D^r Flandeau

 

Camp on Potomac Creek

Dec 6. 1862.

 

            My dear Sir

                                    I was much pleased to receive your letter of 2^d inst this morning. I have thought several times of writing you, but the difficulties surrounding the attempt in camp are immense especially in cool weather. I too have been very busy. D^r Bass & D^r Somers are both sick of [?] fever the former in hospital near here, the latter in camp having resigned & now being in daily expectancy of his discharge. My duties under this state of the Medical Staff are onerous. Our men are being acclimated, & are having dysentery jaundice fevers &c, partly the result of exposure, poor food & / & bad cookery & partly from malaria You at home have little idea of the severities of camp life at this season. The men are crowded in shelter tents made of ordinary sheeting—about three feet high—They have one blanket apiece of wool & one of rubber. It is impossible to carry more. The tent is a long hole in which you cannot sit upright—through which the rain penetrates & is a dwelling wretched in comparison with a dog kennel The company officers have the same. When encamped for a few days by building a foundation of a few logs & a fire place the thing may be sufficiently improved to render sitting up possible. I am much better off having a wall tent. The food of late has been hard tack (pilotbread) pork, fresh beef & / beans. To day for the first time in three or four weeks potatoes have been served out. The coffee is execrable. This combination of poor shelter & bad rations is playing the deuce with the new reg^ts The older reg^ts have had all persons of constitutions unfitted for it weeded out by disease. Genl Warren said the Zouaves (5^th NY) started with 1000 picked men in 65 days disease & hard marching reduced the regt to 500—they have now scarcely any sick. It is absurd to send any but the toughest men here. They fail by hundreds. A few frail men get strong but all persons who are not tough stand a poor chance of living through the trials of the thing Fortunately I seem to be tough I eat giganticly, sleep vastly / For ten days I have had no butter no molasses (a great luxury I assure you—no corn bread. Hard tack, pork, coffee tea, beans were my invariable meal three times a day, with onions which I used sparingly lest my stock shd be exhausted. But today I got rice, corn meal potatoes & butter & have luxuriated. It is amusing to see men accustomed to the finest tables stuffing rice & molasses for desert. It is about our only means of gratifying the want of sweets that you do not appreciate till deprived of your ordinary cake & pie—

 

            I am in this thing & of course cant get out at present. I confess a resignation in face of an enemy strikes me as disgusting but I assure you that although there is a forcenation in the / free & easy sort of life of a soldier & to me who stand all the exposure perfectly, sleeping as well out of doors as in & never caring whether I have straw or the ground to sleep on—it is after all not specially pleasant. Saturday I dined in the rain. My rubber coat protected but the rain filled my plate almost to the entire cooling of my fried pork.

 

            I rode day before yesterday to the neighboring town of Falmouth, some five miles distant. It is an ancient delapidated village in a hole on the banks of the Rappahannock. Opposite nearly is Fredericksburgh looking well from distance of a mile possibly, Large churches & brick buildings giving it the [?] of a city. The rebel pickets / sat by their fires within 50 or 80 rods Our pickets occasionally converse with them. Shooting each other is it appears an amusement of the past. The earth works of both armies are in rapid process of construction within easy common shot of each other. It is rather queer to the uninitiated to look at such quiet preparation for a contest. Of course we know nothing of what is to happen except from the N.Y. papers. Whether we are to force our way (or try) through Fredericksburgh or by another route is within the ken only of the Genls. We only expected to remain here a day or two & have been here two weeks. We may move tomorrow or any other day—My rule is now to make myself always / as comfortable as possible at first reaching camp as it is impracticable to tell when we shall move.

 

            The army needs I think a victory as much as the Country. It is generally disquieted with everything. Discipline is very imperfect in the new Reg^s of course. It takes a great while to bring men to a knowledge of military or other art. It is very difficult to teach the officers the importance of it. They have little control of the men I am not surprised at the poor fighting. Until very much greater energy is infused into officers we never can have an efficient army I dont believe Several of ours have resigned Capt. Cone, Lieut Meux & Smith & Wicks. Several more will. / Whether we will supply their places with better cannot be told. The best Sergts will be promoted. I think Matterson of Rome will before long be advanced—He seems a fair young man.

 

            In regard to politics I have little to say. My theory is to whip the rebs first & dispose of the nigs afterwards. What effect your election is to have on either at this distance cannot be even guessed at. I hope the democrats will stand up fairly to the contest.

 

            You must remember me kindly to your wife & the young ladies. Tell Tibbie I have a bullet picked up on the Bull Run battle field for her—which I will bring if not obliged to "abandon my baggage" before I return.

 

            I write by this mail to James It is said our letters are not forwarded now—so there may be some delay in this reaching—

 

            Excuse anything in this as it is written among men talking—I shall be glad to hear from you often Letters are very acceptable from my friends in this sort of life For three weeks I received none then a half peck came—adieu

 

                                                                                    Yours truly

                                                                                                J M Flandeau

SOURCES