James' Island S.C. June 13. 1862

 

Yours of the 14^th ult. I rec^d on the 31^st and should have answered it long before, but my paper &c was packed up in my knapsack and sent off. I rec^d one from Josiah Taylor at the same time (dated May 11). Yours of the 27^th I rec^d on the 11^th inst. also one from George Eaton. I have also had several papers from you and 3 from George Eaton but of what dates and when rec^d is more than I can tell now as the papers are used up, and we have been very busy since the last day of May having been on the move most of the time since then.

 

On the first day of June our Company went on guard at Mitchell's Plantation on Edisto Island; I was on picket with S. N. Lamprey, Dan^l Dudley, C Donovan, and several others, not Exeter boys; at 10 o'clock at night we got word to go into camp at 12 o'clock and get ready to march. we got ready and started about 3 o'clock in the morning of the second. We marched 10 miles to Baileys wharf where we arrived at 8 o'clock in the forenoon. We stayed there till about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, when we got on board the steamboat Planter (the one that the contrabands ran / out of Charleston Harbor with a few weeks ago, I suppose I saw the pilot, Small, as there was a black pilot steering) and went over to St John's Island and then marched to W^m Seabrooks Sugar Plantation 6 miles. Altho' we had nothing to carry but our guns & equipments and blankets, these two marches were very hard ones as it was a very hot day. We camped that night in a sugar cane field, and as it was a warm pleasant night we got along very well but in the morning about eight o'clock it commenced raining and as we were not allowed to go into the buildings we commenced tearing them down to build shelters to keep off the rain; and before night we had the sugar mill pretty well stripped and several small buildings torn down. It cleared off at noon the next day and at 6 o'clock we had orders to "Fall in" we passed in review and then went back to our camp where we laid till 2 o'clock the next morning when we fell in again and marched 12 miles to Legreeville which is opposite the head of this island we stopped on some cotton sheds about ½ a mile off till 1 o'clock A.M. the next day when we got on board the Mayflower and crossed over to this island, which we found partly occupied by Gen Stevens Brigade. / We marched out about a mile & camped in a cotton field, where we stopped till about 2 o'clock P.M. the next day when we fell in to go about a mile farther on picket; Companies E. H. C. & A. went out as soon as we arrived the rest of the Regiment acted as a reserve and did not go out till dark when we went out about ½ a mile and stood there till 12 o'clock when we went back to Headquarters and slept in cotton houses &c. About 10 o'clock there came up a very heavy thunder shower and just before we started to go back the lightning struck very near our Reg, so near that it blinded all of us for about half a minute; it was the sharpest lightning I ever saw. The next day (Sunday) I was on guard but as the 6 reserved companies of our Regiment together with several other Regiments were ordered out to keep the Rebs from driving in our pickets as theirs had been driven in Saturday, all of our Company went out except Donovan & I. they went within 500 yards of a Rebel battery and then marched off to this side of the island. We are now living in a cotton house. Since we have been here our Company has been on picket twice / Once Tuesday and yesterday Thursday we were on again. To day is the first day we have anything like rest since we started from Edisto.

 

Wednesday Tuesday about 5 P.M. the Rebs tried to drive our pickets in but were repulsed with considerable loss, some think they had 50 or more killed beside the wounded. we know of over 20 killed—while our loss was 3 killed of the Pennsylvania 97^th Reg^t and less than a dozen wounded. in the skirmish Sunday the 46^th N.Y. had 2 killed and 3 wounded and Co. C. of our Regt captured 3 prisoners.

 

Wednesday Tuesday we took a Captain and 3 men of a Georgia Regiment, all wounded, the Captain has since died. When we left Edisto we left quite a number of our men in the Hospital, among them were John Head and Warren Dearborn; John Head has very bad feet caused in the first place by the itch but now they are badly swollen. By the way if you can find a box of Wheaton's Itch Ointment I wish you would send it in the next letter you write. you will have to pay a little more postage but that wont make any difference.

 

All the Exeter boys except those I have mentioned and Abraham Dearborn who I hear is not expected to live, are well. We have been paid off today and I shall hold on to all my money this time so as not to get out again as I have felt the want of it a number of times when I have been out

 

Direct as before unless you see it different in the papers

John W. Clement

 

To Mr John Clement                                                  

Exeter NH                                                       

                                                                                    

[front top margin upside down]

 

Excuse my writing with a pencil as I am in a hurry and can't stop to look for ink. After this I shall you will draw twenty dollars every two months, but when the first payment will be I dont know. I shall try and write to Eaton & Taylor soon.

 

Send the enclosed by Perkins Express

J.W.C.

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