Fort Bliss Texas

El Paso County Sep 21^st/61

 

Dr W^m Treadwell

                                    Dear Uncle I avail my self of the present oppertunity of writeing you a few lines to let you know that I am yet in the land of the living and in very good health and hope that when this letter reaches you it will find you in posession of the same blessings & family I have nothing that is very interesting to write to you at this time I have sold my self to Jef Davis for the term of twelve months I joined a Company in Palestine on the 23^rd of April and was musterd in on the 17^th of May in the State Service to protect the frontier from the Indians and on the 23 of May we was mustered in the Southern Confederate States Army we was orderd immediately to this place on the Riogrande to take posession of this fort this place is about one / thousand miles from Palestine we had a long and fateauging journey both men and horses got very tired of the trip the country which we traveled over after we left San antone the most of it was very poor very broken and some parts destitute of water grass timber and every thing els save ratle snakes and prarie dogs which are very numerous we travailed the overland mail route the road is generaly very good considering the country that it runs through the road follows the hills and runs in the valleys we get a mail here weekly from San anton ther is a four horse coach that runs this line the Indians some times times interrupts the mail they taken our last mail that went down from this place taken the mail and two mules and shot one of our men with a double barreled shot gun our men killed two Indians and wounding several others

 

ther is about fifteen hundred regulars in Arizona Teritory we went up to Filmore some fifty miles from this this place and had a little brush with them and played our hand very well / our number was 280 the enemy was seven hundred strong they left left this fort and came to a little town where we had taken up quarters for the day they brought with them two small howsters and opened the fire at us by throwing bomb shells and grape shot they immediately advanced within two hundred and fifty yards of us where we was concealed behind the dobee walls we then turned our shots loose at them which had good effect killing and wounding several and throughing the rest into confusion the officers then trying to rally them the second time but ther orders was all in vain for they had turned tail and was making tracks back to their fort they reached ther fort and commenced making preperations to burn and then to evacuate the fort they burnt up a goodeal of the goverment property and left the fort at midnight for fort Craig we next morning set out in pursuit of them some 18 or twenty miles distance we overhalled the main Command they was scatterd for miles along the road side both men and women nearley dead for water guns cantees blanketts / haversacks and clothing &c the federalist forces was seven hundred strong they surrendered ther whole force to the Confedrates 280 strong one hundred and thirty head of Cavilry horses one hundred and seventy head of beef cattle and their train our Commander taken posession of all the [?] propperty and turned all the prisinors loose on parroal of honor not to take up arms against the South he said that he had rather fight them than to feed them they never scrached one of our men during the whole time I dont think that we will have any more trouble with the remainder of the [?] as they are all a trying to get out of the Teritory

 

You must write to me and give me all of the general news of the country and how you are all a getting along tell Lucky to write to me as I would be glad to read a letter from him at any time

 

Yours as ever

E A Treadwell

 

nothing more at present             

                                                       

PS Direct your letters to                                                                     

Fort Bliss El Paso Co Texas Care of

Capt Hardimon

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