Camp at Ceader Creek Va
May the 19th 1864
Dear Sister
I sit down the pleasant
after noon to write you a few lines
to let you now ware I am,
I recieved your kind letter a few
minuts a go I was glad to hear from
you I have not hade a letter for too
weeaks til to day we dont get much
mail or have a chance of wirting for we
cant get paper onley as some sutlers
comes up to the armey and they onley
bring a wagon load of goods and
it is soon sold, well Mary I
will wirte this letter to you and mother
for I have not time to write an other
for the mail will leave here this
Eavening and I dont now when it
will leave a gain, since the first
of this month we have saw prety
[page 2]
hard times. I suppose you have
heard that we have ben in a
fight, we was in camp at a town named woodstock,
fourteen miles from here last friday
the 13th and on Saturday the 14th our
Brgade that is the first virginia regiment
the thirty fourth mass regt and our regt and
one Batter of artillery and some
cavelry marched up the valley fifteen
miles when the cavelry Encountered the
rebels we drove them back five miles
to a town names Newmarket whare
we found them in force, the cavelry
and artillery got thare too hours be
fore we did they commensed Shelling
the rebels and the rebels returned the
fire so thare was a constant cannon=
=nading til we came up and it was
dark them so they quit with the cannons
for the night. our regiment was
poot in posision clost to whare
the rebals ware but they did not
now it teil they maid a forward
[page 3]
move ment to find whare our
men was and they seeing us
they let a heavy volley of
musketrey in our ranks but we
Briskley returned the fire and the
rebels left and we was quiet the
rest of the night. thare was no one
hurt that night onley one man in
company C he was slightley wounded
in arm, it had raine all day
and we hade marched through it
and it rained all that night and
we had to just li down in the
mud and water and remained thare
til morning in the morning I
was giv out and was just a bout
sick I could hardley move for
we had marched so far the day
be fore and li ing in the mud
all night I was clear give out,
the officers gave me permision
to go back to our wagons and
stay thare til the fight was over
[page 4]
I got better so I can giv
the particulars what hapened
that day but I can come
rety clost to teling what hapened
on sunday the 15th
on sunday morning the rebels
was not whare they was the night
be fore they had retreated some
three miles back so we heled the
ground that they did the day be fore
but they advansed on us a bout
nine or ten oclock they had
recieved reinforce ments so there
force was a grate deal larger than
ours, we think thare force was twenty
thousain, our force was not all
up to whare we was it was on
the road a coming it got thare
a bout Elevan oclock general
Sigel and Stahl arrived with it
and then the fight commensed
it raged teribley all day til four
oclock when our for[r]ce fell back
[page 5]
a crosed the Shanandoah
river that closed the fight
we distroyed the bridge so
the rebels could not foler
us, the next day we fel back
sloley and in good order as
far as here, I think we are
a waiting on reinforce ments
when we will make an other
advanse or Else the rebels
will advance on us
I hope the next time we
will have better success,
we braught a good maney
of the wounded of[f] from
the field, all of them
that was mortley wounded
fel in the rebals hands
thare was a few prisoneors
taken but not maney
[page 6]
our loss in the fight of the
hole force was seven
hundred that was killed
wounded and missing
that of the rebals was much
larger
our regiment was in
the hotest of the fight
and it bore it Bravley
we lost in the regiment
in killed wounded and
missing Eighty nine men
Lieutenant Miller of companey
D was mortley wounded
we lost in our companey
thirteen men
George Smith was killed
frank Haris was wounded
Ambrose Ingerson , wounded
George B Smith wounded
Silas Wood wounded
Jacop Clinger wounded
[page 7]
Luther Willcox wounded
William Crits is missing
supposed to be a prisoneor
Edgar Haines is missing
James Haines is missing
Isac Michles is missing
William Rifenbarg missing
Henry Hunter is missing
we suppose they are all
prisneors we cant tell
wheather they are killed or
wounded
well I must close for
this time write soon
I will write Every oppertunity
so good Bye for this time
address your letter to
martinsburg va