Camp Paroll    Annopolis       Sep 20^th 1862.

 

                                                                                                                        Friend Frank

I have just recieved your letter and was glad to hear that you and Katten were still living knowing that the Reg^t was in the battle of Mannassas at least the Richmond papers said that our reg^t made a terrable charge on them at Bull Run or around there; and that the reg^t was all cut to pieces. You wanted to know where I went to that night I was taken prisnor. Well I was on the right of the advance and when the Order was given to close our ranks and charge I tryed to obey but our boys all broke up and I went to shooting on my own hook and when I looked around they were nearly all gone; and when I turned to follow my horse was shot through / the breast he rear’d and plunged and I jerked him and broke the bridle (it was an old thing I picked up in camp had you given me one of them new saddles and bridle I would have been all right) and run into two companies of Infantry they fired a shower of balls at me some of which passed through my blankets behind but none touched me so I see the game was up and I surrendered I never knew before how a fellow feels after he surrenders but I felt ashamed enough. They took us to Gen Winder’s Head Quarters and he tryed to pump me conserning our forces Where Pope was and where Seigel was and many other things all I told him was he would find them soon enough but I did not know anything about them We stayed their all night at thoes camp fires that we saw on the top of that hill before we turned into that lane going to the river / and if our advance had been in supporting distance the first time we drove in their pickets we could have taken Jackson, Winder, and several other Generals. Jacksons force was 45,000, but only one Brigade was that side of the river and Winder said we could have captured all of his supply and amunition train if we had only 500 men for they were not expecting an attact from that quarter. I would have given anything if I could have escaped from them and given the information I learned there in half an hour after I was taken. the General said he thought I was a slippry character and he had better hand cuff & shackle me for fear I would escape but I lied to him like a preacher and he finely let me lay down on the grass but not to sleep the novelty of the situation drove sleep from my eyes that night /

 

Jackson was mad as hell because we destroyed the wheat in that mill he said Mich Cav. should pay for that) the next morning they took us to Orange and then you ought to have seen the citizens flock around us and to hear them give us hell when they found out we belonged to the Mich Cav one of them says to a rebel Officer the villains stole all the hams I had another says yes they stole evry thing I had to eat in my house One said we took all the good old brandy he had saved for them they all said we were a lot of savage heathens and they hoped we would be hung. And the women they gave us hell on evry corner calling us Yanks & [?] thinks I poor tray is caught in bad company for you know I never was in Orange Court House in the world before once I was cook and the other time I was on Picket but I had to take the blame for what the reg^t done I told them not to fret their cattle and looked at them so sly says I evrything is lovely /

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