Opposite Fredricksburg Va. Dec. 21^st 1862

 

            My Dear Darling Wife

Forgive me for not writing sooner after the Battle but I supposed you would hear of my safety from others letters home However if you have any anxiety this must surely relieve it I should have written immediately after the battle but the first day I was on Guard and did not have time The next day I was unwell & neglected it Since then I have had to devote my whole time to fixing up the tent we finished it last night, had every to our mind a nice fire place a big pile of leaves for a bed and as we were sitting enjoying the result of our labors about 8 oclock last evening I thinking of what a good nights rest I woul have/& what I would do to day among other things was I would surely write home When what should I hear but the Long Roll may be there was not some swearing about camp but we packed up and were soon on the march many not knowing where we were going. It turned out that we were to go on picket & support a Battery On the march we came to a Stream about as large as Shunoc not bridged that we had to wade wetting all our feet Arriving at the Battery we proceeded to make ourselves comfortable for the night if you can call it comfort—John & me lay together with nothing but two wollen blankets between us & the coldest night I ever saw or God Almighty ever made/We lay thus part of the night & then got up & went in the dark to look fo wood procured a little build a fire & passed the remainder of the most misereable coldest night that I shall ever have to ly out doors in I hope we got back to camp about ten oclock this morning & I am writing the first thing Think not from my description of last night that we suffer badly for while we can remain in camp we are quite comfortable. But now I must tell you about the battle Thursday morning Dec 10^th I was awakened early by the report of canon It was only sufficient to awaken me however for I went to sleep again At daylight the firing was heavy & rapid & continued so all day I went down toward the river twice during the day to see the effect of the canonading But such a dense smoke enveloped the valley that could see nothing The fire was all from our side & directed upon the city principaly They completely riddled the city setting it on fire in several places during the day they succeeded in laying the Pontoons across the river but with a heavy loss of men. The troops commenced to cross the river about sunsett we were ordered out but after standing in the mud up to our knees for about an hour/we came back into camp with the assurance that we should cross the river The next morning early Friday morning we started for the river our Brigade all together we reached the bridge but for some reason we did not cross we lay there during the day without drawing the fire of the Rebs untill about sunsett when over came a couple shells & a chain shot wounding 3 in the 13^th We then fell back out of the reach of their guns while lying there Put caught a rabbit we had just got him dressed when orders came to fall in we marched down & went directly across the river up into the city and took up our quarters for the night in the buildings our company had a carpenters shop the orders were to build no fires but one rabbit must be cooked so we built a fire in the rear fried our rabbit & made a good supper of it we then for the first night in a long time made up our bed on a floor & slept so well that I did not get up with the rest to ransack the city John brought in some flour & Syrup we made some cakes & had a nice breakfast.—The city was entirly deserted by the inhabitants but their Provisions & much other valuable property they left behind/

 

But this does not remain valuable long after we discover it spendid Pianos I saw all stove to pieces one Apothecaries Shop they stove open the last day I was in the city contained over $30000 dollars worth of goods all of which was carried off or destroyed I went pretty much all over the city but in my haste I did not find any thing small & valuable that I could send you I enclose a couple small pieces of silk which you can look at as relicks from Fredricksburg There was thousands of dollars worth of Property but of course we could not fetch it off besides we were not sure of getting off alive The tobacco which they had in hand they threw into the/river on our approach our boys fished it out however & tobacco is now plenty enough Saturday In the morning early we were ordered to fall in & we marched down by the river so that the bank afforded us some protection from their shells. About 9 oclock the engagement commenced with Infantry up to this time there had not been much infantry engaged But now the rattle of the musketry is continuos & rapid it sounds like throwing down stone wall The firing continued incesantly all day and Brigade after Brigade moved by us up on to the field By & By the wounded such as were able begin to come down and cross the river & such stories as they told was enough to dampen ones courage or they descripe the field as one vast slaughter house The enemy have a very strong position on the heights back of the city Their position is strongly intrenched in the form of a half circle dont & is about a mile back between us & them it is awfull mudy in one place there is a canal which they filled with dirt while the water was in it & our men coming to it not knowing how it was went into mud up to their necks. The enemy position was such that their fire was directed upon us from every direction One shell from their Battery struck a Michagan Reg. in such a way as to kill & wound about one third of them and thus it was many of the Reg. came off the field with only 30 or 40 men/

 

We lay there under the bank hearing these stories & knowing they were true & you may know that it was not getting us in a very good state of mind to go into the fight with meantime we were not in a very safe position the Shells came over occasionaly but not many of them burst if they had our loos wold have been quite heavy There was also one Gun of ours the shells from which all burst directly over our heads when the Shells from the Enemys Guns came over they made a kind of a whistling noise & sounded like Where is he many of them struck within a few feet of me any where they came I was/pretty sure to drop my head as was every one close We lay thus all day but one or two got wounded As we lay thus we expected every time it would come our turn to go onto the field Just at Sunsett the order came for us to advance we moved up the hill out into the last street of the city formed in the line of battle & commenced the advance over fencs walls through a river & out onto the field all this time the shot & shell were flying around us like hail but without hitting any body after reaching the field we halted & the Shell coming so thick we were ordered to lay down & dont we were slow to obey the order some would not have measured over two inches through we lay so close to the ground some were so scared that it was laughable to see them. I dont want you to deceive yourself by thinking that I made any extra demonstration of my courage for no one in the/

 

commenced to evacuate the city & it soon came our turn to cross the river When I stepped onto that Pontoon Bridge It was with the most pleasure that I crossed any Bridge we reached our old camp about 11 oclock at night & truly gratefull & thankfull were we for our safe return—While we lay there in the city last 2 days I saw some sights that rather made me shudder at first but they became so comon that at last I did not mind them The dead were lying all around Men were killed & wounded in every conceivable way Many of the poor fellows after being wounded lay on the field & died as at no/time was it safe to go on field and remove them In any ordinary Battle we should all have felt different But all agree that this is the hardest battle of the war our loss must have been at least ten thousand we gained some on the Left but lost enough in front of Fredericksburg to over ballance all gain Alltogether I think it was a defeat I begin to think we shall never “lick” the Rebs. I hope it will end some way soon & I return to those dear to me Your last letter was dated the 11^th it is some time since I received one. Good bye God bless you my darling My love to mother tell her to take good care of herself get somebody to do the work & do it herself I coming home to do it some time                    Court

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