White House Va

May 17^th 1862

 

Pleasant but warm nothing to do to day orders to have our tents struck &c at 9 AM countermanded at 11 ock. at 4 PM I harnessed and went to a private house "Mr Hills" 2 miles or so up the stream with Col Young & Chaplain. Col is quite sick with fever hardly able to sit up cant walk alone. Mr Hills Residence is one of the finest I have seen in Va it is on the bank of the river. A large brick house well furnished. But still the natural beauties of the place are not much improved. /

 

Sunday 4 PM 18^th Hot as Blazes We are almost melting. I have had to go up Mr Hills 3 times & back today: to carry Dr Rice, Chaplain & provision or I should say Medicine. Hill owns nearly 15 hundred acres 3 separate farms a hundred or more slaves Hill himself is at the house but under strict guard. When our troops first came he said that every bit of blood in his body was secesh. His slaves had been at Yorktown all winter to work upon the fortifications. He helped sink a lot of schooners in the pamunkey river &c. I see such folks I had just as live see them swing as not what fools. I see a couple of slaves the best I have ever seen well dressed & intelligent looking to day who have just come in from Richmond they say / that the Rebels are scat to deth they represent things in a trifle different light than Richmond papers. The Rebels are destroying immense lots of grain & mining boats &c upon the James R. Hills family are all at Richmond from paper acts I notice that the White House is & has been a very noted place I was not aware of it until I read that Washington was married here. We are encamped a ½ mile from the House over 300 acres of level ground all seeded down clover a foot high over the most of it or was last Thursday But now it is completely covered with camps & you can see tents as far as you can reach with the eye. Wagons & horses there is no end to them while riding with Dr Rice this AM he made the remark that he did not think as there could be so many wagons in the whole US as we have here. When we go away / which will be tomorrow or next day I suppose there will not be hardly a green spot left "such is war" no fences upon this land or this tract By the roads a ditch 5 or 6 ft deep by 8 wide. I suppose [?] over two hundred wagons were stuck in the mud between here and our last camp the next day after we came here. So you may judge what the roads were. if you have not seen what a horse ambulance perhaps you will like a description the box is square 6 ft long 4 wide 1½ deep—this is covered with a Lthr top some 3 ft or a trifle more 4 post to a side to suport top Lthr curtains roll up if you wish. the hind end is fixed with hinges same as an express wagon two matresses upon stretchers with legs & rollers so that you can carry a man on them & then slip them right in or or out of Amb. the curtains roll down in front & behind in case of rain / it is all shut up tight I set or drive in front. A Board with hinges in middle a foot or more wide is upon the box and the mans feet go or can go under the board the curtain rolls down at back edge of your seat you have a small foot board with iron rail to put your feet against the Box is put upon platform scales two wheels 4 ft in diam. Iron axle crooked [axle diagram] down at each arm 6 inches same as an old fashioned chaise. Well enough they ride very easy on good road or rough they are awful of course you know they are very hard for the horse still with care you can drive them most any where. But some times the driver gets / throwed off in going over some of the rough holes that are so plenty in Va I was throwed off a few days ago my nose square in the mud still I kept the lines in my hand & didnt let the horse stop it didnt hurt me at all. I have seen several of Boys throwed out & I would have bet 50 dollars that I couldnt be thrown off But my foot sliped off of the iron rail & away I went The ambulances arent all alike. of the one horse mine is the best kind. But Sandy a fellow who works in Q M Depot has brot 3 or 4 H[?] and a pce of gingerbread down before me who would be fool enough to write with grub before him not I.—May 20^th Tuesday PM at Hills House setting in the shade of a couple large locust trees awaiting orders of Doct. Rice & Col Young. Yesterday we were called up at / 3 ock AM fed &c. I was sent up here with some things of the Cols the Chaplain rode back with me and I was again sent up here for to stay untill further orders. The Genl Hospital is down opposite the White House over 200 new & clean wall tents are pitched there for Hospital purposes Yesterday I had to go down there 4 times once to carry a Lieut of 31^st who was brot and left here thro mistake the rest to get a surgeon to come up here then more medicines &c the rest of the time I put in sleeping. The Regt moved with Div at 8 or 9 AM I have not heard from them yet it rained from 10 AM to 3 or 4 PM some of the time quite hard enough to make it quite hard walking for the men Heavy firing was heard in the direction of Bottoms Bridge today. Many think there is a or was a fight there. /

 

It is much cooler to day than yesterday there is a good breeze to day and one can get along first rate. Mr Hill has but about 50 slaves here mostly women & children stories vary so much that I cant find out any thing about them at all. As for the niggers I have but little sympathy for them since the Battle of West Pt. I did not see them cut wounded union mens throats still I am told that they did & pulled eyes out of all the bodies that they could get hold of. two niggers were hung up to a tree and left hanging by four troops so a Cavalary man told me that had seen them hanging. I dont remember what Regt he said hung them. I wish all negroes who are fighting willingly upon the Rebel side were in Abrahams Bosom. some of them that are here set a great deal of their Masters others the reverse are anxious to get away. I have papers up to 17^th did you send letter from Cumberland in Herald of 17^th date description of March / that is quite good I was in the grist mill it speaks of and Bot a ½ bushel of corn meal of the negro miller QMaster Tilly who had charge of the Regt wagons spoke to me about not being upon my turn and we had some words, but I have not heard a word since. I have easy times here and it is better than being in the Co so I should be more carefull than I am to keep the place. It is Boys work but that is all I am fit for you know. Many would say it is not so patriotic to drive team in fact would look upon it as low business, it is so. I think my self if I mistake not last fall / Puss expressed the same last fall when I wrote saying that I had a team to drive. I was sick at the time I commenced driving or had been and seeing a vacant place I made out to get it

 

I wish there was more riding or more work. last fall I had too much more than I knew how to do but lately not enough to keep my blood in circulation. here I am today I dare not go away for fear of being wanted so I go in for sleeping eating & drinking. have been down to genl Hospital twice took care of my horse and that is all I have had to do. The Col is worse to day some men just past my Amb saying that they thot he wouldnt live. I hope he will for he is a very good man much ahead of Jackson in coolness in time of danger. He probably saved the Regt at West Pt by his coolness at least so they all say. Dr Rice is sick being not able to prescribe for himself / there is a good deal of sickness in the Army Chesmore told me sunday that he was at shipping pt while I was at Cheesemans Landing & that there was on average 7 per day dieing in the Hospitals there other places I suppose are the same I dont see much of it. Yesterday I noticed that the Hospital tents down here were nearly full But enough for present. I dont know when I shall get a postamp. I am out entirely. The paper I was lucky enough to buy of Chesmore. What do the Fitchburg folks say about James marriage I must write to him as I want to hear from them. I have written to no one except him since I left Alexandria or some time before, consequently I receive no letters. none from home for quite awhile last dated May 1^st was only 12 days coming—

 

Wednesday Morning 7 ock it rained last night and this AM is a damp foggy mean feeling &c / I have just eat my breakfast and have got to put in the day some way. shall try to get some papers if possible I heard from the Regt last night they were 4 miles from here was going 4 miles further yesterday PM if so they will be 12 or 14 miles from R—d Dr. Edmesson is here and I shall try to send this by him to the Office. Dont forget to pay the post when you take it out & oblige Yours Allways Frank

 

At West Pt the 15^th Mass were encamped near the 18^th N.Y. But I didn't see them as I was at Yorktown. Nat was over there half of the time so he said. He heard no inquiries for me except from Fitchburg Boys. But he is not acquainted with any of the Oxford Co. the Col is better this AM and it is now thot that he will recover—if surgeons will kill him He dont stand but little chance as there was yesterday over 4 Drs here to see him.

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