2^nd U.S.S.Shooters

June 21^st 1864

                       

Dear Mother

                   I will now endeavor to answer your letter of June 12^th received last night & read this morning I am now as I suppose you are aware in front of the city of Petersburgh the outer line of breast works & redoubts or rather forts were captured by our cavelry & nigger troops belonging to Butlers Corps June 15^th the loss was slite on our side on a/c of our boys flanking them & taking them by surprise. they were taken in just the right / time as we were not expected untill the next day. we arrived at the outer line 12 oclock at night June 15^th & went into camp early the next morning the enemy blew our revilee by sending in some of there 12 lb Parrott shells. one or two were killed in the Brigade & several wounded two in our Reg't we advanced & procured a safer position, but in a little while the 2.S.S. were ordered on the skirmish line we got good cover & three Regts of our Brigade were ordered on a charge they went in got repulsed & came / back on the jump with considerable loss. nothing more was done but a continual shelling untill night when the 1^st Div 2^nd Corps & part of our Div charged & after a continual shower of shell grape & canister & bullets for about two hours they succeeded in capturing another line of works & eight pieces of artillery caissons horses &c with considerably many prisoners. they charged along the whole line & took the first line of works. our Reg't laid on a brow of a hill in rear of the charging party in rifle pits dug by / them selvs but when I saw the troops advancing in mass by Brigade I knew what was up & I went down under the hill & got in to a brook with a high bank & was in a pretty safe place. the boys laid there all night surported by the three N.Y.C. Reg'ts in Burnsides Corps. when they went in for surport the 11^th passed right over me the next morning the 6^th 9^th & 11^th made a charge & took some more big guns & brought them of with slite loss, we have one more line of strong breast works to take before we can go into the city I do not know how Gen Grant proposes to do it but I suppose he will have them before long he has got about a dozen mortar guns / in position & every once in a while they throw a 20 lb shell in to the air & down they drop right in to there works. but still they hang to them

 

We have four commissioned officers left in the Reg't two Captains & two Lieuts the Major was wounded through the leg day before yesterday

 

            I do not know where Leonard Tilton is at present for I have not had a chance to speak to any of the 11^th since I left Spottsvania C.H. but I will try & see him & tell him to write to his Mother.

 

            Cr[?] West is with the Regt & all right /

 

            Give my respects to all inquiring friends & as I have written all I can think of that would be interesting I will close

                                                           

Yours truely

W. B. Green

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