James Island So Ca
Wenesday June the 18th 1862
Dear Martha
I avail myself of the
present opportunity of writing
you a few lines your kind
letter of the 12th has been duly
received It gave me great
pleasure to hear from you all and
to hear you were all well
This leaves me in good health
and I hope it nay find you
all enjoying the same blessing
of god. I will now tell you
about some things that has taken
place since I wrote to you last
on last monday morning about
day light the yankees commenced
advancing on our Batteries and
a battle commenced which lasted
untill eleven oclock the yankees
made three severe trials to take
our battery the last time they
succeeded in gettting on the bank
[page 2]
but they were driven of[f] with
point of the Bayonet and completely
routed. The loss on our side was
thirty killed and sixty
wounded the yankee loss is
a great deal larger there has
been one hundred and fifty of
there dead picked up and buried
by our men and fifty wounded
taken prisoners besides a large
number of prisoners taken that
was not hurt I was not in
the fight nor in sight from the
fact that I was on picket
in a different place. Some
of our Regt was on the feild
but were held in reserve
so none of our Regt are hurt
yet. The forces engaged were
Lamars Regt of artillery The
Ewtaw Battalion Simontons
one Regt from Charleston and
[page]
and a georgia Regt you will
no doubt hear the particulars from
the papers so I wont try to
say which on our side s[u]ffered
in the fight. it is a certain
fact that we completely whiped
them and that with a much
less force than they had
I have had the chance to
rest ever since monday as
ever thing seems quiet now
I had liked to have forgot
to tell you we got one hundred
enfild Rifles on the field after
the Battle was over it is thoug
-ht that the yankees will not try
this Island any more as they
were so completely thrashed
on last monday.
Martha I want you to write
me how your Mother has got
and how aunt Snelling is
[page 4]
and how all the things are
getting on whither your sow
has come home or not and
whither any more of the
sows have had pigs yet
I want you to be particular
with the corn and not
feed the hogs too high
but feed so as to have corn
enough to last you.
Martha I want you to kiss
Jimmy and Ida for me
every day and write me
how they are getting on
walking and talking
I must close by saying you
must excuse this badly writen
letter as my paper is damp
and my pen bad
I remain your ever loveing
husband Joseph A Drummond