Camp Cornfield, N.C. Dec 7 [1862]

Dear Sister

I now take my
pen in hand to write to you
to let you no that I am
well and hope these few lines
will find you the same we
have moved our camp again
we have gon into our old
tents again near newbern in
an old cornfield we are
a goin to have barracks built
as soon as they can saw the
bords it will probly be a
month or six weeks before
we get them built we have
got seventeen in our tent we
have a stove and can keep quite
comfortable we are a goin to get
our regment together again
and are a goin to drilling

again
[page 2]
I suppose you want to no what
kind of a time we had up the
country well I will comens at
the beginning well wedensday
Oct twenty ninth I was detailed
to go up to haverlock on picket I
and Mr Horner hapened to be
luckey enough to not have to
go on duty so we went a hunting
we was gon all day we got a
number of shots at som duck
and killed two greys and
got back about dark when we
got to the block house it was
all confusion and excitement
the cars had gon down and left
orders fore the twenty seventh
to be reddy to get abord of
the train when it came back
and not leave but ten men to
guard the place so I and Mr H
was ready and willing to go
[page 3]
the train came back about one o
clock at night with our regt
and the ninth new jersey we
went to newbern and staid
in the depo till morning then
we went abord the stemer
patuxent and sailed
till noon the next day when we
arrived at washington city we
staid thare till sunday morn
waiting for the cavelry and
artilery whitch came by land
they was twenty four hours be
hind time whitch made the
expedition a failure we wer
agoin to take two roads and
entrap three thousand rebs
but we was to late thay got
wind of it some way and
run but genl foster was
not a goin to give it up
so so we started sunday
[page 4]
morning to williamston we
the returned about thirty shots
with the rebs then traveled
till dark when our advance
guard was attacted they
wer acrost a large creek
our artilery finely sheld
them out thare was three of
our men killed and ten wounded
the rebs lost ten killed and
forty wounded we encamped
at potters mill whare
they had theyr breastworks
that night it was eleven o
clocks when wee bunked in
for the night we was up
at day light in the morning
and was on the march
in good season we arived at
williamston about eleven oclock
and staid till two and eat dinner
[page 5]

Wee had a plenty to eat on
the road allmost evry man
had a darkey catching chicking
geese ducks and turkeys almost
evry farm had abig drove of
each kind and a large drove
of hogs we helpt our selves to
enny thing that we wanted
ransacted evry house barn and
shed what would you think
to have an army of men in
your house searching evry
closet trunk and chest and
if they are locked smash
them open and take what
they are a mind to I guess
you would plead some to see
them take your brothers picture
from the shelf that is not
a circumstance to some
things that i saw in plymouth
[page 6]
I guess that I will go on with
our expedition well we started
from williamston at two
in the afternoon we marched
till nine at night and slep
on the ground by an old
mill our company went on
picket and stood two or three ours
when we was releived and
went to bed at eleven and
slept like logs till morning
we started early in the morning
and marched five or six miles
when we seperated in to partys
and took two difrent roads
we expected to have a fight
that day but thay skedadled
and we went in to hampleton
about four in the afternoon
and rested till seven in the
evning and eat our supper
then marched four or
[page 7]
five miles and encamped in a
cornfield for the night in the
morning we took the road
to tarboro we went within
fourteen miles of the place
and encamped for the
night again we slept on
the ground in a hard rain
all night in the morning
wee had the order to retreat
back to hampleton we
marched seventeen miles
threw the rain and mud
they had to many at tarboro
for as it snowed write
hard when we got to
hampliton the ground
was quite white and some
of the men was bare foot
their shoes stuck in the
mud and and when they
raised their feet they
[page 8]
either pulled their soles
of their shoes or broke
the string the drumer in
company G lost one of his
shoes in the mud we staid
in hampliton one night
then went back to
williamston and staid
two nights then went
to plymouth and staid
about a month we had
a good time in plymouth
we had all the fresh beef
we could eat we went
out scouting almost evry
day I got a few little things
that I am a goin to send
home I found a good
washing mashine so that
it is nothing to do our

washing now
[page 9]

Dec 9th it is eavning and I
am seated on the ground in
my tent a trying to finish
my letter to you I have
ben to work pretty hard to
day a fixing our tent and
a smothing the ground in
the front of our tents we
have jest got our camp fixed
up in good style when we got
marching orders we received
orders to cook three days rations
and be ready to march in
thirty six hours with three days
rations in our haversacks and
seven in the wagons whare
we are a goin I do not
no, I went over to the forty
six regment to night for
[page 10]
the first time I saw newton
and birt drake they look
harty and tough they are
both cooks. they are in
our brigade and are a
goin with us on the expidition
I saw quite a number of
southwick boys that I new
they wer all glad to see
us fellows from southwick
in the twenty seventh our regt
is the steadiest reg that thare
is here if we want to go to
the city all we have to do
is to tell them what regt
we belong to they tell us
to go it is all right I
guess that this will do for
this time I have not wrote
before for a long time so I
thought that I write a good
long one to make it up A H
[page 11]

Dec 10 I have just nailed
up a box to send home
to the boys thare is a few
books and tools that I
thought would come handy
I did not have enough to
fill the box so I put in
an old pair of pants they
are not worth mutch
Mister Horner has got a
few things for his wife
his things are all marked
he wants to have you tell
his wife to not send eny
more things to him but
write the same as usul
we have not got that
box of stuff yet that you
sent we do not no whare
we are a goin we are
agoin to put our napsacks
[page 12]
on a schoner we do not
expect to come back to newbern
again we may go to vergina
we cannot tell we are agoin to
have a large force they landed
troops all day yesterday from
transports and a lot of them
came in on the cars last
night we here that banks
is of[f] beaufort with his
fleet and cocoran is in
newbern I think we shall
see some fun before we
settle again I think
we shall throw balls at
one another some I do not
think of enny thing more
to write now from your

brother Alfred