On the line in front of Atlanta Ga

July 25, 1864.

 

My Dear Parents

I embrace the present opportunity of writing you those few lines to inform you that I am still on the land and among the living while many very many of my fellow beings have gone to try the reality of another and an unseen world to us What a solemn thought to think that so many are called away withought any warning or without being prepared to meet their God it ought to stir us up to a sense of our duty we and learn us to live more holy and more virtuous before god that we may be prepared to meet him when he comes to call us home. Well I receivd two letters from you yesterday one dated July 7^th with six stamps in it and one dated July 15^th with 6 stamps in it and I re^d a letter from you some time ago with a dollar in money So I think I have got all the letters you sent me all right I have sent you two letters since I re^d the money I suppose you have re^d them before this after our corps left the river we marched on to Decatur a small town about 5 miles from Atlanta it took us three days or nearly three to get there as we had to skirmish with the rebbels cavalry all the time they tried mighty hard to keep us back but it was no go we would have it at the same time the 15 Corps was still farther on the left of us and took up the railroad from Stone Mountain / to Decatur and the 16 Corps came up in our rear and also the 17 Corps so we moved to the front and took the center the 4, 14 and 20 Corps are on our right We [?] the first line of works and they (the Rebs) evacuated them in the night and next morning at daylight we advanced and occupied their works the Rebbels then massed all their forces in front of the 15 16 and 17 Corps and charged them and drove them back and for a while the fortunes of the day went against us in fact they flanked our forces and turned our left as far back as Decatur but finely our forces rallyed and drove them back having an open field fight with them their looss is said to be 8000 our 5,000 among their loss it is said we wounded and captured Hardin and killed Cheatham and we lost M^cpherson so it is reported but how true it is I dont know some of our Corps was engaged in the fight it was a pretty dirty fight but one the rebs will long remember their looss was very very heavy We have now moved up to about three quarters of a mile from their works they are strongly fortified right close round the City (Atlanta) We lay just about one mile from town our batterys amuse themselves by throwing shells into town once in a while. I suppose we will have to siege them out of here they shell us once and while and before we got our works put up there was one shell struck Thomas Sherman killed him and struck Henry C Hall and cut his leg off below the knee both out of our Company Lavern Winchester was wounded in the leg while on picket 

 

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he is a Northcarolinian he enlisted in our Company while we were at Knoxville So you see they will pick one of 8 once and a while there has been heavy cannonading on our right last night and this morning I think Old fighting Joe is having a game of ball with them but I cant tell I think they are going to stand us a regular siege here and so I dont know how we will make it I hope we will come out all right Stoneman and Killpatrick are very busy with their Cavalry taking the railroads and making their selves useful in general Write soon and tell me all the news I have told you all that I can think of of any importance Wishing you good health and prosperity I am your Affectionate Son

                                                                                                           

Erastus Winters

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