Camp Burton Sept 3^d 1863

 

            Dear Wife I avail myself of this opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that through the mercy of an alwise & over ruling providence I am in the enjoyment of very good health at this time & have a hope that these lines may find you & the children enjoying the same blessing I have not much news to write more that we have had a fight since I wrote to you, which I will give you a brief description of, on last monday evening to day being Saturday. in the evening we left here & went up to the ferry about one mile from here & crossed in the night that is the Atchafalaya & camped on the other side from here we had cooked two days rations & put in our haversacks & had one blanket apiece the wagons did not cross there was one battery crossed over commanded by Col Sims Sleights Brigade, Clarks Battallion part of Gen Greens cavalry dismounted. Phillips regt of Cavalry Genl [paper hole] Brigade of infantry Lousians. we all crossed Monday & Monday night it rained a good deal that night & nearly all next day. Tuesday morning this side Clarks Battallion & Clarks Brigade took up the [paper hole] through the woods & went around the federals & [paper hole] on the far side from here the Artillery Cavalry & Waller's Battallion took the main road to the fed camp. I think it was the intention for our forces to go on & conceal ourselves untill they were attacked on the other side but we went on & found them encamped in some negro quarters & a dwelling house they were also posted in a large sugar house & formed behind a levy. we tried to pass through a sugar field of sugar corn for about a mile before we got there which hid us from the enemy until we got within a quarter of a mile of their camp we went till we got in about three / hundred yards of them & formed Speight Regt on the right this Regt Speights Battallion & Clarks battallion on the left & attacked them without waiting for them to attack on the other side this Brigade was about all that got in to the fight we run a little piece & fell down & fired on them for a few minutes then charged on to the hou quarters which were houses built a long in a row & drove them back into other houses there we fired a little while & charged on them again & drove them in to the dwelling house & behind the levy they had one canon behind the levy which they fired grape shot out off there we fought them for a good little while untill they surrendered the fight was hard while it lasted we were in a cross fire in the charge as the levy run at a right angle with the houses & they fired from the houses & levy at us. there were about six hundred of them in the fight we did not have over that in the fight but there were about three thousand crossed the Bayou the cavalry & Artillery did not get there until the fight ended they took a lot of prisoners about a mile from there as they came on we took about five hundred prisoners some horses & mules & ambulances &c & some clothing they looked like they had plenty to eat & wear. I know you will grieve when I tell you I lost my blanket we left our blankets out side of the field when they went back to get them they were gone I like to forgot to tell you our loss there were about 22 killed & about one hundred killed wounded in this Brigade & 1 killed & some fifteen or twenty wounded in this regt one lieutenant will die of his wound there was not any hurt in this company we only had 10 men in the fight there were some killed & wounded on our right & left. Speight's regiment sufered the most we had to charge through open ground on to the negro houses 

 

as you have grieved enough over my blanket I will tell you what I got in the fight I took one prisoner I took from him a six shooter which sold the next day for one hundred and seventy five dollars I also took his horse which I gave up to Lieut Col harrison he the horse was commanding the Brigade Col Speight is gone home afterwards the horse was shot in the thigh & Col Harrison has give him to me. it is a flesh wound & I think he will get well if he was well him & the riging would be worth three hundred dollars. I also got a better blanket than I lost I have two blankets now I got an oil cloth worth 20 dollars 2 linsey shirts one knit shirt 1 blouse I sold for five dollars one fed cap I have plenty of clothing now all but pants & shoes I think I will be able to get hold of them before long

 

Our soldiers fought bravely but without regard to orders it seemed to be evry man to for himself we could have gotten several loads of commissaries if we could have gotten them away. we collected our dead & buried them the wounded were cared for we looked for the enemy to reinforce & so in the evening we started back for our camp it rained till just before the fight & commenced as soon as the fight was over. now of all the roads you ever saw imagine the worst one & then imagine one ten times as bad & you will have an idea what sort of a road we had to travel. the fore part of  the night was dark the road had been travelled all the time & it was cut up in holes & the bumps were as thick as ice & that covered with a lob lolly ankle deep, if you made a step & didnt slip you was apt to fall because it was something you was not looking for & then they would slip down because they couldnt help it & the men looked like hogs out of the wallow we came on to the byoo & stopped & made fires. but the ferry was one mile / and a half up the bayou yet the command went on & crossed but I was so tired that Ben Scruggs & Jim Downard & a great many more layed all night it rained very hard nearly all night & some next day but it has faired off & the ground is getting dry & the men in good spirits. I think we will move from here soon up the bayou I expect Col Guess Lt Col of this Regt was taken prisoner by the feds he was not in command but was under arrest. So I believe I have writen about all. I washed this morning. I have not had a letter to you since I wrote before Clark loring is well So I must bring my letter to a close by sending you & the children my love & all enquiring friends give Jess & Matilda my respects I am very anxiously looking for a letter from you we get the fed papers sometimes I see they are very uneasy about our gun boats that are building in england some of them are out at sea now we have thirteen so no more but remain your affectionate husband           

Thomas W Johnson

 

            I would send you some money but I am afraid to trust it in a letter

 

[overleaf]

Mrs. Martha E. Johnson

   Gainsville Cook County Texas

Due 10                              

 

From J. W. Johnson 3 Sergeant

in Co I Hawpes Regt

            Speight's Brigade

SOURCES