Wilderness.                

June 14. 1865

           

Dear Sister.

                                    It is some time since I have heard from you and can hardly account for it, that I have not heard from home in so long. We are on the tramp again as you have doubtless heard by this time. We left Washington last Thursday noon on a steamer and at night landed at Belle Plains. The next day we marched across to Fredericksburg and staid all night The next morning we started early and at one oclock got to Virmilia, the spot occupied last year by the Second Division as a field hospital during the Battle of the Wilderness and the same place where I was after being wounded / Monday morning we commenced the work of searching the battle field for dead bodies, which were collected and buried in coffins in a small open space in the woods on the road leading to Orange Court House. During the day we discovered 180 skeletons that had never received any burial at all, besides many others that had become exposed to view by the rains washing away the earth that covered them. These were covered again and where any means were left to show who they were we put up head boards with their names and regiments neatly put on. The other 180 were put into 21 coffins and the head boards marked "Unknown U.S. Soldiers killed May 1864". The spot where they lay is to be enclosed in a picket fence, the stuff having come today from Belle Plains. Yesterday afternoon we moved our camp about four miles in the direction of Spotsylvania / A rain this morning kept us from work till eleven oclock. at that time we commenced again and in three hours had picked 200 bodies. Our field of operations to day took us over the ground on which the Sec R.I. took part in on the first day of the fight nearly all the men had been buried by some one, and what we found could not be recognized as any that we knew. A man by the name of Jardine and myself went over the ground in search of John Blair and Capt McIntire who were killed and were supposed to be left unburied but we could not make sure of any as being them nearly all were just covered with dirt. I was over the same ground Sunday and went to the tree I was standing behind when I got shot last May. It looked about the same now as it did then only there are several bullet marks in it. The trees are cut down and lying in all directions so that it is hard getting through them. all done by / musketry, so you can judge somewhat of the firing that was done here.

 

We are now ten or twelve miles from Spotsylvania. from there to Richmond (so the citizens say) the dead have been buried, so it seems that will be the extent of our operations. Up to this time we have been at work on the ground fought over by the 5^th and 6 Corps during the first three days of the fighting. tomorrow we shall finish it I suppose it will be a great satisfaction to the friends of all those that were killed here to know that their remains have been buried even after so long a time, and it was for this reason very likely we were sent to do it. It is a rather disagreeable duty to perform it is true, but all agree in the opinion that it ought to be done, and that soldiers would feel more interest in it than a party of citizens

 

Cherries are very plenty and blackberries, thimbleberries &c and though we are brought down to hard bread and salt pork, we get along very well. Now I want you to hurry up and send me a letter.

 

[top front margin upside down]

 

All the family are well. Lowell C Cook

 

We have had no mail since a week today. I am going to send this to Belle Plain by a guard tomorrow

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