Camp Winfield Scott

                                                                        Near York Town Va

                                                                                                May 3 1862

 

Dear Uncle

            I rec^d a letter yesterday from Father with your letter enclosed writen at Pittsburg Landing and was glad to hear from you and that you wer well and doing well the battle there was a hard one but I suppose their will have to be another one perhaps it has allready ben fought well you say that I was the last person you would expect to find in the service I presume that was the case with a good meny but I do not know as my life is eny better than others and as I had no family to look after I concluded I might as well give my servises to my country/

I was sworn in on the 12^th of Sept last in the Keystone Regt and that failed and we joined Col Moreheads Regt in Col Bakers Calafornia Brigade and was in Stones Division the one that was arrested for treason Col Baker was killed at the battle of Balls Bluff our Regt was not in the battle we are now under Brigadier Gen Burns of Cincinnatti Ohio and Gen Sedgwics Division and Major Gen Sumners 2^nd Corp of the army of the Potomac and are now before York Town making preperations for the siege of that place I do not know how meny troops we have here but I know their is a large number and I have no dout but we will be able to beat them their has not ben eny general engagement here yet their has ben some scirmmising which we generally get the better of them we have a good meny sharp Shooters here which pick of a good meny of the enemy they have some guns which weigh fifty pounds with telescope sights on which they say they can kill a man one mile in a still day we are located about the centre of the enemys works here and our artillery is a little over one mile from their breastworks and with them and the sharp shooters they do not fire much at us we are throwing up works and mounting siege guns all along their works when we get redy to open on them I think we will make the earth tremble for it is reported the enemy have/five hundred guns and I know we have a good many so I think we will make some noise we have very cheering news from the west and south it seams New Orleans in our hands and it must be a hard blow on the rebels I think if you take Corinth and Memphis it will use them up in that direction and the fall of this place will use them up in virginia well Geo I have not ben in eny battle yet have ben near enough to hear their shell whistle the nearest they bursted to me was ten or twelve rods but did me no harm I have seen where a good meny have struck I sent a letter to Cinda last winter but have not rec^d eny answer perhaps she did not get it or hers might not reached me I suppose you have heard of Fathers misfortune in breaking his ankle last winter our folks was all well the boys are all well here from our place write as soon as you get this

 

Good by                                              A Holcomb

To Geo. W. Browning                                    Washington D.C.

 

direct me at Company D

106 Regiment  P.V. Sedgwic Division

Capt S. H. Newman

SOURCES