the 22
Newbern NC Dec 1862
My Dear parents
I have just got
got home from
a long and tire
some march
Aand i feel pret
ty well used up but
i feel duty bound to wright
a few lines to let you kno
w that i am well excepting
a bad cold that i got sleep
ing on the ground nights
but those chimny corner
dont know the hardships
that a soulger has to endu
re but it is most a splen
ded sight to see a whole
army in a open field
[page 2]
at night with gleaming
firs at night I now will
begin to tell you the spe[?]
ations of ower journey we
started Dec the 11
with about twenty thousand
men the first day we went
about seventen miles we
should have gon firther
but the rebs hurd that
we was coming and they
had falen trees across
the road about a mile
to stop ower traverse trees
that were two and three
foot through oak maple
and hard pine we son
got them out the way
and on we went through
the wods two or three miles
there was a advance of
[page 3]
cavalry pretty soon we had
some guns fired presently
we came up with them
and there was some rebs
that lay side the road
one was shot through
the thye one through
the hed one had two
cuts on the hed with
a sabre and there was
one or two ded ones and
some prisoners it
dident change my feelings
a bit to see them we
pased on presently we hu
rd fireing again from
artilery we rushed on
double quick and formed
a line of battle and
sent out skirmishers
they came back and
[page 4]
reported that the rebs
had retreted an we went
double quick through mud and
water up to your knees
the bramble was as thic
k that it tore uour face
and han badly we found
there cloths and balnkets
on the road and a hundred
dollars worth of terpentine
they wer in such a ferry [1]
to get away that they
ran against a tree with
a peace of arilery and
broke there harness so
they had to leive it and
and we got it and
some prisoners it was
a pretty peace of artilery
we stoped here and rested
we killed pigs and got sweet
potatoes and rosted them
[page 5]
Oover the fre
till we got a good
meal it was
about night
so we went a
little firther
and stoped
for the night
and i went on picket
the next morn we went
on about nine AM we
hurd fireing again we had
a few peices of ower
artilery ahed of us they
and the rebs were speak
ing to each other we put
on and came up we
wated till had shelled
them a spell there
was two or three rejiments
a hed there began musketry
[page 6]
and it was sharp after
they hed fired awhile they
put us out into a swam
p to out flank them
they kept us going by the
right flank and by the
left flank through the
bud and water up to your
knees till the word
forward then we rushed
on the balles whized by ower
heds and the shells rung
by of owe heds we put on
one of the rejiments
made a charge on there bat
tery and took it and
and all the prisoners there
was in it guns and all
this is on the river
about thirty five miles
from Newbern on the neuce
[page 7]
the river isent much wider
there then the nashua
about the time we took the
fort there was a part of the
remaining army that came
in with a flag of truce
a kind of uncun
ditional serrender they refus
ed to give up the citty
we just shelled the citty
and they skedadled in great
furry we tookin all about
five hundred there the
twenty third can boast of
one thin they took about the
whole of one company of
the twenty third south care
lina that is the first
south carelians that i have
ever hurd of being taken
they were stout looking
[page 8]
felows we kept them
a while then peroled
them we went into
the citty and it was about
night so we stoped there
for the night it is
about as large as Grotton junc
and beautifuy situated
went all over the citty
that night the houses
were deserted and we went
into them and got what
we wanted i douldent cery
much but i took a few
things two books and a n[i]ce
linin towell apair of brass
candle snufers and a rebel
war song which i shall
send hom in this letter
and i shall send the
rest in a box iwant
[page 9]
you to keep all
i send home
one house i went
in there was
a heep of bed
clothes as big as
a hay cock some of
the most splended ons
that i ever saw and glass
ware eny quanity of it i wished
that you had them and
all kinds of stores there was
a heep of corn as big
as a hay stack that was
burning when we came into the
citty the next morning we
started for goldsberrow
after we had gon a little
we hurd cannonadeing
[page 10]
we rushed up ower artilery
and thers were going fool
speed we drew up in line of
battle into the swamp
we went mud up to ower
knees which was on the bank
of the river the enimy
on the other side there
was a bridge but they had
burnt it to s[t]op us from
getting a cross the fireing
had commenced and sharper
fireing the twenty third
never see the balls wized
my hed there was one
man shot through the
neck and cut one of the
large vanes the blood poard
out in torrents there was
one wounded on the arm
right in front of me
[page 11]
and one in the shoulder
at my right hand the
ball struck him in the
shoulder and went down and
tuched his lungs which i am
fraid will prove fatal i expect
ted ti would be my time [2]
next they had brest works
on the other side of the
river and sharp shooters
that picked us of[f] so the
rebs had three gunboats there
we spoilt two of them the
other escaped up the river
it seamed as though after
i got out as though i was
led proof there was fifteen
killed and wounded in
ower company we couldent
get across the river so
there wasent much advantage
[page 12]
gained on eather side
this was at a place called
white hall we started on
after the fireing had seaced
on the road to goldsberrow
after we had gon on several
miles we hurd fireing again
we put on as quick as pos
abale when the advance came
up the rebs were drawn
up in line we gave them
two or three voilles they
skedaddled across the bridge as
soon as they could but we
charged on them they couldent
all get a cross soon enough
so we took about a thousand
the night before they hurd
we was coming and they
rushed eight ot ten rejiments
so they felt a ashured they
[page 13]
could whip us but they
were mistaken we burnt
the bridge and tore up the
track then we turned
to come home we left some
of ower artilery in the rear
when the rebs forded the river
about three thousand and
charged on ower battery
three times we wated till
they got within the distance
of fifty yards doubled charged
ower guns with grape and
canister and kept one
going all the time it
mowed them down like
grass before a cythe we
killed about five
hundred then we started
for home i cant wright
much more this time
so good by till again