Harpers Ferry Va.

September nothing.

October 1^st 1862

 

Dear Friend Uncle Emory I have just came off of Picket & Bill had a letter for me from U. I took it opend & Read it with the greatest of pleasure and anxiety, though greatly disapointed to hear that Ur health has bin wors since I left U in the corn field. Em I was greatly disapointed in Ur not coming down there the next day I stayed and waited looking verry patiently expected evory moment when U would come but U did not come. I went down to acquie crice Aug 27 /62 and saw the boys at fort washington then we went on down to the crick & turned round came back & met the regt. to camp callifornia. I saw the ward master there & told him to tell U to come down he said that U was in the Postoffice and dident believe U could come. Em I am sorry that U did not come down but maby I will see U again. Em U cannot tell the marches & hard marches we have had since I left U. Em the has lots of boys fell in the Ranks & died where they droped Em all I will say about it is we huesed the Rebes like the Devel. /

 

I stood the marches tiptop all the way never fell out of the Ranks clear throught we overtook the Rebs at Fredrick but we did not get in reach of the bullets until the 15^th of Sept we Richesons division overtook them at Sharpebirg. we huged so tight at the Rebs they made a stand on us & we came up in front on a double quick and they opend their batteries on us we shoved our batterie that had 4 pieces in it up on the hill they had not got the horses off before one of the Rebs shells struck under the left center pile doing no great damag but scared our Gunners a little. then they leveld their pieces on their batterie on caping one of their pieces on the second round but the Rebs ceased our batteries & drove them off the hill and waited for Pettits Battery we lay in a small hollow suporting the batterie the was nomber wounded in our Regt some Batery hosses cilled & wounded they kept up the fire until dark, layed down then until 2 oclock AM then the 64^th was called on to go & drive in their pickets by Gen. Sumner we went down to antietam crick deployed skermeches went sloly up to the end of the bridg & halted up came some cavalry at the other end started to come a cross Eph Green John orr and one or 2 more was still head of us in a squad John and Ephe steped up and fired in to them. at that rest the reserve followd suit the Colonel of the 6 N.Y. Cavalry hoolowed / Saying this is the 6^th N.Y. Cavalry. at that we advanced one & saw It was. then we turned round crossed the River went down a hill took one Prisenors scat him so he shit his briches full & while he was cleaning them it got light enough so we saw their Pickets if we had went 10 rods farther evory one of us would got took Prisenor we whirled & doubled quick back to the bridg & was not fired in to by their pickets a tall. they thought we wer their own men so U se we came it on them their. their batterys opend in the morning and on both sides whistled all day killing lots of our men, horses & so forth the 64 & 61 wer consilidated into one under Colonels Marlow & Miles. Each had their horses that they uste to ride to camp callifornia shot dead from under them Em 2 better & bolder men never was in a Regt than them 2 well Em that is the way things went that day untill dark. then we mooved a littl in the night & was ready for them in the morning they comenced in the morning soon as light had heavy firing on both sides of artillery and musketry our Brigade stayed on the hill out one side & saw our men come out the woods charged on a batery took it & turned it on their own men Oh how they mowed the Rebs withe the grape and canister. then the Rebs was Reinforced & there was business for Richesons division. we came down of of the hill came up on a double quick right in front made a left wheel at the left of the Irish brigad. had not hardly got straightend before down came John Sanders hit in the left leg, next Colonel Barlows other horse & nomber others also John ford. we layed down & let the Irish brigad fight a spell then we came to attenteon hoped up came round up on the right & went in as we came up over a little nole we poped it to them the Bigest / we saw how they lay in about 4 rods of us on the left & about 20 or 30 on the right they lay in a channel in the road which wer from 2 to 3 foot deap all we could see wer their heads. we advanced the left untill they got in the road took about 100 prisenors our Regt I am speaking of also took 3 stands of colors & did not know the value of them threw down & sombody else got them and other Regt got the prase one of our boys took a flag out of a wounded Rebs arms he hung to it like a tiger. then Em if U could have seen the dead Rebels lay in the road there U would thought they wer alive because it did not seam as if we could have killed as many but we are now very lonesom Uncle Em we lost some good Boys in our company first to fall with death was Sargent Ephraim Green hit through the breast in the hart my place was in the Rear rank & there I stood just got loaded Eph took me by my right shoulder & sais Eph dont get excited if we are to dye let us dye at our post at that we steped out 3 or 4 paces in front of the line also Joseph Charlesworth then Eph sais to me now Eph take down their colors & raised our gunes to shote, as he said for the last O. & fell backwards. I stood and shot 2 then steped back into the ranks and there lay Norman Foster and shot through the head neither of them spoke a word other ways than O. then we took a turn through the cornfield when William Fuller droped hit in one shoulder & came out the other then when we came out the fight 3 wer called for Picket who wer Charley Cummings John Orr John Tardell. the boys had bin firing each way when John & John stoped to eat some meat & John Orr was cutting of Tardell some meat when one of the Reb Sharp shooters shot John Orr back of his head or ear & lodged in his head the blood began to drop he lay on his elbow and hip. Em was not that sad news bore to our ears with feeling minds & sad harts. Bill Wimple & I burried all of our boys. Oh it came hard to leave them behind. our Regt went in with 150 came out with 92. 58 killed and wound. Em the sight I believe I never saw before. Warren Wright wounded in the leg quite badly that is all in our company Warshben badly wounded Camler is orderly Parker lieutenant, Bill wimple Sargent Rogers corp. I dont know what Jo Charlesworth does call him self. the is now in the company 19 does duty. I came out the fight all right & did not think the Rebs had a gun hardly untill Eph fell by my side. Em I now would like to have U here but never come to the Regt long as U can keep away. Em U never can stand it to come back now take my advice of that save Ur life if possible. I have no money but maby we will draw pay before long. we had just such a muster to day as we had to camp california & just such a storm full wors if any thing Old Abe & McClelon rode through in front of us with many cheers granted to them

 

Uncle Em please write soon so no more at present I stuk to Camler untill he made out ur decriptive list I will send it. I will send U what I ow U payday no more at present write soon Bill sais I am he all right E.E. Brown Uncle Em Morris

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