yorktown july 9th 1863

8/12/2019 Yorktown July 9th 1863

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2006.002.0004

Civil War LettersWing Family

(sheet one)

Yorktown July 9th1863

Dear Father & Mother.

It is now some little time since you have heard from either Henry or

myself but I can assure you that the reason for our not writing is a good one which is this; we

have been on another long martch the particulars of which I will give you presently. We received

while out a letter from you dated the 26thof june which brought us our monthly present of $5.00

each; also some papers & a letter & picture from walt; all of these went a good ways towards

lightening the hearts of your two worn out soldier boys. June 24thour regt was ordered to be in

readiness to martch with three days rations & our rubber blankets & shelter tents; therefore the

reason of your not hearing from us while we were out we had no place to carry writing material.

On the morning of june the 25 we took the boat & that night we landed at the white house; while

there I saw human bones coffins & any quantity of soldiers cloathing which had been left there

by McClellan while on his retreet; we were at the white house four days three of which our

company spent on pckett; I was sergeant of the outside post & saw a few Rebble bush whackers

but could not get a shot at them. while we were on pickett at this point Col speers cavalry regt

which had been into the reb lines on a raid passed my post with 130 prisoners among them was

Gen Lee a rellative of the old rascal Lee; they also had 500 horses & mules & a reb waggon

train. the next day after they passed the reb women of the county commenced coming in to our

lines to get their horses I got somewhat acquainted with most of them and I talked with all of

them they all agree that the south will never give up whipped until every man woman & child is

swept from off the face of the earth. one of them took quite a likeing to me because I corrected

one of the boys for talking too harsh to her about the south & its people; they all had to be sent

into camp under guard & she would have nobbody go with her but me & as she was a perfect

lady & seemed to think that I would protect her from all insult I could not very well refuse

therefore I went notwithstanding it was not my duty to do such things; on our way to camp she

inquired as to my name what my bus was when at home what induced me to enlist as to wheather

I was married or no; when I told her that I was married she said; I suppose you will write & tell


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you wife all about the southern lady that you guarded to your camp; also that her carage was an

old cart & her horse was an old broken down mule if you do I beg of you to tell her that I am a

lady & have not always been obliged to travel in this manner; we reached camp & I left her there

& went back to my post; shortly after she returned minus her horses that she went after & she

gave me a sound talking to for not waiting to see her safely back through the lines but I told her

that I was sergeant of the outside post & it was necessary for me to be there all the time; when

she went away she gave me a very polite invitation to go out as far as king william court house

where she lived and make them a visit she said that she would answer for my safety; but vulgarly

speaking I couldn't see it. On the night of the 30thour picketts were drawn in & we were ordered

to moove again which we did going about two miles beyond our old pickett

(sheet two)

lines where we encamped for the night the next morning we were up & off early encamping that

night about one mile beyond the King William Courthouse early in the morning we started again

(by the way the people at home must not talk about starving the rebs out for that they can never

do; on our way we saw better & larger cropps than I ever saw in any part of York state & every

farm has 50 or 60 hogs hens cattle horses and nigers I was on one plantation where there was 102

slaves) encamping at night near Taylors Plantation I dont remember the name of the place whare

we encamped the next night but I do remember that the next day was the 4thof july & we

sellebratid it during the day time by martching to within 3 miles of Hanover junction. we

encamped for the night near the Fredricksburg & Richmond railroad the enemy within one mile

of us down the rail & on the river bank which river I believe is called the south anna river here

the railroad crosses the river & acting gen Col Wardroe of the 99thN.Y. ordered the Companys A

& F of the 188thto advance up the railroad as far as this bridge if possible & capture it & hold it;

the two comp started off in good order under the command of Cap J.H. Norris (who by the way

deserves great praise for his coolness & courage; I have seen him ten times more excited when

he stood on the old fire engine defiance crying out break her down boys break her down; in fact

he was not excited in the least) we had advanced about a quarter of a mile when whiz came a

shell from the left of the rail but it passed harmlessly over our heads & burst in the woods on our

right we kept on advancing the reb gun on our left playing uppon us with no better success than


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at the first shot; finally we cleared the woods that were on each side of the rail & our skirmishers

came into an open field when we were greeted by the singing of a rifle ball from some sneaking

reb sharp shooter by we mooved on & we heard no more from him but not we are fired on by the

reb picketts who are on the rail & Corporal Lapoint who in advance for the purpose of keeping

the captain informed as to the movement of the skirmishers is slightly wounded in the arm, the

reb picketts retreat we advance onward until we came to 2 road which crosses the rail, we are

now within of a mile of the bridge; the commander of company F skirmishers Lieut

Cuningham who is on the left of the rail with his men, sends word that he must have ten more

men so as to extend his line to the left as far as the woods; 5 men are taken from Co A & 5 from

Co F they are formed in to ranks on the rail by Sargeant Cowles ready to moove off the track on

the left (you must remember that it has ben & is now as dark as pitch & we dont know but that

we are mooving directly into the lyons mouth) when they are fired into by not less than 100 rebs

who lay in the bushes each side of the rail down the bank; but of shame jeff you & your imps of

darkness hold your guns as well as your heads too high: now we are in for it in earnest we drop

down on our bellies behind the road which crosses the rail and we now give them back principal

with ten percent interest: now lieut Cuningham is lightly wounded but he dont give up. I forgot

to mention that they opened a second piece of artillery on us before we reached the cross road the

piece is directly in our front down on the rail now a third piece has opened but jeff continues to

carry his head very high & I should judge that he owed the woods in our rear a grudge by the

way that his guns mow them down; they are too strong for us & we dont know but they have

thousands where we have tens therefore the

(sheet three)

Cap gives us the order to retreat as silently as possible; which we do in good order, we lay under

this fire about an hour and a half no one as yet seriously hurt. We retreted about a quarter of a

mile when we were ordered to about face and make a stand where we were; up to this time I had

been with the reserve on the rails; when the Cap went down the line of company a skirmishers he

thought that there should be more men there so I asked him if I should go and he told me to go

and see to extending the line farther to the right so I went down & took my position on the

extreme right in rear of corporal Vantassel; here we lay on our bellies for about two hours;


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occationally a reb shot would pass over us. now we are reinforced by Co D of the 118th& Co. of

the 99th; the company or part of the company from the 99thare deployed on the right of co A. Co

D of the 118thare deployed on the left of co F; we now receive the order to advance; we now

number about two hundred men. we keep on advansing have now passed the cross road where

we were first fired into; are now very near their rifle pitts, the moon is shining quit brightly now

& we can see their rifle pitts & a shed thrown up in the shape of a roof to a house it is open at the

ends and there is a window or hole in the center from which they can shoot. we are now within

three rods of this building; they are waiting for us to com nearer so that they can send us all into

eaternity, but they have waited too long for we have all heard the whispered order to ly down &

we suddenly obey it & they fire but jeff persists in carrying his head very high yet; we now have

the order to loads and fire at will so we let loose on them; my gun wont go off so I turn over on

my back and break a cartridge and put some powder in the tube & she goes but the old thing

bothered me very much I had two kinds of cartridges one kind were good and the other kind

were poor one and I could do nothing with them I got one of them in my gun and I could not get

my gun off so I laid the gun to one side turned out all my cartridges in my cap & picked out the

good ones and put them into my box again; I then dug a hole with my hands and put the poor

ones into it & covered them up so that they would not fall into the hands of the rebs; I then took

my Pistol from the sheath and if I didn't put eighteen shots pretty close to the rebs with it then I

am no marksman. finaly I got the gun off & I had no more trouble with it. The capt walked along

the lines regardless of the balls encouraging the boys; when we had lain there about 2 hours

under a heavy fire all the time from musketry & 5 pieces of artilery we were ordered to fix

bayonetts when the company from the 99thobjected saying that they were not going to be driven

into a masked battery. Co F made a charge & captured eleven men & their musketts we were

now ordered to retreat which we did in good order we lost in killed two. Martin Sherman strucck

with a shell in the side & left leg turning the leg completely around. Henry Miller shot through

the bowells. Corporal Vantasel wounded in the arm. Hyram Yattaw wounded in the leg. Cas C

lapoint in the arm. Edgar Comstock & Arad B Mickle missing. All these belonged to Co. A. of

the 118ththe wounded will all get well I think we martched ten miles that morning. don't you

think that we will always remember that 4thof July night & think of the kind of fire works we

had. Nothing of importance happened until I reached within nine miles of the white house on our

return when I lost one of my boots & had to go 9 miles in my bare feet. the regt has not reached


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here yet for they have to martch here; I was transported because I nothing to wear on my feet.

Henry was well when I left the regt at the white house. I tried to buy a pair of shoes but they

charged five dollars for them & I would not buy. I could have martched any way for my right

knee troubled me very much

(sheet four)

I sketch this from memory of what I saw myself & send it to you so that you can see how we are

situated. I wish that you would let Jennie read this letter & see this sketch; where you see the

lines drawn from each battery you may know that when we retreated they had an awfle cross fire

upon us. There is something wrong about my right knee it bothers me very much after I have

marched about ten miles. I gave out the other day & fell behind the regt 3 miles but I kept

moving all the time and caught up with them after they ate their dinner they marched 9 more

miles that day but I had to ride. I have neather boots nor shoes. What will you say when I tell you

that I got of rations & had to beg two crackers and a piece of meat of a stranger.

Love to all

Edgar

yorktown july 9th 1863

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