Army of the Potomac

                                                                                                3^rd Brig. 1^st Div 18^th A.C.

                                                                                                Cold Harbor Va. June 7^th

 

Dear Mamie

            I wrote you last when we were on the eve of leaving Butler’s Dept.—We embarked at Bermuda Hundred the last day of May 29^th Got stuck in the mud before we got far down the river We were on board of an old Norwich Propeller Stopped at Newport News & got rations Would have been happy to have staid there. Arrived at White House June 1^st left next day for the front. The night Getting stuck in the mud delayed delayed us a couple of days & all the rest of our force had joined the Army of the Potomac. We again hoped to be left behind but it was “against fate”. We left then the next day for this place as guard for a waggon train arrived here at night lame & tired, found our Brigade had had a fight & lost considerable we joined them up to the front but fell back a few rods & pitched our tents about this time it commenced raining During the night we received orders to be ready to move at 2 oclock in the morning learned that we/were to move on the enemys works It was daylight before we got into position & then the order was forward The Rebs were in a strong position but the men moved up bravely. They soon met the Rebs a sharp fire opened—Before we moved forward they gave them a vigorous shelling—We had little idea but of the kind of fighting they have here—But still ignorant as we were I think we knew more about it than the folks at home. * * * The assault was general all along the line & the way we went in was one Regt after another till we had four or five lines of battle our Regt was the seccond in front the our Regt gained a position on a little knoll & lay down while we lay there were missles of war enough flew over our heads to kill all the fighting men of Conn.—if each piece had hit a man we did not ly long before we were ordered to charge we uncapped our pieces & moved forward under a smart fire but not a man of “G” flinched that I saw. Any one will have times that they feel a little “Shakey” But that morning I was surprised that I could behave so well. The way I felt I could have met death without moving a muscle. But about the charge we did not make it we charged up very close to their works but from some cause we were ordered first to fall down & then to fall back we fell back to our first position and held it all day. At night we were relieved & went into the trenches. The result of the days work was we captured one line of the Rebs works The 21^st lost about 50 killed & wounded Co. G had one wounded Chas. Turwillinger our whole lost was I hear about 1000 People at home have no idea how both sides fight I am getting used to it The next night we were ordered to the front to hold the first line that night we commenced to fortify that line we were relieved the next morning we were relieved That night will ever be remembered by me not for it danger but on account of the position we were in we were on the ground that our fellows charged over to gain The dead & wounded were all around so thick that one could not help stepping on them the cries of wounded were heart rending to hear once I stumbled against some one & apoligised but turned around to find it was a dead man—

 

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