Deep Bottom Virginia Friday Sept 30 1864
Dear Wife
I am well and Hope this will find
you the Same there has Ben a despert Battle
going on here Since yesterday morning
and we that is our Regiment has Had the
good fortune to not Be Braught in action
So far But I dont know how soon we
may Be orderd up But the way it looks now
I dont thin we will get anny fighting
to do this time unless our men Should Be
Defeated which they are not likely to Be
for we have drove the Rebs 6 or 8 miles Since
yesterday morning this Has Ben a hard fight
and the niggers faught like tigers its no
use to tell me that Black troops wont
fight for I no Better than that comes to
there never was white men faught Better than
the Black troops did yesterday there was
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a Regiment of Black troops lay along side
of us yesterday morning and there colonel
called them to arms awhile Before daylight
and told them he wanted them to take
the first line of Rebs works at the point
of the Baynett jus at daylight or dy evry
devil of them they said they would
do it and marched our and the first Volly
the Rebs fired Killed the colonel and in
ten minutes after they took the works
without fireing a gun for they Run
Right in and there was lots of them
Killed and wounded I tell you But they
dident stop for that I Saw hundreds
of our men Braught in yesterday wounded
Both Black and white and it was an awful
Sight to see the poor fellers with legs off and
arms off and wounded in every discription
and groaning and asking for water and to
Be turned over Just now is noon and there
is tremendous hard fighting going on our to
the frount I dont know how the Battle
is going But feel afraid It is against us
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for the fireing seemes to come nearer
and nearer the fighting seemes not to Be
more than two miles off and the Roar of artilery
and clash of musketry is awful But we cant
tell how it is going there is all kinds of Rumers
afloat all of the tenth Corps is in the fight
Except our Regiment they are fighting on
evry Side of us But one and evry Boddy
is fighting But us we Belong to the second
Brigade Second division and tenth corps
and general Birney is our Corps Commander
they Say our Brigade has Ben cut up pretty
Bad Birney Says we are the Best Regiment
he has got and he dont want us cut up
Before we are drilled So we can do something
unless it is actually nessisary and if it
is we must go in we Recieved no letters
since we left Phila nor wont until we get
Settled some where So they can find us
I saw two men from the 143 Reg the day
we moved from city point over Here we
all like Soldiering first Rate plenty
to eat of them Hard tack and good muddy
water to make coffee of and fat Pork and
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evry thing of that Kind that is good
we haint got our 33 dollars Bounty nor
wont get it until we get our first pay
and I guess that wont Be until we
go in winter quarters for there is lots
of them that haint Ben paid for Six months
you must write often and give us the news
and tell chet to write you must let us
know about the draft if it has come off
and who is drafted John Linn had Ben
detached for a pioneer Some Say we
will have to go out tomorrow and Burry
the dead But I hope not I sent my likeness
from philadelphia when you write let
me know if you got it and I sent [?????]
[???????] a Box with the Rest of the Boys [1]
[???????] if you got them Keep plenty of
things for yourself and the children to eat
and wear and make yourselves comfortable
this war wont last a hundred years yhet
that is certain and when its over we will
all Be home again I hope But there was
a great manny yesterday and to day went
to there long Home Harrison Nesbitt