On Board Sch Highlander

Hatteras Inlet N.C.

Jany 17^th/62

 

Dear Mother                                                                                                   

                        Since I last wrote you I have traveled a great many miles and seen a great many sights. I wrote you on Monday Jany 6^th wich I suppose you have received we laid at Annaplis Harbour untill six oclock PM Wedensday when we hoisted our anchor and the tug boat Huzar came along and took us in tow and towed us down to the mouth of the harbour ware we laid till about seaven Wedensday Thursday morning when we again started towed by the Flame we did not meat with anything of importance untill we reached Fortress Munroe weare we arrived on Friday at ten P.M. our sail down the bay was verry pleasant. our men wear all in good spirits and every thing went smooth as a marriage bell. the Fortress is not a verry handsome structure but looks as though it / was built for use and not for prety it is situated on a long point of sandy land it is about fifteen or twenty feet high as near as I could judge. built of gray grannet and well pierced with loop holes, encompassed entirely by a large canal and aproached by bridges wich can be hoisted and so make it almost impossible for any force to get in or out except at the option of the mannagers I am told that it is over a mile around the fort on the inside. I did not go on shore as we did not stop but one day. On Saturday morning Lut Bates went on shore and after dinner Capt Whipple and Lut Bemerton went so that left me in charge of the Company. they had been gone but a short time when a tug came a long side and gave us orders to sail imeaditly as soon as we could get under way. heare was a pretty fix Capt and both Luts a shore and I in charge. well I made up my mind that it was of no use to fret and that if did it would do no good so that the best thing that I could do would be to keep both / eyes open and see that everything went straight the Capt of the schooner was a shore at the time our Col said that as soon as the Capt came he should put to sea and leave our Officers to get a long as best they could. but in the cores of two hours the Capt of the schooner returned and with him Lut Bates and in a short time the other boat came with Capt Whipple and our second Lut theare was a great many Officers besides ours who weare a shore so that thear would have been quite a short list of Officers if we had sailed when weare ordered too. it seams that the Col had no idea that we should sail untill Sunday so he gave them permission to go on shore. we did not get a way however till 12 oclock at midnight, and when I a woke on Sunday morning I found myself at sea and out of sight of land now comes my first soldier experience. it was cloudy and windy all the morning and kept blowing harder and harder from the N East till four PM / when it blew so hard that we had to cut clear from the tug and put on sail and run out to sea all night long it blew quite strong and our gallant schooner ran off finely but most to fine for most of us as all most all weare more or less sick I got off pretty well I was sick only twice and then not much more so than I have been before now after smoking a strong cigar but I knew enough to keep still in my bunk and not trust much to my legs for untill one gets his sea legs on he cant get along very fast it continued to blow hard all of Monday we anchored off the mouth of the Hatteras Inlet wheare we laid all night and through Tuesday it calmed down some time in the night of Tuesday and on Wedensday morning although the sun did not shine very bright yet it was gladly hailed by all at nine AM we hove up anchor and got under way for the mouth of the inlet ware we arrived about one PM when the Tug Patuxent came along side and took us in tow. I had just got my / dinner wich consisted of cornd beef potato and hard bread, som of wich I have sent you a specimen in a box made up by a lot of us and directed to the care of Eben Bussewill. I also sent your [?] and something directed to Lizzie. well as I was saying I had just taken my seat on deck and begun my repast when Lut Hart of Co D came running afft saying that theare was a boat sunk just ahead of us I immeaditly ran to the side of the sch and saw just a head of us a boat nearly full of water and ten or twelve men clinging to it. the Capt of the Sch imeadatly ordered our boats to be loured away and they weare filled with men in an instan ready to all in their power to rescue there fellow beings the puled a way for the sunken boat with all their might and wer but a verry short time in getting to it the took of eleven men their weare twelve in all but the twelveth had sank before our boats got to them the boats came a long side and we all took hold in helping get them on board Two of them weare lifless and the rest pretty nearly exausted. some of us imeadatly went to work on the lifless ones and did every thing in our power to bring them toe but to no pourperse their spirits had gone to their long account. we worked on them nearly three hours I say we becaus I did what little I could to help. The boat belonged to the Ship Ana E Thompson of Bath Maine Capt Merryman and had on board the Capt of the ship the second mate (who sank befor our boat got to them) Col J W Allen of the 9^th N Jersy Regt Lut Col Adgt quartermaster Sergon and ten men all from the same Regt. Col and Sergon wer the ones that weare lifless when they came on board. it was a sad sight. I helped to lay out the boddies in the gunwale deck. the rest revived and have been returned to their Regt. On Thursday forenoon a tug came a long side and took off the boddies of the drowended men yesterday Friday I sent a letter to Lizzie. I got a letter on Wedensday from Lizzie and one from Louisa dated Jany 8. I will answer Sis just as soon as I get a chance but we have so / little room that thear is but little comfort when I get on shore I shall answer all my letters but untill we do I shant try to write much. dont fall in love withe Army sandwiches wich I have sent you. kiss Fanny for me and give my love to Sam, Alvah Miss Baker and all the rest. Dont get sick.

 

From your affecnoate

Son      Richard

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