May 6^th 1863.

 

Dear Sister.

                 I take the first opportunity to write to you, so you may know I am safe. We left camp on tuesday as I wrote Pa I thought we should, and went down to the river where we lay until Saturday night, when we crossed at the same place we did under Burnside. from that time until this we have seen rough times, and its rough now. Saturday night we crossed the river and marched up stream till we got to the city, where we lay about an hour when day / light began to make its appearance. Artillery fighting then began in earnest (by our side) the rebels hadnt a great deal. we lay in the city till seven oclock when we went through it up stream to support a battery 3^rd and 8^th R.I., two of them. it was while we were doing this that the charge was made on the rebel works and taken. we followed immediately and passed over the ground they had charged. it was through one of the streets up a hill. the men lay pretty thick where we went. we passed through over the heights as fast as we could after the retreating rebels (an awful mistake) and followed them three or four miles into the country, and at five oclock / in the afternoon engaged the enemy again. for a while there was the awfullest musketry I ever heard. Wheaton's Brigade was in front of ours and engaged in it first, but after being in about half an hour they run. Wheaton cried out, "where is the Second R.I. and the seventh Mass." as though his life depended on us. we were close by advancing on the double quick. he cheered us on as we passed. we took the place of his brigade and began to advance but the thirty seventh run, the 10^th was wavering just on the point of running but didnt, when our fire became too hot for the rebels and they ran to their hiding places in the woods I never saw a field covered with killed and wounded as soon as this was, seemed as though it was done / in a minute. We went into the woods and kept up fighting till it begun to grow dusk when we fell back into the open field about forty rods. We have lost in this reg^t 109 men in all, in this company four were killed and about 10 or 11 wounded 1^st Serg^t Greene was killed. Serg^t Wight wounded, severely, and Jo Wood slightly. Lieut Bates was shot almost as soon as as we got on the field, and a man side of me in line was shot through the right lung. that bullet was meant for me, for we had accidentally changed places in the confusion of getting into line of battle. my place in line was next to Parkhurst in the front rank and the next was this man some how or other he got between me and Parkhurst and was shot I dont know whether to think myself lucky or not, he will not be apt to come to the regt again if he is as bad as I think he is 

 

We lay in line of battle Sunday night and slept. Monday morning we was up betimes, ready as we thought to commence again. But time kept passing away until nine oclock or later, when we were ordered into line with orders not to fire under any consideration even if the rebels should get over the fence in front of us, as they wanted the batteries to do all the work in about five minutes the rebels showed them selves and began to fire but the batteries drove them back At this time for the first time I took notice in what kind of a position we lay. our lines formed three sides of a square the other side towards the river was open and batteries were / placed so as to rake every side should we be attacked, besides some that were in the centre It looked queer to me why we should lay in such shape, but I found out after a while. News come soon after that the rebels had taken the heights from us and that we were surrounded by them on three sides. I could not believe it at first, but after I knew it was so, I felt as sick and faint as death. our batteries kept shelling the woods occasionally through the day, and sometimes there would be a sharp engagement for a while on the side next to Fredericsburg especially. as soon as it began to grow dark the troops began to move towards / the river the only way they could go and as still and as fast as they could too. a part of the 37 Mass. regiment was deployed as skirmishers through the day and lay under a side hill between us and the woods where the rebels were. as soon as they heard we had left every man took to his heels and followed making such a racket the rebels heard it, when they set up a yell that could have been heard a mile off. they come after us like a pack of wolves firing and yelling We formed in line of battle after we had got to the bridge and lay till the troops got over when we crossed they put the shells after us all night but I did not see as they done any damage. we got about an hours / sleep yesterday morning when we had to come back to the river to protect our pontoon train, which we had not time to draw away until it got to be too light. as we were coming they opened a battery on us and and kept up a spiteful fire all the way. yesterday was hot, and several men sunk under the heat at night a shower came up that turned into a N.E. storm and we are now wet and half froze My belly aint quite so large now as it was a week ago. I have to buckle my equipments up a hole smaller and my breeches are all the time slipping over my hips. I dont know whether to blame Sedgwick or not for what has happened. if he had not gone further than the heights we might have been a great deal better off than we are now. this will have to be taken again. L. C. Cook

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