Camp Rosecrans Nash. Tenn
Dear Folks Dec 15th/62
I recived yours of the 9th yesterday
& sit to write to day. You speak
of situation that I,m now in as
being easier you will see before I
get through that is not. I am well
& glad to here that you are the same
& the sick are getting better. In regard
to Camp Rosecrans I will say it constitutes
the whole army. Rosecrans Head quarters
is in town & Gen Stanley who we are
escort of is about (2) two miles from
town, as we are detailed as Orderlys
we go back & forth pretty often. I sorry
that R. Field has met with a loss as
it will go pretty hard with him. (being
a poor man) As to that piece of
poetry, I must admit I cut it from
the .Enquirer. I wrote a letter to Garrett
the other day giving him a small
discription of a battle we had at Frank-
-lin & as I,ve more time now I shall
give you a more accurate detail in
which I figured quite conspicuously I
think I see in the Commercial that
7th Pennsylvania got the praise which
[page 2]
is not so as the Old 4th done her duty
especially the escort. Co D.
We started on the 11th with about 16.00
men & marched about 10 miles, throughed
out skirmishers which was fighting all
day. About 1ock our rear gaurd was attack-
-ed by 200 rebs we then counter marched
to where we were attacked & Col Zahn’s
Brigade was sent after them & told to
attack immediately. In the mean time I
was detailed as Orderly for the Gen’s. Ajutant
& him & I was the one’s that done all
the business. After Zahn had run them about
three miles we where sent to call them
back & reached in time to see both parties
drawn up in line of battle but they run.
Zahn sent us back to the Gen for the 4th O
& which case he refused because he thought
that they wanted to draw us into an
ambus cade. So I was told to take two
men & go back & call him again by that
time he was about 6 miles away but
anxious to see the fight I started &
about half way met a couple of rebs
& fired on them & they skeddadled of
course. Carried the order to Zahn & he turned
back. This was on the wilson pike our
destination was for Franklin. Well we
came back & after reaching the pike
[page 3]
met three men on picket or rather to show
the brigade where to cross to the Franklin
pike on a dist road where in the mean
time the Division had stopped to feed
& after conclusion stayed all night without un-
-saddling. I stopped at the pickets to rest
& feed my horse which was nearly run
down, as him & I had went further then
any other of the Div. that day. While there
through some mistake in the boys, who
ought have followed the brigade last tur-
-ned we where lying by the fire & was
shot at twice & we had our bridles of a
feeding & if course got them on in a
hurry & started first as an Orderly came
after us where we ought to have followed
the last brigade up the road. We had
One Luit. One private wounded that day private
Dangerously Liut. slightly that ended the day.
The next being the 12th we started for Franklin
on the way we the escort was sent to
search a house in which I a sergant & Liut
[??] done it where we found two rebs getting
there breakfast one got under the portico &
the other we found in between two feather bed’s
of which there was about a dozen in the
house. Captured two or three horses & left
over took the General as he was going in
to Franklin & could not see the reb,s drawn up
[page 4]
in line of battle to give us a warm rec-
eption. They was firing all the time by both
sides & we had quite a fight. In the
meantime the Gen sent his escort in command
of our own Capten to take possessin of a
mill the rebs was making flour in I was
next to Capt in the mill & you ought to
have seen us (go for it) we took crow bars
sledgis & Just tore the old thing to pieces
Well we destroyed about five thousand worth
in mighty quick time I tell you. Then we started
up town myself with a crow bar smashed
a lot of whiskey barrels in & let it run
where it would captured a lot of sugar
a lot of horses & wagons to haul the flour
& was ready to return. Killing 5 of the rebs
& wounding five all I seen myself. Capturing
some 20 horses & mules a lot of flour & wagons
& started back with only the two wounded
that I spoke of the [4th?] We had two pieces
of artillery which did not get to play on
them as they rebs run to fast & got 15 prisoners
arrived at Headquarter about 7ock pretty tired
I captured two mares & one horse on the
rout. There is a big fight a pending I think
at present as the rebs are awful sausey They
think we have only 40,000 where we have 200-
-000 right here at Nashville. Although there
is no gun boats that can get up.