No 1

General Hospital
1st Division
2nd Army Corps
Near Brooks Station
May 1st 1863

I take this oppertunity
of writing a few lines to tell you
how the Battle is going on it come
on the morning of the first about
10 OCloock shelling their works and
Keep it up on the 2nd a once an awhile
all day and at night it commenced
very heavy and Keep it up all night
and this morning the 3 they are fighting
very hard and I expect their will
be some wounded hear their are
putting up tents for them They say
our boys is a cross the river
[Page 2 ]
No 2
Have taken Marys Hights on the other
side of Fredricksburg they have bin
shooting all day they say that we
have got the Rebels serrounded now
they would have bin over if the
the 11th Army core had stude up
to their worke but they run away
and the rebels made a heavy charge
on them and the red britches run to
and the Old Regt had to charge
on them to make them go In a
gain. The 11th core said that they
fight for Segal and there they stand
but it is a bad for General Howard
it must make him feal bad for
he is a good General. May the 4th/63
their has about 20 wounded men
come hear last night there are near
all offerces one of them have dide
since he has come hear he belong to
the 2nd Del his name Lute Jordan
[Page 3]
No 3
the cannaden is very heavy this
morning the Rebes are trying to get
out of it the cannens are rorren like thunder
hear their has a order come in to fix up for
a thousand wounded hear There is
one came in hear from the field with
his left arme off and come in as Cool
as you please as he aske him what is the
mater he said onley a arme off and
he had walke all night after he was
wounded he must walke about 15 miles
he was one of the 5th New Hampeshire Boy
May 5th there is a great many wounded
came in hear to day and last night they
are fighting night and day our Brigade
is in it very heavy they say that our
Ridgement and the 69th NY
took a battery from them and
recapture 4 peaces of Arttlery that
they took from us on the 4th day
Morning of the 6th there is a good
[Page 4]
No 4
meny wounded came in last night
and they are fighting yet I seen
one of our Brigade and he said
that General Meagher [1] had
broke two sordes over the 11th
army corps and had to get the
thirde one in the morning. All
the wounded men said that
the 11th core hade not broke and
run that the battle would be
over and not so meny of the men
lost. It is raining all night and
day and a great hale storme that
I ever seen hale come down as big as
walnuts and coverd the growne
and it is raining yet and they are fighting
yet. Morning of the 7th it still raines
and they say that our men are coming
a cross the river on this side it is
harde to tell what they are going to do now
[Page 5]
No 5
Morning of the 8th it is clodey and
rany yet we sent a bout a hundred
wounded men to day to Washington
or to their own station the North
and there is still more comming in
and I ges that they will send some
more away to morrow morning
as fast as they can get Transportation
for them there is but one come in out
of my compney yet he said that
there is a great many killed and wounded
in it he said that our compney and one
other compney had the hardest part
of it they ware laying behind
a Battery to supporte it and they
had to hall the Battery away
they had shot all of the men and
horses and Kill them and had to
pull it away to Keep the Rebels
[Page 6]
No 6
getting it. The 148th P. Voles got cut up
very bad there is a great many
wounded in the armes and legs a great
many had their armes taken off I have
got 19 wounded men of 148th Regt in
my warde and taken care of them
a it is a ofel job to do it have to
keep wetting their wounds with
colde water all the time I ges
I will get red of the worst of them
sent 5 of them to day away and
the rest will go to morrow or nex
day for it will not do fore them
to be down hear with their
wounds it will be to hot for them
and mortefy fore they s[m]ell very bad
now and it is cool to day and they
just came in hear 2 days a go
and it makes it bad for them to
lay on the ground on straw for
it is very damp and it make they
[Page 7]
No 7
feel bad and stif in their wounds
Their is now shooting to day I ges it
is all over now fore a while till
we get recruited up a gain and
make a nother sloter house again
Old Abe was down to see us
wen the Battle was as same
as he did before when all of the
danger was over so that
a shell would not strike
him as useul. But when Old
Joe Hucker [2] seen our compney pull
of that Battery off the Field
he come riding in the Frunt
with his hat off and cheerd the
boys and it put them in good
spirts then and the shells fast
a round him and they say that
he was wounded in the leg
but I donte now how bad it
is or wether it is so some
[Page 8]
No 8
say that he had his leg shot
off that I cant tell about it
Hancock had his horse shot
dead under him it histed him
off it struck the back of the
saddle that was a narry escape
I think for him. well it is very
near time that I was fetching
it to a close fore it is a long
a nuf of a one this time
Well I am not mutch better than I
was when I wrote to you be fore I have got how letter
from you yet since wen you get this Letter read sent it
up to mother so that they can reaid it fore I ante
go any more paper to write on so a body has to
make it go as fer a possibel and give my love to all
of you and send it up to pape so good by From your
Brother
Drect your letters to the Wm A Smith
General Hospital
1st Division
2nd Army Corps
near Brooks staio Va