Camp of 29^th Iowa Infty

May 24^th 1863.

 

Mrs Conarroe Respected Friend

Yours of the 15^th has been received in due time I think you must have a serious time of it waiting on the sick. But I know sickness is not confined altogether to the army, for in my own neighborhood at home the ravages of disease have been at work and have taken off some of those with whom I was acquainted.

 

I am in hopes that by the time this reaches you, your folks will have recovered, for health is the greatest blessing we can receive or enjoy. I never knew rightly how to value health until I entered the service and came down to this southern climate. But since I have been down here and seen so many stout, robust men fall a prey to disease and watch them from day to day as their forms wasted away till at last they would sink gently to sleep to wake no more, I think I cannot be thankful enough to my maker for the health I am permitted to enjoy.

 

The health of the Regt is very good at the present time yet not as good as it was two weeks ago.

 

We have to drill four hours every day (Sundays excepted) In the forenoon we have two hours Brigade drill. In the afternoon we either have Battalion or Skirmish drill The more I learn about military affairs the better I like it. The boys in the Co. say they would rather risk my opinion on a military movement than the opinion of our Co Commander. I would enlist in the regular service if it were not for two objections. One is / the term of enlistment is most too long; the other is I dont like to leave my folks for so long a time; and then that young lady Miss ___  ____ might not give her entire consent to it either. Although she is not my folks yet, but I cant say she wont be if I ever get back to old Guthrie Co. again, and I think I will of course However enough on that subject. The weather is very warm at present. It is about as warm now as it is in the middle of summer in Iowa. The trees are all dressed in their mid-summer foliage and vegetation of all kinds is flourishing finely. I love to roam through the woods in the early morning in the nice cool shade and see the birds as they hop from branch to branch and sing their merry songs. They appear so light-hearted and free that it almost makes me feel like a new creature. But after all I am nothing more than a Soldier

 

I have been in the service now long enough to know how to sympathize with the rebels. I dont go a great deal on the negroe question but I go enough to arm and equip all that are now within the union lines, and when it can be done with safety I am in favor of sending out detachments of troops and welcome all those negroes who are willing to come in to the ranks and fight in defense of the union and their rights and liberties, and all who were not willing to come in and fight for their rights make them come in any how and fight for the union Some are opposed to the arming of the negroes to put down this rebellion but I am in favor of doing any and every thing in our power to put it down and if they can do any good let them do it I heartily endorse the language of another and will / insert it here, as it is my sentiments and more appropriate than any language which I could apply of my own invention. Says he, "I am in favor of emancipation. Subjugation, extermination, conflagration and the eternal D—nation" of the entire Southern Confederacy unless they speedily return to a state of loyalty and to the union. I dont believe in doing one thing twice, neither do I believe in leaving things half done; therefore I am in favor of laying waste every foot of southern soil that the union army passes over. I would have them burn every fence, out-house, stable, cotton gin, dwelling-house and every thing else that could afford them any comfort or protection. And every negro that I could find I would put him in a negro brigade and make him serve Uncle Sam until the close of the war; and then they should be colonized in some climate congenial to their nature; and the first one of them that ever entered within the boundaries of the united States, unless on special business and with a written pass signed by the proper authorities, should be put to death. And every white man who should be guilty of or instrumental in bringing any colored person within the lines under any pretext whatever without official power to do so ought to be hung on the nearest tree to the spot where he is caught, and if there be no tree near at hand then riddle his body with bullet holes. The curse of slavery is undoubtedly the cause of this war, therefore if we would have a permanent adjustment of things and peace and prosperity in the future wipe slavery out of existence and let it be remembered in the future only as a thing that once were I am a peace advocate but until we can have peace on honorable terms I dont want / want it at all. I dont want the thing smothered down now for a while and then burst out again with tenfold violence but let the work be done now once for all. Since we are in it the best way to get out is to clear the obstacles out of the way and then work out of it the best way we can always taking every thing that we can get in our possession that belongs to the rebels I guess you will think I am considerable of a negro man and I am in some respects but not in all. So I will again change subjects.

 

Ever since we have been here things have been going on in a monstrous kind of style, the fife and drum always calling us out on duty or giving the signal for retiring, or to change the programme of things a little the 5^th Kansas Cavalry and the Dubuque Battery got up a sham fight and wagered a bet of $300 on the final result. Accordingly on friday the 22^nd about two oclock P.M. they repaired to the brigade parade ground and the engagement took place witnessed by hundreds of spectators. They were drawn up in line of battle at about 400 paces distant from each other. At the signal the engagement commenced. The first division of cavalry charged on the battery, passed through the lines and retired to the rear. the 2^nd division of Cav next advanced to the charge but by the time they had reached the battery the dust and the smoke from the field pieces filled the air so that it was impossible to see any thing at all scarcely and they became entangled and got mixed up and killed one horse unhorsed several riders injuring quite a number of men some of them dangerously. So what was gotten up for amusement resulted quite serious. Yesterday we had a grand review of all the troops at this post we had a very good time of it though it was somewhat warm By the time you read this you will be tired of it so I will close for this time

 

Good by for the present

Geo. Campbell

 

Mrs G. Conarroe                                                        

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