South Carolina

Fort Wells Hilton Head

January 19^th 1862

 

Dear Friend

                        I take this oppertunity to night to write a few lines to you we are all well at present and hope you all continue to enjoy good health we received yours and annies letters to day

 

it is night now the sound of the bugle at retreat has long since returned the weary soldier to his quarters all the men are sleeping sweetly except the vigilant sentinel who walks his lonely beat and listens to every thing he hears far and near for he knows full well that on his vigilance depends the safety of the whole camp the fortifications going on very well and the fort will soon be completed there is a large number of guns already mounted on the new work that we have put up at evry angle and port hole is a long black thirty two or forty two pounder looking out over the wall like so many bull dogs I exspect we will be here some lenth of time we were all atached to Gen. Wrights Brigade at first but we have since been put in with the 3^rd Rhode Island Regt to garison the Fort we are all well satisfied to do that we learn to work heavy artilery the weather continues pleasant except that it rains some little bit 

 

I have onely seen frost once since we came here I seen corn to day three inches high it was in field that the corn had not been gathred last faull and had droped down on the took root and looked as if it would come perfection with a little work. Everything appears to grow here any seeson in the year

 

I sppose you had a happy Christmas and Newyears I went out on what is called grand guard that is a guard that is out three or four miles from camp they always take one days rations with them and are genraly on high ground as at some road or creek where they can rest see the approch of an enimy if the enimy approches them they start for the camp and fire all the way so as to give warning and retard the enimy as much as posible I was four miles down the beach towards Tybee Iisland I had twenty five men from companies A and D all good men we got to our post just at dark and relieved the old guard the post is on a point of the atlantic ocean on one side and a small creek on the other there is sand banks in a great many places along the coast at this place they formed a kind of a natural defence we built a fire on side of them and staid there until the next evening we seen the old year go out and the new one come in all night long the waves lashed against the shore the next morning just as the sun was rising I got up on one of the higest / banks turning to the east there was the rising sun as it were out of the ocean and three large ships in full sail it was a beautiful sight we see the sun almost every morning rising out of the water Every large star at night cast a gleam of light on the ocean that reach to the shore the beach is nice to walk or ride on when the tide is out it goes out as far as it is from our house to uncle Dougals it leaves a smooth sandy bottom and is very solid when the tide is out this is the time to gather shells I have quite a lot of them we have not been paid yet but will be in a few days the health of our Regiment is very good and is said to be the best clothed cleanest there is any place around here Sergeant W H Morse has been sent on recruting service the segt. wanted a few men to make the ten hundred I exspect he will go to see you I told him go and see you and let you know how we are getting along there is some boys in the regt that I exspect will be discharged when they get paid of they have stood it very well but we have had no hard marching to do yet no person should go into the army under twenty. you stated in your letter of the 4^th that you heard that Capt. Wayne and me had into to trouble. there is not one word of truth in the report I have the good will of all the the officers and men in the regt. I believe I am safe in that I won the good oppinon of every soldier I have become acquainted with since I left home the left last / the last time at Camp Cameron there was about four thousand while I was there I became acquainted with the majority of them. I have never had to be reported yet by my superior officers and I have got along very well in every respect the men are always ready to obey me willing and cheerfuly and there never has been the slightest misunderstanding betwixt me and any one of them they were taught in first place that the first duty of a good soldier is to obey and they always do it promtly this slanderous has been started by some base hearted villians about home if they would mind their own business I will try and mind mine if I onely knew who started it I would write them a few lines of comfort. I care nothing about them I never want them to see their cowardly faces who ever they are I despise such people as much as I do the snakes and aligators that are in the swamp around here who ever was the originator of it had no other motive in view than to infure me but I will quit writeing about it. Crawford is one of the Colored guards it is what I call a nice post I have look at nothing more at present Write soon

 

Your affectionate Friend and Brother

                                                Lieut. Geo H. Gwin

                                                            Co. F 76^th Pa Regt

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