when we give Bailey the sword. He has been -rehearsing what he is going to say, and it is tip-top—quite ornate -and complimentary. - - _Friday, February 12._ - -The steamer “Whildin” is lying out in the river, a little ways from -shore, it being so rough she can not get in to the wharf. Col. Bailey’s -wife and mother and several officers’ wives are on board, and doubtless -very anxious to get ashore. The going-home fever is on the increase, -and the betting population are putting up their money freely that we -will be home at the March election. I hear a bet of $50 was made this -morning, but whether wind or money I don’t know. - - _Saturday, February 13._ - -I received several letters yesterday and today, including a note from -mother sent by the hands of Mrs. Captain Platt, who was one of the -arrivals yesterday. Col. Bailey’s sword was presented yesterday, and -everything passed off slick as a pin. Three more of our subs attempted -to desert, the other night. They set out in a dugout canoe, the -handling of which they were not equal to, and pretty soon, over she -went. Two, unfortunately, managed to reach the shore. The other was -drowned. Our deserting subs are really having hard luck. Three are -known to have been drowned, and it is hoped the same fate has overtaken -the gang Gordon’s new corporal took off with him, as their boat was -picked up, far out in the bay and bottom side up. - -Uncle Luther’s folks [Luther Trussell, of New London, N. H.] write me -that Hamilton Messer, one of my boyhood cronies, who went out in the -Eleventh, is dead. It is one of the pleasantest days imaginable, and -I am sitting with the door of my tent wide open, looking out upon the -camp, where all is bustle and activity—some wheeling sand to grade the -company streets, some building houses for the officers, and little -groups here and there, chatting, gossiping and arguing. Captain and -Mrs. Platt just rode by on horseback. - - ——————— - - _CXXXIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _February 20, 1864_. - -Zero weather is pretty strenuous for this latitude, but that is what we -have been getting. The frigid wave has struck us good and hard, and the -river is again frozen up so that we have had no mail from Washington -for five days. Last Wednesday the thermometer stood at _seventeen -degrees below zero_, which would do credit even to New England. It was -so cold Wednesday night that about midnight I had to turn out and build -a fire. I filled my little stove with fine wood and soon had a roaring -fire going, over which I sat and dozed until nearly morning. - -There certainly is a prospect that a portion of the old men who have -not re-enlisted will be given a chance to go home to vote at the coming -election. Day before yesterday a list was made of the Republican -members of the regiment, and it was my understanding that they were -to be furloughed and sent home at the same time as the re-enlisted -men. A boat came in yesterday morning to take the re-enlisted men, but -went away without them, and it is not improbable that when she comes -again it will be found she is to take away a hundred or two staunch -Republicans, among whom I will be glad to be numbered. - -Again there are apprehensions of a rebel attempt on this post. A picket -boat brought information that there is quite a force of rebels at a -point on the other side, with many small boats. Our little fleet is all -ready for anything they may try on. An armed schooner lies right off -our camp, with boarding nets up. A detachment of men from the Second -has been sent on board to serve as marines, and if Johnny Reb strikes -that boat he will have all the fun he wants. - - _Sunday, February 21._ - -Hen. Everett has a letter from his brother Willie, and they are -expecting him home before election. They have what they consider -absolutely reliable information that the Republican members of the -regiment, if not others, are coming home. They will be disappointed, -however. He cannot get away, as there is no one in the regiment who -understands his duties well enough to undertake them. - - ——————— - - _CXXXIV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _February 29, 1864—Evening_. - -Just received a letter from you, and answer it at once with the -announcement that within one week I will be with you. Furloughs are -being made out with all haste, and we will probably be off before -tomorrow night—possibly tonight. We are going all the way to Boston by -boat, so this letter will reach you before we get to Boston. We will -go first to Concord, and will be furloughed for some stated time from -there. I shall, of course, make no delay in getting down to Manchester. -I am writing identical letters both to Manchester and New London, so as -to be sure of reaching you wherever you may be. Good bye, for a week. - - ——————— - - _NOTE_ - - _On February 24th 450 men from the three regiments started for - New Hampshire on the steamer “Admiral Dupont,” on furloughs of 20 - days. Returning, they left Boston on March 18th, as narrated in the - following letter._ - - ——————— - - _CXXXV_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _March 10, 1864_. - -Got back to Point Lookout last night at about one o’clock, safe and -sound. The first thing, of course, I struck for my tent, with keen -anticipation of the comfort ahead. As it came into view it struck me -that Pendleton, who had been left in charge as acting postmaster, kept -rather open house. The door was wide open, and when I got inside and -felt around, I found nothing but an empty shell. Not a solitary piece -of furniture met my inquiring touch. The stove was gone, the desk, -distributing boxes—in fact, the entire outfit. The establishment was -entirely dismantled. For the first time in my whole army experience I -was homesick. - - _I felt like one who treads alone - Some banquet hall deserted, - Whose guests were fled, its garlands dead, - And all but me departed._ - -Well, I went down to the company and turned into George Lawrence’s -bunk, and today I got the whole story. Pendleton carried things with -a high hand, did not attend to his duties in any kind of manner, and -his conduct became so outrageous that he was sent back to the company -and the business turned over to the chaplain. So now “Othello’s -occupation’s gone!” Old Mr. Bailey told me he heard them planning to -get rid of Pendleton, and the colonel said very emphatically that he -wanted me to have the place when I came back. But they decided it would -make but little difference to me what was done, as I would probably -receive a commission within a few weeks. My choice seems to lie between -taking a commission in a negro regiment or going back to company -duty under Gordon and his precious gang of non-coms., and I think my -preference will be for the negroes. I will have my furlough made out -today, and will probably go to Washington for examination within a few -days. - -Now I must tell you about our trip back from New Hampshire. On our -arrival in Boston we at once went on board the steamer “Guide”—and a -slow old guide she was. But slow as she was, she was in a hurry to get -away. The instant the baggage was on board she started, so suddenly -that a number of the boys never got aboard, but were left behind. This -was Tuesday afternoon, and Friday morning we were at Fortress Monroe. -We got ashore about noon and loafed around until 5 o’clock, when we -took the Baltimore boat. At 11 we met the tugboat from the Point, got -aboard, and bobbed about out on the Bay until the boat from Baltimore -came along. From her we got some of the boys who missed connections at -Boston. Among the number were Jess, Dewey and Johnny Ogden, who had -come on to Baltimore by rail. My home grub gloriously met all drafts, -and I ate the last of it this morning, for breakfast. - -Parties of our men now go across to Virginia every day, for wood. So -far as fuel is concerned, we are living off the enemy’s country. - -Not more than half our furloughed men have got back yet, and they will -probably be straggling along for some time. - -_Afternoon._—My furlough to go to Washington has just gone to -headquarters for indorsement, and I shall be off within two or three -days. Frank Wasley sent me word that he and Irene would like to see me, -so I went up and called. They were living as cozy as could be, and I -had a jolly visit. They have two tents, boarded up and the walls neatly -papered, making two very attractive rooms. - - ——————— - - _CXXXVI_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _Friday, March 25, 1864_. - -I believe I was never lamer or more absolutely used up than I am right -at this present moment, the result of my participation in a great -snowball battle, yesterday, between the Second and Twelfth. I emerged -with both eyes blacked and a big cut over one, with minor contusions -too numerous to mention, and thoroughly soaked and bedraggled from top -to bottom. The Twelfth turned out _en masse_, which was more than our -fellows did, as half of them were lying in their bunks, asleep, having -been on guard the night before, while our subs didn’t care nor dare -to mix into anything so strenuous. The Twelfth mustered three men to -our one, but we held up our end in good shape. At the close both sides -got to throwing ice and bricks, and several men received quite severe -injuries. - -It was a great storm that brought that snow down upon us. It set in -Tuesday, and at 9 o’clock in the evening was at its height—the fiercest -storm, by all odds, I have ever seen in this part of the country. I -slept in a bunk in the company cook-house. Snugly curled up, I slept -perhaps a couple hours, when I woke up and decided to straighten -out my cramped limbs. I opened out like a jack-knife, took just one -second to catch my breath, and pulled up again like a turtle going -into his shell. I had rammed both head and feet into a snowdrift. The -next morning the inside of our tent was like a view in the arctic -regions—everything covered or filled with snow. In front of the tent -was a drift five feet deep. I guess it was about the toughest snowstorm -this part of Maryland ever experienced. - -_Evening._—I have a little piece of news which I know will make your -heart glad. I have decided not to go to Washington nor to make any -further move for a commission. The move served as an anchor to windward -in case I should otherwise have to go back to company duty under -Gordon. I appreciated that it was a good deal like deserting you to go -off again, perhaps for years. But things have come my way, and I do not -want a commission now any more than I have in the past, but will come -home and settle down in a few weeks. - -No sooner did I make known my disinclination to go to Washington than -an order was made out detailing me again as regimental P. M., and I am -once more on my old job. Oh, it was sweet—the way I threw the hooks -into the captain! I was in the adjutant’s office, playing cribbage, -when Gordon came in. Just as he was going out he turned to me and -said, “Well, Haynes, when do you expect your furlough back?” “I don’t -know when it will come,” I answered, nonchalantly, “but probably -before long.” “Well,” he snapped back, “if it doesn’t come in a day -or two I’ll have to give you a gun and put you on duty.” “All right!” -I said—and butter wouldn’t have melted in my mouth. But no sooner had -he gone than John Cooper, the adjutant, turned to Hen. Everett and -said, “Make out a special order detailing Mart. for special duty at -these headquarters, and serve it on Captain Gordon.” The thing was done -so quickly that Gordon was hardly back to his tent before the order -reached him. It tickled Bill Ramsdell and my particular gang immensely, -and I could see them going around and laughing and slapping each other -on the back. - - _Saturday, March 26._ - -I have been at work today fixing up my tent, and expect to move into -it tonight. The Washington mail is taken off, which makes my already -light work much lighter. The boat is needed in carrying troops to the -Peninsula, which the camp strategists think it likely will be Grant’s -line of advance on Richmond. And it is also the general impression that -we will leave here before many weeks. - - ——————— - - _CXXXVII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _March 28, 1864_. - -Have got my old tent in running order again, fixed somewhat as it was -before the Pendleton disaster overtook it. It does seem good to be back -doing business at the old stand. But still it does not look exactly -homelike yet. For a stove I have got one of the little sheet-iron -conical “Sibleys.” It was donated by Charlie Shute, the quartermaster, -but he had no stovepipe for me. But I made a raise of four lengths in -Bailey’s sutler shop, and stole one length down in the company, which -was sufficient for my purpose, and the stove works to perfection. But -yesterday and today have been so very, very pleasant that there has -been but little need of any fire. Warm, summery days, with the sun -shining and the robins flying. - -Yesterday morning I was awakened, very early, by a violent banging -which threatened to burst in my door. I asked, in the polite manner -customary in camp, who was there, and the reply that came left no -doubt: “Hey, _Muggins!_ Get up and let me in here, won’t you?” Only one -of all my old school crowd remembers and still hails me by my schoolboy -nickname—“Muggins.” I tumbled out of bed in a hurry and opened the door -to our old friend Charlie Wilson, just in on the boat from Portsmouth, -Va. [Charles H. Wilson, of Manchester, until discharged for disability -a member of the New Hampshire battalion First New England Volunteer -Cavalry, and then in the employ of the Quartermaster Department at -Portsmouth, Va.] He was going back last night, but he enjoyed himself -so well yesterday that he decided to accidentally miss the boat. He -goes back tonight—that is, if he does not accidentally get left again. - - _Tuesday, March 29._ - -One day nearer home, and only sixty-seven more are between us. I have -a card almanac hung up, and as soon as a day passes I scratch it off, -just as I have heard of men doing who were going to be hanged. The fine -weather I was bragging about has changed to cold and windy, with every -indication of a coming storm. Charlie Wilson started back last night, -and I went down to see him off. I am messing now with the cooks, down -at the company cook house, and you may be sure we have the best of -rations and plenty of them. - -The wind is piping up furiously, and my old tent is shaking and -creaking like a ship in a gale, but I guess she will weather it. -Charlie Wilson sent his regards—come to think of it, I guess it was his -love. - - ——————— - - _CXXXVIII_ - - POINT LOOKOUT, MD., _April 5, 1864_. - -The mail boat did not go out last night, owing to the storm, and it -bids fair to be much rougher tonight. It is an awful storm we are -having, and I would like to see the sun once more and feel its warmth. - -Yesterday General Marston was relieved by General Hinks, and from -this the boys look for an early transfer of the regiment to the -front, as Marston will probably want us with him, while Hinks would -naturally prefer his own old regiment, the Nineteenth Massachusetts. -The paymaster is expected here day after tomorrow to make what will -probably be the last payment we will receive in the southern country. - -A drop of water comes through the tent occasionally and strikes this -paper with unerring accuracy, but I am bound to write in spite of it. -Jess. Dewey and I are going up the river for sea shells the first fair -day. He is now “right general guide” for the regiment, and has his time -to himself quite as much as I do, so there is nothing to stand in the -way of our little expedition when the weather will permit. The Veteran -Volunteers have returned from their furloughs, some of them completely -“busted,” so far as finances are concerned. - - _Wednesday, April 6._ - -Orders have just come for our regiment to be ready to embark tomorrow -morning. We are to take two days’ rations, and are going, probably, -to either Norfolk or Yorktown. I may stay here a day or two, or may -not, to look after the mail. The officers of the regiment have for -some time been making great preparations for a grand ball to come off -tomorrow night. It was to have been held in the chapel, and as it -would not sound well to talk of a dance in the church, the affair, -was designated as a “picnic.” But it is all the same now. Some of the -officers do not relish the idea of leaving the quarters they have -fitted up so comfortably and at considerable expense. Frank Wasley -swears he will burn his when he has to leave it, orders to the contrary -notwithstanding. - -Bill Pendleton has been down to headquarters, and he says Gen. Marston -says we are going to Norfolk, and that we will have an easier time than -we are having here. Marston has been appointed military governor of -Norfolk. As for myself, if I fare as well where we are going as I have -here I will have no reason to complain. - - ——————— - - _CXXXIX_ - - YORKTOWN, VA., _April 11, 1864_. - -Here I am again, only a couple miles from the spot where we camped two -years ago. I have been looking around a little since we arrived here. -Yesterday Hen. Everett, Jesse Dewey and I paid a visit to that old -camp, and it was intensely interesting to us. The company streets and -the ditches around the tents were there almost as we left them, and -even much of the litter of the camp. I found the site of my tent and -sat down on the very spot where, two years ago, I used to rest after -a night in the trenches, and where the letters addressed to “Miss -Nealie T. Lane” were written. I picked up one of the old tent-pins, and -intend to make some little souvenir of it. Also a piece of shell and a -fragment of boiler from the old Magruder sawmill, the music of which -was continually in our ears. - -Perhaps you remember about an old tentmate of mine named Damon. When we -were here then he hollowed out an oven in the steep bank of a ravine, -and as that was one of the institutions of Company I, we hunted it up. -We found it in perfect condition and as good as new, and as we stood -there Damon was right before my eyes again, bobbing about and learnedly -discoursing on the peculiar advantages of ovens built on that peculiar -plan. - -We are camped just outside the works around Yorktown, on a plateau -overlooking the York river and, far off to the east, the blue waters of -Chesapeake Bay—on the whole, a very pleasant location. The first night -we were here we had no tents, but they came the next day, although not -as many as we needed, and we are, consequently, somewhat crowded. It -was the intention to give Jess. Dewey and I a tent together, but we -will have to wait. But at the rate our subs are deserting there will -be tents enough and room enough before long. About a hundred have made -tracks, so far. - -Yesterday the Fourth U. S. Colored Regiment left here. One of the -officers went out of this company. They are going to Point Lookout. The -fellow I would have gone to Washington with if things had not shaped -themselves to my liking in the regiment, is back with a captain’s -commission. You see what I escaped. Col. Bailey tells me I ought to go -up anyway, whether I accept or not—it would help pass the time away. -But I tell him I am getting along very comfortably as I am, that I -can enjoy myself better with the regiment than I could loafing around -Washington, and that if I had wanted a commission I could have had one -long, long ago. I am quartering now in the cook-tent, and have very -good accommodations. It is understood we are going to Williamsburg -soon. Hen. Pillsbury says Col. Bailey is determined to go home when -the old men do, and most of the officers are of the same mind. We have -just drawn rations of cracked pease, beans, rice, smoked sides, &c., so -there are no signs of immediate starvation. - - ——————— - - _CXL_ - - YORKTOWN, VA., _April 13, 1864_. - -Not a bit of mail have we had, until yesterday, since our arrival here. -Then George Colby came down from Point Lookout, bringing what had -accumulated there. - -We are expecting to have a military execution of a deserter this -afternoon. He is one of our subs, going under the name of John Egin. He -was taken while trying to make his way into the rebel lines, was tried -yesterday by court martial, and condemned to be shot today between the -hours of five and six o’clock in the afternoon. He was making for the -rebel lines when he met a man in a gray uniform, and he gave himself -dead away. He didn’t know that a gray uniform between the lines was -pretty sure to cover one of our scouts, so he unbosomed himself, and -was then about-faced and marched back to Yorktown. - -Just outside our camp is the grave of a man who was executed a little -over a month ago. He was on guard over a prisoner, at Williamsburg, -whom he allowed to escape, carrying important information to the -rebels. Most of the large number who have deserted since we got here -have been picked up at one place or another. Their utter ignorance -of the geography of the country has in many instances led to their -undoing. It is probable that several of them will meet the same fate -that has been decreed for Egin. The second of Gordon’s precious subs, -made corporals to spite the old men, made tracks day before yesterday, -but was picked up and brought back yesterday. When the bulk of the old -men are discharged, and the subs have all run away, and most of the -officers have been mustered out, where will the glorious old Second -Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers be? I am glad I have not got to stay -and serve any longer, for it can never again be the old Second except -in name. - -Close to our camp is a contraband settlement familiarly known as “Slab -City.” There are several hundred houses. It is laid out in streets, the -shanties, built of slabs, split logs, &c., averaging about half the -size of an ordinary New Hampshire woodshed. Jess, and I have explored -it from one end to the other, and it was as good as a circus. They -have quite a corps of teachers, both white and black, and there is -more religion to the square inch than in any other part of the United -States. There are stores, with little stocks of goods that wouldn’t -inventory twenty dollars apiece, and the signs are fine examples of -phonetic spelling. Here is one: “GROSERIS STOOR.” And on two that -we saw appeared the magic word “GROSEYS”—the orthography evidently -dictated from the same fount of knowledge. The mechanical execution was -on a par with the spelling. - - _Friday, April 15._ - -This forenoon I witnessed the execution of two deserters from our -regiment. One was the John Egin I have spoken of before, who was -respited for a day. The other was a man who has gone by the name of -Holt, but who last night acknowledged that his name was McGuire, -and that he was from Yorkshire, England, where he had a wife and -two children. The Second Regiment was drawn up in line, facing the -execution ground, with two loaded cannon in position to rake it, one -negro regiment in line to the rear of the Second, and another drawn -up at right angles, on its left. When the troops were in position, the -two condemned men rode upon the ground, each seated upon his coffin in -the bottom of a wagon. Arriving at the spot where they were to be shot -to death, they got down from the wagons, their coffins were taken out -and placed end to end before the open graves. Then the firing squad of -twelve men were drawn up about a dozen paces in front of them. They -knelt by their coffins while a Catholic priest, who had come up from -Fortress Monroe, conducted the appropriate offices of the church. Then -they arose, their handcuffs were taken off, and they removed their -coats and vests. Their eyes were bandaged, their wrists tied with white -handkerchieves, and each seated on his coffin. What an awful moment it -must have been for them when they heard the click of the gun-locks as -the executioners cocked their pieces. The next instant they fell back -across their coffins, each pierced by five bullets. Holt did not die -for several moments, and raised his hands a number of times. There are -some eighty or ninety deserters under guard down town, and more will -follow in the way these two have gone. - -George Colby is down here, and is going into a little sutler business -on his own hook, as he does not think Mr. Bailey will take the risk and -bother of doing business under present conditions. - - ——————— - - _CXLI_ - - YORKTOWN, VA., _April 21, 1864_. - -Today is, I believe, the third anniversary of my entrance upon a -military life. It is entertaining to hear the old fellows count up the -number of days that lie between them and home. The 9th of May appears -to be the generally accepted date of release, but I am afraid the wish -is father to the thought. The first thing I hear in the morning is -something like this: “Well, only eighteen days more!” or “Only eighteen -loaves more of army bread for me!” - -Since I wrote last we have moved our camp about a mile, and are now in -a delightful location, on a smooth, grassy slope close to the river -and near the spot where Egin and Holt were executed. At the right of -the camp is the last parallel in which I put in a night’s work two -years ago. The very tree under which I shoveled so diligently is still -standing, close by an angle of the trench. I sometimes catch myself -imagining the siege is still going on, and when the sunset gun is -fired, involuntary duck my head below imaginary earthworks and listen -for the rush of the shell. - -A great army is being gathered here. Troops are pouring in, by -regiments and by brigades. Several regiments have arrived from Hilton -Head, S. C., among them the Fourth New Hampshire. I hear the Third is -expected. The negro troops who have been stationed here during the -winter are going to Fortress Monroe, and from there, I understand, to -Port Royal, and troops are coming here from Norfolk and Portsmouth. -The Tenth and Thirteenth New Hampshire are on the way and will be here -today. We will soon be ready for another advance on Richmond, and, -to tell the truth, I rather like the idea of seeing a little more of -active service before I go home. Gen. Smith [W. F.—“Baldy,”] who, it -is supposed, will lead this column of advance on Richmond, arrived -yesterday, and was escorted to headquarters with great parade, which -there were indications was not exactly to his liking. He is a western -general, one of Grant’s favorites, a big, rough-looking, grizzled old -fellow, without any frills, and I hope will not disappoint expectations. - -It was at first intended to send this regiment to Williamsburg, but -there were so many desertions it was not deemed advisable, and we may -be kept here. But the execution of the two deserters has had a good -effect, and there has not been a single case of desertion since that -time. - - ——————— - - _CXLII_ - - WILLIAMSBURG, VA., _April 20, 1864_. - -Since my last letter we have made our first hitch up the Peninsula, and -are now about two miles from Williamsburg and one mile from the spot -where, two years ago the 5th of May, we had the little scrimmage known -as the battle of Williamsburg. We got our orders to march last Friday -afternoon, started about sunset, and marched until one o’clock, when -we arrived at our present location. Now, who do you suppose I saw last -Friday? None other than our old friend Frank Morrill. I was just out -of camp at Yorktown, heading for town so as to get my mail off before -we started up here, when I heard my name shouted, and turning around, -saw some one galloping toward me. And who should it be but Frank! The -Third Regiment has not come up yet, and it is not definitely known that -they will come, but Frank is signal officer on Gen. Terry’s staff and -so came up with the General. [I never saw him again. He was mortally -wounded, before Petersburg, in July.] - -I have to go clear to Yorktown, now, for my mail. I leave here about -one in the afternoon and get back about sunset. For a horse they have -given me a great, stout, rawboned “buckskin,” a hard-rider, and the -immediate physical effects on a fellow as soft and out of practice as -I am have been slightly disastrous. The first day I wore out the seat -of my pants, and it didn’t stop wearing when it got through the cloth. -As I have to make the trip every day, I am having a pretty tough time -getting acclimated, as it were. - -Everything here indicates that we will soon be on the move. Orders -were issued, day before yesterday, limiting the personal baggage of -officers below the rank of brigadier-general to one small valise—to -become operative in five days. There are to be only two wagons for -each regiment, one of these exclusively for the hospital department. -We may not move, though, for a fortnight. Whether or not we are to be -discharged before the 4th of June is the main subject of discussion -now. If we are not, we may, and probably will, have a chance to see -“the dirty Chickahominy” again, and possibly the city of Richmond. When -we old fellows are discharged, the Second Regiment is likely to be -still further reduced in numbers by transfers to the navy, as permitted -by recent orders. Now that I am counting my time by days, I am not -troubling myself about how large or how small the regiment may be. - - ——————— - - _CXLIII_ - - WILLIAMSBURG, VA., _May 4, 1864_. - -This letter may be the last I will write you from the army, as there -is a prospect of our being discharged on the 9th of May. Our “final -statements” were made out yesterday and forwarded to headquarters. -But they may decide at headquarters that our time is not up until -June. In that event we will have a chance to march a piece in this “On -to Richmond” movement. A big pier is being built on the James River, -about three miles from here, indicating that we are to take boats there -for some point—perhaps to go up the river as far as Fort Darling and -attempt to take it as a preliminary to the capture of Richmond. - -We are having nice weather now, but night before last we had a great -thunder shower. It came up very suddenly, about sunset, and was the -blackest, ugliest-looking sky I ever saw. The rebels have, for some -time, been very busy planting torpedoes in the roads leading toward -Richmond, and a few days ago a squad of four were scooped in while -engaged in this laudable undertaking. - -Day before yesterday two regiments of negro cavalry came up from -Norfolk, and yesterday I rode up from Yorktown with a couple of the -troopers. They kept me in a roar of laughter relating their experiences -in the army, which were inexpressibly funny. - - ——————— - - _CXLIV_ - - CAMP BETWEEN BERMUDA HUNDRED - AND PETERSBURG, VA., - _May 9, 1864_. - -I have just time to write a short letter before going to the Landing -to attend to my mail. The indications are that we are going to have -a fight today. The Corps has marched out toward the rebel lines, and -now a long train of ambulances is going by, which is ominous. This is -the day when the old men of Company I figure their time is out, and -it is not impossible that some of them may get their final discharges -today. I shall go to the Landing, about four miles, for my mail, at -ten o’clock, and then hurry out to the front to see how matters are -progressing. - -We broke camp at Williamsburg on the 4th and embarked from a temporary -wharf on the James River. The next morning the bulk of the expedition -came up from Fortress Monroe, and it was a great spectacle. As far as -the eye could reach swarmed vessels of every description—transports, -tugs, ironclads and gunboats. About dark we were at Bermuda Hundred, at -the mouth of the Appomattox River. We mounted men were on a different -boat from the regiment, and after a vain hunt of a couple hours -we gave up trying to find the Second that night and camped by the -roadside, picketing our horses and with our saddles for pillows. The -next day the troops advanced to our present position, and Heckman’s -brigade, of our division, had a smart little fight. Yesterday our boys -were throwing up a redoubt down by the Appomattox, but today the work -is discontinued and the men have gone out to fight. - -I met John Hynes yesterday, on the road to the Landing. [John R., an -old-time Manchester printer, in the Third N. H. Regiment.] - - ——————— - - _CXLV_ - - CAMP NEAR BERMUDA HUNDRED, VA., - _May 13, 1864_. - -Yesterday morning the Second set out, with the rest of the army, for -a raid on the Danville Railroad, and are expected back today, as they -took rations for but two days. My duties required that I should stay -here, and right glad was I, as it rained nearly all day and through the -night, and I was much more comfortable under a good shelter tent than I -would have been plugging through the mud. There were about half a dozen -left in my camp squad, and we had a jolly time of it. We bought a beef -liver and some potatoes for dinner, and sirloin steak and potatoes for -supper, and Johnny Powell and I fixed up a tent in which we slept as -snug as a bug in a rug. - -Day before yesterday Gordon got instructions to make out our final -statements, which are the preliminaries to a discharge. He was at -work on them when marching orders came, when, of course, he suspended -operations until he gets back from this raid, which will probably be -today. - - _May 17._ - -I think it is about time to finish this letter. The army has been for -five days on a movement against Fort Darling, and got back today. [Here -follows an account of the Fort Darling expedition, substantially as -given in the succeeding letter, and the reason for duplicating which is -made clear in that letter.] - - ——————— - - _CXLVI_ - - HEADQUARTERS SECOND N. H. V., - POINT OF ROCKS, VA., _May 18, 1864_. - -This morning I received your letter, dated from Manchester. Yesterday I -sent a letter off directed to New London, but as you have concluded not -to go there I suppose your chances of getting it right off are not very -good. So, to relieve your anxiety, I write again. Our date of discharge -has at last been definitely settled, and you need not expect me before -the 7th of June. That is General Butler’s fiat, which is law. - -This army has had some fighting to do since it landed here. At this -very moment the rebels are attacking a portion of our intrenched line -not half a mile from where I am sitting, and there is a terrific uproar -of cannon and musketry. A week ago the army went out on an expedition -to stir up the rebels. They skirmished with them, drove them toward -Fort Darling, and took the outer line of rifle-pits. I took the -regimental mail up, and found the boys within five hundred yards of a -large rebel fort, over which two big garrison flags were floating. They -were behind a good log breastwork, and our skirmishers were well out -in front, behind logs and stumps, popping away so industriously that -the rebels were not working a single one of their cannon. I stayed as -long as I could find any excuse, to distribute my mail and to watch the -sport, then rode back to camp. The next morning, before I had rolled -out of my blankets, I heard heavy firing up the river, and knew that a -battle was on. It was a couple hours before I could get started with my -mail. The road, after I had gone a piece, was full of wounded men on -foot and ambulances loaded with mangled humanity. One driver told me he -had in his wagon the body of Captain Platt, who was killed by a bullet -in the head. - -When I reached the regiment I learned the full story of the fight -The morning was a very foggy one, and the rebels crawled silently -toward our lines, and then rushed for our breastworks. But there was -an obstacle in the path that they hadn’t dreamed of. Our fellows had -busied themselves during the night in weaving telegraph wires among -the stumps out at the front, and when the rebs charged they suddenly -found themselves sprawling every-which-way, while our boys were pumping -lead into them as fast as they could load and fire. The rebs came on -again and again, until the ground in front of the Second was carpeted -with dead and wounded rebels. But the rebels managed to get through -the lines to the right and the left, and the army fell back and formed -a new line of battle a mile or less to the rear of the old position. -Although there was light skirmishing all day, at some points, the -rebels had done about all the attacking they cared to for one day. - -I stayed with the regiment all day, to see the fun if there was any -more going. One time I thought there would be. The brigade was called -to attention and moved forward in battle line, across the fields, -toward the woods where the morning’s fight had taken place. Old -“Buckskin” and I thoughtlessly jogged along behind the Second. Before -we were within ordinary rifle range of the woods, a bullet “pinged” -by not far from me. Pretty soon there was another. And then another! -Looking up and down, I saw I was the only mounted man on the line, and -it dawned upon me that some sharpshooter with a long-range rifle had -picked me out as the boss of the expedition and was trying to get me. -And he could shoot, too. My pride wouldn’t let me turn and run, badly -as I wanted to, and I was about to drop to the ground and walk when the -bugles sounded a halt, and we about-faced and marched back—and I was -mighty glad to go. - -During the night our army came back into the camps. This morning the -rebels appeared in front of our lines and lively skirmishing has been -going on all day. The army is engaged in throwing up intrenchments, the -Second working as hard as any of them. - - ——————— - - _CXLVII_ - - HEADQUARTERS SECOND N. H. V., - NEAR PETERSBURG, VA., _May 24, 1864_. - -The discharge of veteran regiments in this command has already begun. -Yesterday I went down to Bermuda Hundred with my tentmate, Johnny -Powell, and on our way back we met the First Connecticut Heavy -Artillery on their way home, their time having expired. The present -camp of the Second is delightfully located, in a beautiful pine grove, -shady, cool and clean, just to the rear of our rifle-pits. I now have -about fifteen minutes’ work each day, carrying the outgoing mail down -to brigade headquarters, a distance of a dozen rods, and bringing the -regimental mail up over the same course. - -Colonel Bailey is determined to go home when we do, and probably will. -The regiment will then be reduced below the minimum entitling it to a -colonel. Also, if War Department orders are enforced, it will have to -be consolidated into companies of one hundred men each and superfluous -officers mustered out. Bailey has written to Major Davis, Gen. Butler’s -Assistant-Adjutant-General, expressing his wish to be mustered out with -the old men and stating the facts in regard to the regiment. His wife, -I know, has set her foot down against his staying in the army longer -than he is obliged to—just as mine did. - -We are having a very quiet time along the lines, just now. For two or -three days there has hardly been a shot fired. We have intrenchments -behind which we can defy the whole rebel army. But the other night we -had noise enough down a little to our right. I had just turned in when -it started, and in five minutes there was such a riot that the regiment -turned out and manned the breastworks. But our section of the line was -not molested, and in half an hour the firing had degenerated into an -occasional straggling shot, and the regiment turned in again. - -Well, as Bill Pendleton says, “Every day is like an inch on a man’s -nose.” - - ——————— - - _CXLVIII_ - - HEADQUARTERS SECOND N. H. V., - NEAR PETERSBURG, VA., _Friday, May 27, 1864_. - -In my last letter, written three days ago, I promised to write one more -letter from the army. The chances are that if I do not write _now_ I -may not have another opportunity, as we are evidently getting in trim -to move within a day or two, and we may not get settled down again -until we are discharged. Last night an order came here that all men in -the regiment who are unable to travel in light marching order shall -be sent at once to the division hospital. We will doubtless move very -soon—perhaps before tomorrow morning. Hen. Pillsbury has just come in -with the news, coming from Dr. Merrow, that we will march within a few -hours, a good part of Butler’s force going to reinforce Grant. If so, -we will have some hard marching to do. - -Now that the time for my release draws nigh, I must say I am getting -very impatient. Bill Ramsdell says: “When I get my discharge in my -hand, I shall feel as if I had shaken off a man who for three years -has had his hand at my throat, trying to strangle me.” And with his -experience, I do not wonder that he feels that way. - -Since I began this letter the preparations for departure have set in in -good earnest. The shovels which we have used in throwing up defensive -works are being loaded up, the sick men have taken up their line of -march for the hospitals, and the cooks are busy preparing two days’ -rations. If Grant has got Lee back pretty well toward Richmond, it may -not be a very hard march to join him. But if he is still at the Anna -rivers we will have some right smart “huffing” to do. At any rate, I -will not be troubled with a heavy load—only what I may need to make -myself comfortable. I have turned in my horse, and will “frog it” with -the boys, which will be rather pleasant, and I will not have the horse -to care for. It has been some time since I have received a letter from -you, but suppose you do not write for fear I may not get it, being -liable to start for home any day. Good bye, for a very short time. - - * * * * * - -_This was the Soldier Boy’s last letter from the army. The Eighteenth -Army Corps did join Grant, being transported to White House, on the -Pamunky, by water. The Second gloriously maintained its ancient -reputation in the sanguinary battle of Cold Harbor, and an ill fate -took heavy toll from the little handful of old men whose faces were -already turned joyously toward home and the loved ones. Three company -commanders—including Captain Gordon—were killed, and the rank and file -were decimated. Immediately after this terrible sacrifice the remnant -returned to New Hampshire and were mustered out._ - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] Many, many years afterward, Ed. came from Dayton, Ohio—where he -was an inmate of the National Military Home—to the Weirs reunion, -especially “to see Mart. Haynes.” There, in the Second Regiment house, -he told to an interested audience the story of his being wounded and -of being discovered and relieved by me, substantially as given in -my letter, but with greater elaboration and detail. And he closed -with a climax which I had omitted in my letter and in the long lapse -of years had all but forgotten. “Then Mart. said, ‘Ed., it’s going -to rain, and you are in no shape to lay out without any cover. I’ve -lost my whole outfit, but I’ll see if I can’t pick up something for -you.’ And he went off, and in half an hour he came back. He said, -‘Don’t ask any questions, Ed.’ And he covered me up with an officer’s -overcoat—a splendid garment, heavily braided—tucked me in, and made me -comfortable. I honestly believe he saved my life.” I loathe a thief, -but I am glad I stole that overcoat. - - —————————————————— End of Book —————————————————— - - - Transcriber’s Note (continued) - -Obvious punctuation errors in the transcribed text have been repaired. -Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained as published -in the original book, except as follows: - - Page 10 – “tommorrow” changed to “tomorrow” (he will be hanged today - or tomorrow) - - Page 12 – “ammunion” changed to “ammunition” (a large supply of - ammunition) - - Page 13 – “Centerville” changed to “Centreville” (were encamped about - a mile from Centreville) - - Page 14 – “Centerville” changed to “Centreville” (Before reaching - Centreville) - - Page 24 – “pleasares” changed to “pleasures” (the pleasures of - letter-writing) - - Page 25 – “divison” changed to “division” (The infantry of this - division) - - Page 32 – “dischagre” changed to “discharge” (accidental discharge) - - Page 35 – “a wouldn’t” changed to “I wouldn’t” (it was a question - sometimes whether I wouldn’t) - - Page 35 – “sightseeing” changed to “sight-seeing” (who drop down - sight-seeing) - - Page 43 – “seige” changed to “siege” (siege artillery) - - Page 44 – “probable” changed to “probably” (our camp is probably a - mile and a half from) - - Page 52 – “venomons” changed to “venomous” (fairly venomous) - - Page 53 – “to to take” changed to “to take” (joined in season to take - part in the fight) - - Page 58 – “to to be” changed to “to be” (Company I happened to be one) - - Page 60 – “seive” changed to “sieve” (a fine sieve) - - Page 67 – “a lots” changed to “a lot” (The actual fate of a lot of the - boys) - - Page 69 – “Bull Ren” changed to “Bull Run” (killed at Bull Run) - - Page 70 – “tournequit” changed to “tourniquet” (pocket tourniquet) - - Page 70 – “To-night” changed to “Tonight” (NB ‘tonight’ used 18 times, - ‘to-night’ this once) - - Page 74 – “reboubts” changed to “redoubts” (There are redoubts and - rifle pits) - - Page 86 – “may” changed to “way” (made its way back to the old camps) - - Page 90 – “Sergeant Major” changed to “Sergeant-Major” (Frank Wasley - is now Sergeant-Major) - - Page 93 – “as it it is” changed to “as it is” (as it is a delightful - location) - - Page 132 – “matrass” changed to “mattress” (a good mattress, made by - filling my bunk with hay) - - Page 134 – “matrass” changed to “mattress” (a good mattress and half - a dozen quilts) - - Page 146 – “Farnham” changed to “Farnam” (You ask me about Charlie - Farnam) - - Page 157 – “nonchalently” changed to “nonchalantly” (I answered, - nonchalantly,) - - Page 164 – “seige” changed to “siege” (the siege is still going on) - - Page 169 – “throught” changed to “thought” (One time I thought there - would be) - -The single footnote has been re-indexed using a number and moved to -the end of the book. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Minor War History Compiled from A -Soldier Boy's Letters to "The Girl , by Martin A. 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