South Mills Oct 19^th, 1863

                                                                                       One oclock. A.M.

Dear Cousin Frank

                                                I still continue in the Old Tar State, where doubtless you knew by means of the letter which I sent to Alice, that I had taken up my residence,—The land of swamps fevers & guerillas—just about here. I should have written you last week, but I was off on a sort of a raid, in North Carolina this time instead of Virginia. The military authorities having received information of the whereabouts of quite a rebel force, some 18 or 20 miles from here, who were engaged in enforcing the (rebel) conscription./

 

quite a party of us was sent out to capture or scatter them as best we might. Our force consisted of detachments from the 11^th & 5^th Penns’ cavalry. the five Co’s of our regiment that were left about Portsmouth, & five from the 8^th Conn. & three from our detachment here. The infantry was to go only part way & wait to be called up in case the cavalry found more than they could manage. It was not necessary for them to be called on for when our cavalry arrived at the spot, they found nothing but a camp & a few scattering reb’s who were left in the hurry of the skedaddle. It appears they had got notice of the approach of another party of cavalry from New bern with the same friendly intention towards them that our party had/so they concluded not to be at home, as they did not particularly desire such visitors. Our two expeditions arriving about the same time & by different routes, came near having a fight with each other. Fortunately however a recognition took place on both sides, before any damage was done. Our forces burned their camp, captured some half dozen prisoners & that was all. But the way the poultry yards of the Secesh inhabitants of that region suffered is a caution. We call this the poultry raid in distinction from the blackberry raid up the peninsula. You may judge we did not go hungry, while gone, besides bringing into camp enough to last awhile. Geese chickens & ducks were lugged in & such a squaling I never heard/before. I tell you what, guerillas do not get much mercy now a days down this way. Two men in the cavalry detachment here with us were shot dead & a third wounded while out on a scout day before yesterday. They were fired on from the bushes as they were riding along. Upon dismounting & searching the woods & bushes round about no one was to be found. The perpetrators of the deed had all skedaddled into the swamps & secret hiding places of their own. That is the way these bushwhackers work. They are a perfect terror to the union citizens about here.

 

We have been having beautiful weather here for sometime past. Since the it has been cooler & we have had some frost, the chills & fever have mostly disappeared from camp. as for myself, I felt as well as ever I don’t see but we have a pretty fair chance of staying here some time yet, if not all winter. We/have commenced building a small fortification here to protect ourselves in case of a surprise. There is to be a couple of blockhouses I understand, in regular frontier style. I begin to be better satisfied with the place than I was. Oh I had nearly forgotten. I must tell you I have come across a regular little backwoods beauty, a little girl ten or twelve years old, but I declare the only decent looking specimen of the female sex I have seen in Dixie. She occasionally comes into camp with her mother who sells pies & cakes &c to the soldiers. Now I am speaking of the fair sex. I will say, that such a set as there is here in Dixie, it was never my lot before to come across. They all universaly/smoke & that too always an old clay pipe, which looks as though it had passed through several generations. also nearly all of them are addicted to the most disgusting practice I ever saw in all my life, called dipping, plainly speaking chewing snuff. I have read of it, but I never saw it before. Pardon me if you think I have been indelicate in writing to you in this style. But I could not resist the temptation of telling you my opinion of Dixie’s fair ones, of the poorer classes, & even some in pretty good circumstances. Respecting the aristocracy I can not speak with so much certainty, as where we have been, we have mostly found them skedaddled. I had grown so accustomed the sickly/sallow wobegone looking countences, & at the same time a look sour enough to curdle milk in three minutes, & a voice that I will not undertake to describe, that I was not a little astonished one day as I heard a dear fresh toned voice, & on looking out of the tent beheld a pair of the rosiest cheeks & brightest blackest eyes I ever saw anywhere & such rich dark glossy ringlet curls I tell you what, I did not know what to make of it. To be sure twas but a little child, but hitherto all had had the same expression, young & old, large & small. I was completely taken by surprise. Such a sight I had not seen since I left Conn last spring. And that same child as things used to be here, would called a slave, although her complexion was far clearer than/many children I have seen, who were as much accustomed to playing in the sun. I tell you what Frank, if I go much farther into Dixie, I shall begin to believe some stories I never placed much confidence in before. But enough of this. I presume you are tired of it. Tell Royal & Lizzie I intended to have enclosed a few lines to them, but I have protracted this so much that I shall have to put them off till some other time. With love to all & also an injunction to yourself to write as soon as you can I close.

 

                                                            Your Aff Cousin

                                                                        Kirtie

 

P.S. I will tell you in case you wonder at the hour at which I commenced this letter, that I was on guard & as it came to me to be up the last half of the night I thought I would finish what little candle I had in writing to you. Two prisoners were brought in about 3 oclock this morning. one of them the rebel enrolling officer for this county.

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