Camp of the Sec. R.I. Reg^t

Near Fredericksburg Va.

Dec. 25. 1862.

                       

Dear Sister.

                                                Your letter of the fifteenth and nineteenth came safely through to me yesterday morning. I had been looking for one since Sunday morning but had at length concluded you were waiting to hear from me before writing again.

 

            I was really glad to get a Journal for until a day or two ago newspapers have not come to our camp for sale so that we have been unable to learn much what was going on in the world outside of camp. I find more truth in the Journal than I can get out of all the N.Y. papers. The account in it headed "The close of Saturdays battle" is about up to the mark. It is just about as it was as I saw and heard it. / Some seem inclined to censure Franklin for not going in with more energy and determination than he did. But I believe it was his good judgment that kept him out, than any lack of ability or energy. the left of his line had all they wanted to do without accomplishing their intentions at that, without going to the assistance of the troops assaulting the heights in front of the city. I do not think that Lee made near the resistance he might have made at this point. all that he held the ground at all for was to draw more of us into a trap we never could have got out of, and I wonder he had not sprung it upon what he had already in.

 

Every man of us, privates and all knew what kind of a place we were in, and knew that it would be impossible for any Gen. to get us out of the scrape if the rebels should decide to bring on a general engagement on the plains instead of waiting for us to attack them. You ought to have seen Jo Wood. he was as uneasy as a fish out of water all the time / we were there. he was walking the ground back and forth all the time, his face about as thick as the edge of a hatchet and as long as the handle. Along towards night when our men were making those assaults on the hills in the front of the city, all our regiment, and in fact the whole brigade and part of another, gathered together on the high banks of the Deep Run and were watching them. We could see the rebel earthworks, and the embankments covered with rebel infantry firing upon our advancing columns, and the almost constant sheet of fire from their guns and cannon. our line pressed forward until it could go no further, when they were compelled to fall back closely followed by the rebels who jumped down from their intrenchments and poured the lead into them if possible faster than before. the artillery too worked as if the lives of every man depended on each one's doing his utmost. Deven's Brigade being packed in so densely on the high banks of the river presented too great a temptation to them to let us alone, and for about fifteen minutes / they showered shell and shot upon us so fast that we soon evacuated that place and took shelter behind our stacks under the hill. it was here that most of those men were wounded mentioned in the Journal,  but there was no one killed. a shell struck a man that was supposed to belong to our regiment, but who did not, taking his head clean off. You say that this would have been a repetition of Ball's Bluff had Burnside not taken us away. But I say Balls Bluff wouldnt have been a circumstance beside it. they could have mowed us down by hundreds if they had only tried.

 

It seems to me we have got to use considerable activity through the winter as I think the rebels are going to assume the offensive in the West. if they reduce their army here in front of Richmond it seems as though now was our time to do all we can. But whatever they do I hope Burnside will continue in command of our army. I dont think much of Halleck, less of Fremont than him, and I hope if he resigns his commission as commander in chief that McClellan will take his place. It seems to me that the country is going to ruin at railroad speed, the way things are being managed.

                                                                                                           

Lowell C. Cook.

 

[side margin]

 

I wish you a merry Christmas and New Year when it comes.

 

[front margin upside down]

 

Our Chaplain has given up fighting for the spirit taken the sword, and at the same time his commission as Major in our regiment, much to the displeasure and anger of our line officers who by this act of his are put back a notch in the scale of promotion. Capt Read would have been first Capt in line of promotion had not this happened. But he dont care a snap now for it in the place he occupies.

 

Dec 26—Sam Wilcox has been here to see me today he looks pretty rugged.

 

[additional note on torn paper]

 

This is rather a dirty piece of paper to write on but I will take it for all that. I tried some of your sage in my cakes the other day. it improves the taste of them considerably. I have now got two thirds of it left for other occasions. A little tea goes very well now and then. we get it issued to us occasionally with our rations in place of coffee. I am very thankful for the things you send me if I do not always mention it in my letters. In your letter yesterday I found two envelopes, one of which you will probably find enclosing this, for which accept my thanks. /

Then Willard Chilson has got rid of one of his ornamental pieces of housenture has he. Ans wrote that she had been married to a Murphy or a potato he didnt know which. Seems to me the greatest of our ladies are taking up (or are about to) with rather crooked sticks Just wait and see what kind of a stick I shall get one of these days. (get stuck in the mud I guess). I had almost forgot to tell you it was Christmas here. Is it where you are? The orderly is serving out rations of whiskey to the men and that is about the only thing out of the common run of things

It is a beautiful day warm and pleasant as a May day in June. Our Co. is now under the command of Lieut English of Co H. our first Lieut is at home recruiting, our second, in the ambulance Corps, and our Capt. A.A.A.Gen. for Devens in place of Capt. Baldwin who fell off his horse in the retreat and broke his leg. Capt Read came into my tent a few days ago as sociable as you please. he is all right now that he has a horse to ride.

 

[Saturday, December 21, 1861.]

It has not been so cold today as it was yesterday but it has been cold enough. We have had more work to do today than any day before since we came here. We had our regular Sunday morning inspection and about an hour afterwards we had to go through another by Gen. O'Neil. then another at night, the regular co inspection so with all this rigmarole we have been kept snapping all day. Capt Read is now Acting Adjutant Gen. for Devens in place of Capt. Baldwin who got hurt in the retreat Monday night. Capt Read is now all right_x

 

[Sunday, December 22, 1861.]

It has been pretty pleasant today it has thawed all day and there is not much frost left in the ground_x Lewis and I have built ourselves a pretty nice fire place and chimney on top of it. we can now have a fire all to our selves. last night we tore down the other old one to make room for this. this evening as I was eating supper in the corner of it it seemed so much like home that I almost thought I was there We have been drawing clothing this afternoon I have got another half tent and we three have now got six pieces enough to make a good large house for us_x

 

[Monday, December 23, 1861.]

It has been pleasant again today, rather warmer than yesterday_x Orders came from head quarters this forenoon that we should commence regimental drills again. In the afternoon we went out and drilled an hour and a half but it was the slimmest concern for a battalion drill that we have had since we commenced it in R.I. eighteen months ago. We could not do anything at all but the Col. was in pretty good humor and took it all in good part. One of the officers told his nigger, after drill, to take his sword and sell it if he could get twenty five cents for it_x

 

[Tuesday, December 24, 1861.]

It has been cloudy all day but warm and muggy_x I went on guard last night at sundown or rather mounted guard at that time. I went on post at eleven and off at one, then went to bed and slept till morning. at 11 I went on again two hours and that was all I stood in the twenty four, an easy guard duty_x I had a letter from home today and a Boston Journal with it. I hear that my money I sent home a fortnight ago went safely through. I have been writing a letter this evening to Eva. There has been nothing of any consequence happened today.

SOURCES