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Oak Grove, Virginia
August 25
Mr. Abram Wear
Dear Friend,
It was with much pleasure that I perused
the contents of a leter that I received from you
a short time since I had often wondered whare
you ware and what you ware busing yourself
about, so one evening while in camp siting
around the fire talking with difer nt ones,
Fransis Blanchard and me got to talking about
old accuaintses in St. Clair and he said he had
just received a leter from home and I requested
him the next time he wrote to have his mother
write whether you ware there or not so that I
could write to you but it seems that you wrote
yourself instead of her which I am very glad of
and I hope that I may hear from you often for it
affords a soldier great pleasure to hear from
our friends and accuainteses.
You requested me in your leter to give you
a full history of what I had passed through
since I had bin a soldier, but to give you a
full detail of everything would take up a great
deal of time and space. But then I will try and
give you a record of the transactions as near as
I can remember. It will be a year the 7 of next
month since I inlisted. I inlisted in Lexington,
was thare about a week and then the company came
together and we all went to Grand Rapids to
drill and be mustered in to the United States
service.
Well, abot the midle of Desember we
started for Washington. We had a good time
coming through and got thare all safe and sound.
Thare we went into winter quarters about a mile
from the city whare we remained until abot the
midle of March. I was sick the most of the time
while in Washington and was glad to get away
from thare. When we left thare we came to
Fairfax, abot 25 miles this side of Washington.
Thare we went on raides and done picket duty
until the 20 of June. Then we made a raide out
to Bull Run and so on to Fredericksburg. Was
gone four days and then returned and on the 25
started for Mariland and Pensilvania. We crossed
the Potomac that night at 12 oclock. We forded
it and I never shal forget that night either,
for we had had no rest to speak of for four days
and nights and after we got over the river the
guide that was with us did not understand and do
his business very well and we got lost and it
was as dark as pich and raint like fury.
We rambed abot untill about 2 oclock in
the morning when we turned in to a piece of
woods and laid down until daylight. I was that
sleepy that I had slept on my horse for the last
two hours before we stopped, so when we stopped
I piled off my horse and hiched him to a tree
and took my ponshow and blanket and laid right
down in the mud and slept the best that I ever
did in my life. Talk about feather beds--thare
nothing compared to a mud hole when a man is
real tired I had often heard the soldiers tell
about laying in the water where it was a foot
deap but I never believed it untill I see it and
then I had to believe it.
In the morning we started and travled all
day and in fact we travled most of the time for
a week. On the 28 day of June which was on
Sunday we went in to Getisburg, but we did not
stay thare long. We went out of the town a short
distance to bait our horses while the scout went
out to see what they could find. They soon came
in with the news that thare was about 60
thousand of the Rebs about 2 miles from thare,
so we just dug out as fast as possible and it
was a lucky thing two for we had not bin out of
the town more than an hour when all of Stewarts
Calvry came in.
If we had all bin together, that is the
whole division, we would have stood our grounds
but they ware divided up into brigades and ware
scouting around to see what they could find, so
we retreated back about 5 miles and laid all
night. The next morning we started for Hanover.
Thare we had a prity smart batle but I was not
in the first batle. Our first lieutenand with
four men was detailed back to get forage for the
regiment, so we went back some five miles to a
mil and got 100 bushels of corn, 40 bushels of
oats, and while we ware weighting for the grain
to be loaded up the infantry and artilery
commenced passing by. This was about 11 oclock
in the four noon and they did not get by until
in the night some time, so you may make up your
mind thare was a right smart lot of them.
When they commensed passing I sat down by
the side of the road to look at them to see if
thare was not someone amongst the many that I
would know. Regiment after regiment passed and I
see no one that I knew and I was just going away
when lo and behold whom should I see jump out of
the rank and grab me by the hand and say hallow
old chap what are you doing here. It was no one
else but Anthony Herschl. He is in the 24
Michigan Infantry. He looked tough and harty.
This was before the Batle at Getisburg. I have
seen him three times, once in Pensilvania, once
in Mariland and once since we came back into
Virginia. He was in the whole of the three days
batle at Getisburg and came out safe and sound.
He says their regiment sufered very much. They
went into the batle with six hundred and fifty
men and came out with 95. Thare was only 5 left
in his company.
When we got our grain load up we started
for the regiment, but when we got to whare the
regiment was left they had gone. It was then
about 9 oclock in the evening, so we unloaded
our grain and laid down for the night. The next
morning we got up early and started in pursuit
of the regiment. We went on to a place called
Mn. When we got thare the folks ware all
leaving the town and we soon found out that they
ware fighting a short distance from thare, so we
got on through the place full split to join our
regiment.
We got about a mile and a half when we
heard an awful yeling. It was a body of calvry
coming up the road as tight as they could run.
Our lieutenant sais to me thare comes the Rebs,
so we wheeled to run. We went about 10 rods and
turned round to see if they ware our men or Rebs
but they td to be our men. The Rebs had
come round and cut of[f] the lead horses and
ware trying to charge in to the town, but when
they got up near town a company of our men ware
dismounted and in a field ready for them and
when they came up they let sliver on them. They
turned and run and another company of our men
shased them on horseback about four miles and
took several of them prisoner and killed some of
them.
By this time our regiment had gone on some
5 miles to Hanover and the Rebs ware between us
and our regiment, so we remained thare until
near night when the Rebs left and we went on to
our regiment. The road was strewn with clothing
of all description and onse an a while a dead
Reb. We got to our company about dusk and found
them all safe and sound. Had give the rascals a
right good licking and not one of our men hurt,
only some horses killed. Our first lieutenant
had his horse killed and also one of the
privates lost his horse so we staid thare that
night and the next day until near night we
started for Getisburg, but we went only about 5
miles and stopped for the night.
The second day of July we came up near
Getisburg. They ware a fighting like fury. The
division all halted for a few minutes, then we
struck off to the right and came round to a
place called Huntstown. We arrived thare about 3
oclock. We passed through the town about a half
a mile. Our regiment was in advance and the
first thing we knew Co A was ordered to charge,
companies D and C to dismount to fight on foot.
We went down through a wheat field in
front of the batery towrds a barn. We had nearly
reached the barn before our men came up the road
as tight as they could come and the Rebs mixed
all in with them, cuting and slashing and firing
their pistols at our mens heads. Our old general
came near having his head off for thare was a
Reb right behind him with his sabir raised to
cut him down when on of the men that was in the
wheat field drawed a bead on him and that was
the last of mr Reb.
Out of about 50 that charged up in amongst
us not one of them got away. I counted 6 Reble
Ofiser dead an wonded with in a short distance
of each other. I heard on[e] holering for a
drink of water a short distance from me. I asked
him who he was. He said Oh I am on the rong
side, but I gave him a drink of water and left
him for I had to look out for my own head. That
young man you spoke of being fetched home by the
name of Cox was orderly sargent on our Company.
I was right by the side of him when he was shot.
Our own men shot him. Thare was a company behind
us and they fired on us from one direction and
it was a great wonder that we was not all killed
for the Rebles ware firing on us from one
direction and our men from the other and I tell
you the shots came in on us like hale stones,
but by good luck thare was no one else hurt.
We staid thare until after dark when every
thing was quiet and then we started for
Getisburg for we was not fools enough to stay
thare for old Lea sent a whole core of infantry
to help his calvry. And that was whare the old
chap fooled himself, for when the infantry got
thare we dident happen to be thare. We traveld
all night and about 8 oclock we got to our place
of destination on the right of Getisburg. So we
dismounted and two regiments ware deploid as
skurmishers. We could see them of[f] in the edge
of a peice of woods, but they did not show
themselves much until in the afternoon about one
oclock it was discovered that they ware trying
to come round on our right so we ware ordered to
our horses and went round to the right on a
road.
The battery was planted and the fun
commensed. My company and D supported the batery
while two went down to our right and left and
felt of them. Then the canons apered on both
sides and thare was a prity lively time for a
spel. Then the 7th Michigan made a charge and
got all cut to pieces. It was the first charge
they ever made and they made awful work. Then
the first Michigan was ordered to charge and
away they went over a stone wall like wildmen
and they cut the Rebs all to pieces and drove
them into the woods.
Prity soon thare was a body of thier
infantry came out on our left. Our men were
ordered on and if thare wasent some prity sharp
work for a while thare come very near being
some. They soon got tired of that fun and got
back in the woods again for they did not like
the contents of our 9 shot Spenser rifles. We
faught until dark and held the ground that we
first went on to. We lost considerable many men
but the Rebs lost a great many more than we did.
But what was the main army doing all this
time? They were doing their best. You would have
thought so if you had heard the report of the
canons. For about 5 hours it was on continueal
roar of canon. It was averaged at 4 a seckund.
Old Lea consentrated al his canon on our senter
in order to brake our lines, but he could not
come it. Thare was one whole divisions was
ordered to charge on to us. They ware told that
they ware nothing only malitia, but when they
got up to our men they found something more than
malitia to deal with, and the result was thare
ware 6000 prisoners in a short time.
After that thare was to[o] much more
fighting, for old Lea began his retreat and we
after him. This was on the fourth of July. We
rode all day through the awfullest rain and mud
that I ever see. Just at dusk we entered the gap
and commenced asending the mountain. We rode on
prity briskly some 5 or 6 miles when all at once
the column halted and my company with three
others ware ordered to the frunt with drawn
sabirs. Just immagine your self on a dark night,
so dark that you could hardly see the next horse
to you, to be placed in a narrow road just wide
enough for four horses to march abrest with a
ledge of rocks on one side and a steap bank on
the other and to be called forward with a drawn
sabir in hand and ordered to charge, no knowing
what you was going in to and when you had gone a
short distance have the bulits come whiring
about your ears like a lot of beas after honey
and your horse rearing and pransing half scart
to death.
I say immagine all of this and then you
can form some idea of what we trapsed through on
the fourth of July night 1863. We faught nearly
all night. We captured 250 wagons &
ambulants and 1200 prisoners. Our regiment
passed over the road that they ware on and it
put me in mind of a fourth of July spree to see
the wagons all strung along the road, the wheals
choped to pieces, tungs cut off, barels of liqer
smashed in and the wagons set afire. We took
about 40 wagons to a small place some 10 miles
from the mountain and examined them, and what
things we wanted in the shape of clothing we
took and the rest we burnt and that learnt our
ofisers something to see the stuff that they had
taken in Pensilvania. All the litle trinkets
that you could think of litle babies play things
not worth 3 sents.
I tell you when we came back in to
Virginia things was a litle different than they
ware when we ware here before. Our old general
called us together and sais to us now boys you
have seen the proseedings of the rascals while
on your jorney in to Meriland and Pensilvania,
therefore it is needless for me to explain it to
you but I will simply say this if you see
anything that you think you want dont steal it
but do as the boys used to say cramst it but be
shure and not steal anything but take all you
want. The Boys give the general three chears and
the primise of a fine piese of beaf for super,
and since that time we have had plenty of fresh
meat.
But I must bring this to a close for I
have not got time to write any more at preasent.
Thare is a great many things that I misst write
if I had time. Thare is the Batle of Hagerstown
and the Batle of Wiliamsport and the Batle of
Fallingwaters and in the Shanandoa Valey and at
Thorntons Gap. Was all of them prity hard batles
and I have bin in them all and am still unhurt,
but I never want to be in as tight a place as we
ware in in the last Batle. The darned cuses got
us hemed in on all sides and they had four times
as many men as we had for we only had a brigade
with us and they had a whole division of
infantry but they cant cetch old Kill devel.
That is what they call him. His name is
Killpatric. He is a real comical looking sort of
a chap with his hat drawd over on one side and
one pants leg stuck in side his boot. He looks
more like some old farmer.
We ar now in campd with in about 4 miles
of Fredricksburg. We make a raide onseanawhile
down to Falmath and on down the river. We have
some of our Reble friends come over and give
themselves up every day. They tell a prity hard
story. Night before last thare ware three
ofisers came in and gave themselves up. Thare
was two lieutenants, one first and the other
seckond and also a colnel. I am with the Provose
gard. We take care of the prisoners and gard
them. I have talked with more than 50 diferant
ones and they all seem to tell the same story.
They say that all they get for a days rations is
half a pound of rusty bakon and a pound of meal
or flour, no Cofy or shugar, and they say thare
is whole brigades would come over and give
themselves up but their ofisers tell them that
if they do that will confiscate all their
property and kill them, but they say that a
great many of them will come over before long
any way for they think they may as well be
killed as to stay thare and starve to death.
But I must close for I have wrote more now
than will interst you, I am afraid. Give my
respects to Isrial Pense and tell John Wies that
if I ever ketch him round my hous after dark
swinging on our seler dore that it may go hard
with him if he cant show the papers to prove
that he has a write thare. Tell An that I want
her to send me a cupp of coffey and a pankake.
You will be twice glad when you get this wee bit
of a leter--glad when you get it and glad to get
red of it. I will inclose in this leter one
dolar which I wish you would get me some postage
stamps, 50 sents in Canida stamps and 50 sents
in 3 sents stamps, and oblige me you will please
answer this soon.
Yours truly,
Allen Rice |
