At Sunset

Picket Station 2½ miles of Newbern

Saturday August 16^th 1862

 

Dear Parents,

                        In this, the pleasantest part of our days here, I have seated myself to write a few lines to you. I do not know as I can write any thing that will be of more interest to you, than how we spend our time and how we live. We spend but very little time in an idle manner now, there is something going on all the time. we are either off get corn or fruit to eat or else reading, writing, or rambling through the woods to satisfy our curiosity. I will give an account of how I spent the day yesterday and today. Yesterday morning after we had eaten our breakfast, (I say we Corp. Salter Sergt Long and myself,) we took our rifles and equipments with us for use in case we / needed them and our haversacks to carry the forage in. we were after apples or peaches, and anything else of interest After traveling some where near two miles we passed outside our pickets after going a mile or more further we turned off into a corn field which we passed through. on the further side we found a house which was entirely deserted; in returning toward the road across the corn field we discovered two peach trees a short distance in the corn. we immediately visited them and found a few peaches that were ripe perhaps a dozen or twenty each. arrived in the road we continued our march up into the country. our destination was to a plantation between two and three miles outside our lines owned by a man named Richardson, a rich old codger I guess, and I guess secesh at heart, but a professed union man; well in time, as we traveled on, we came to the plantation of this Union loving man, with a protection from General Burnside. he lives in a large brick mansion situated / some distance from the road, fine shade trees around, and good negro quarters. But it is so dark I cannot see to write any more until I get a candle

 

Sunday morn. 17^th 9½ o'clock.

                        Just as I stopped writing last evening before I had put away my paper Lieut White came along where I was sitting and said he would like to have me go and take the countersign to the pickets on the outpost. if it had not been for this I should have written more last evening, as it was time to turn in when I returned.

 

Yesterday, I suppose you are well aware, was my birthday. I did not celebrate it very largely I can assure you. But to return to my story. The man himself, had just returned from a ride as we were going up the lane to his house. we entered his yard soon after him. Our object here was peaches. He left his horse and waggon in charge of some other person and met us at the steps of his mansion. he was siting there some cause and said good morning after discussing the state of / the weather &c he entered into conversation upon the state of the country, the war, its causes effects, and probable termination. He said he wished the war would close and, he thought, or he would like to take Jeff Davis and the officers under him according to rank and Lincoln and the officers under him according to rank and place them opposite each other, and give them pen, ink and paper, and a gum each, and then he would tell them that they had got to settle it one way or another. he thought that would do it mighty quick. Then we got to talking about the negroes he said he had lost most all his niggers some sixty head he had lost. then we asked him if he could not get them he said if he did get them they would be gone by the next day. He said if he went down to the city for them, they told him if they were willing to go he might take them, or if he could take them and not make any disturbance he could, but that he could not do, so he had to leave them. Then we got to talking about what a negro knew he contended they did not know as much as a white and did not know enough to take care of themselves and all such talk as that when we knew better for we had seen it tried 

 

August 17^th Sunday

since we had been here in New Bern. And we told him so we told him that give them compensation for their labor and they would work willingly without an overseer to keep them at it. we told how we had seen them at work building the forts and bridges at town take the job and go ahead with it just as well as a white man. we told him liberty was as sweet and money as good for them as us, but he was invinsible. then he came on and said, "if the nigger is as good as the white man, let them become as the white man, vote, take his oath in court and swear a man's life away", then we told him "why is not his oath as good as a white man's". I had rather take most any of the niggers oath, or risk my life in any of their hands, quicker than I would in most any white mans I have seen since I have been in North Carolina, not excepting the old chap himself. Then he said, "if the nigger is as good as the white man why let them marry together". But we told him, "we did not believe in / that". Oh! the old rascal I would just like to have told him a few things about that time. after talking some time longer we left him but he gave us a good lot of peaches before we left. If it was not for his property I believe he would be as strong secesh as any of them. Nothing of importance occurred on our way back, and we arrived safely at our quarters about noon pretty well tired and contented to lay still the remainder of the day.

 

Now I will tell you how we fared on this day. What we were to have for breakfast was arranged the night before, and I was the cook so early in the morning I got up washed me and started for the first plantation about one half mile distant which is carried on by some negroes and where we could get milk. I got there just as they had finished milking, bought two quarts of milk, and returned the other boys were just up and had gone to wash. one started a fire while one of the boys and myself went to cutting the corn of the cob. when we had sufficient quantity out of we put some milk to it / and hung it over the fire to cook. Then I had a few peaches, these I pealed and cut up and put a little sugar on them, and when the corn was done eat my breakfast. then there was coffee which was cook for the company and we had as much corn as we can eat, and made out a good breakfast. For dinner we had corn cooked in the same way and more peaches. for supper we had coffee peaches and hard bread. Yesterday morning I rambled around in the woods some near our quarters but did not discover much of importance. in the afternoon W^m Salter and myself started for a little walk we went up the road to the first plantation then over the fence into a corn field through the cornfield away back until we came to the woods again. I should think there must be as much as one hundred acres in this field. But we did not find much to interest us here, except the corn crop. then we saw where had been cotton the year before. Leaving this field we crossed a swamp over into another field and another plantation also carried on by negroes. After travel grass, weeds and briars, and over ditches at last we came to the houses of the plantation. There is an old woman / lives here that makes pies for the soldiers. We went into her house and set down to have a little talk. She told us about how they used to live, how they had to work, and all about it. She was a member of church she said, and she thanked the Lord for it. She could not read a word but still she had a great many passages of scripture that she used in conversation. In telling about how they used to work she said they used to have to get up about two hours before day and get all ready to go out to as soon as they can see then they have to go out to work, and work until noon and then come in to their breakfasts. as soon as they are done dinner out again and work until dark then in and get their other meal, thus closes the day as to victuals, but if it is picking corn they have to pick just so many pound if not get a whipping. Many more things she told us which it would take a long time for me to write if I could remember. This morning I came out on picket and its here I am writing. We recieved another mail today I had one letter from you and one from Mr Munson. I have not heard any thing about taking turns sending boxes before. I have not the photographs of Gens Burnside and Foster but could if you would like them.

 

But I have a chance to send this so I'll close /

 

[front margin]

 

I send with this some peanut leaves and a blossom.

SOURCES