4th North Carolina Letter

[Dignann]

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Chris,

Great stuff. For provenance sake, where do the original letters reside?

Eric

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Head Quarters, Anderson Brigade,
August 15, 1862
My Dear Mother:
As Mr. Parker will leave in the morning for home, I thought I would avail myself of the oppurtunity to let you hear from me. There is nothing new to write in the way of "War News." You hear everything that we do, and that's in the papers. Everything on our lines is quiet. We were put under marching orders a day or two ago, with the expectation of making another march to "Malvern Hill," but the Yankees left and it saved us the trouble of running them away. Eight hundred of the Brigade are still working on the breastworks, some two miles below here. I am in the hopes the Yankees will never get near enough to Richmond for us to have to fight behind them. The other regiment in the Brigade has received their conscripts, ours is the smallest one and we haven't recieved a single one, and I hope we won't.
General Anderson was making a calculation this morning and he says that we have lost 226 men, killed and died from their wounds, since the day we went into the fight at "Seven Pines." The Regiment is now under the command of Pat Simms. All of our company are in very good health. I don't believe we have a single man on the sick list, and I believe it is owing in a great degree. It is the best we have had since we've been in Virginia. I am getting along very well indeed, enjoying excellent health, and have a very pleasant time.
We have very little writing to do, not half as much as we had at Manassas. General Anderson has no Adj. General yet. I would not be suprised if he was not waiting for Dunham to get well. I believe he likes Dunham better as an officer than any man in the Brigade. He has one of his brothers (Walker) as one of his Aides. I wish you would please look in my trunk and send me that brown veil you will find. I want it to put over my face when I take a nap in the moring, to keep off the flies. You never saw any flies yet, you can measure them by the bushel here. The mosquitoes are terrible here, too. I shall put it over my face when I sleep out of doors, and that's every night that it don't rain. I've just learned from Mr. Parker that little Leon is dead. Poor little fellow, I never thought that when I left home it would be the last time I should see him.
Give my love to all the family, my respects to all my friends. Write soon, tell me all the news.
Your affectionate son,

WALTER

P.S. Please send the veil by the first one coming to our camp. Give my respects to all the boys that you see.

[NC5thCav]

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Chris- What is Walter's full name and where is he from? Any idea where the letters are going?

Garrison, I can get to the ASU library and check the NC roster series sometime this weekend. I'll post whatever I find.

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Garrison,
His full name is Walter Battle, I'm not sure where in North Carolina he is writing to. Anyway, on to round 3

Headquarters, Anderson Brigade,
Ripley Division, August 11, 1862

My dear Mother,
I am sorry I have kept you waiting so long before writing to you, but I thought I would wait until I could have a talk with General Anderson to find out what I was to do before writing. I sent word by John Hines, also Dr. Barham, that I was well and for them to tell you all the news. When I arrived at the Camp of our Regiment it was gone to Malvern Hill to have a fight with the Yankees. They did not return in a day or two. General Anderson went to Richmond immediately on buisness, so I did not have an oppurtunity of speaking with him until this morning. He was perfectly willing for me to come back into the office, so I commenced duty this morning. We have a very pleasent place for our quarters, a large two story house with plenty of shade, in an open field, where we have the breezes from every direction.
I don't know yet, but I may come up here to mess and sleep, though I thought I would wait a while. I haven't slept in a tent since I've been in camp, but once. That was last night. It rained yesterday morning, and the ground was wet, and the air rather cold, so I thought I would go in the tent, as it was convenient. I shall go in bathing tonight to cool off, and sleep out doors. We have an excellent place for that purpose, that is bathing. It's been awfully hot here today. I believe it is warmer here than at home.
General G.W. Smith was to-day assigned to the command of our Division. I understand he is an excellent officer. Some of our regiments in this brigade have recieved their conscripts. They are a very good looking set of men seen drilling in a field. as they were this morning. It looks right funny to see men so green, but I suppose all of us were so at first, and we ought not to make fun of them. Dossey's Regiment is only about half mile from here. I went ofer to see him last Saturday. He is very well. I went up to see Dunham when I passed through Richmond, but he had gone home the week before, so I was disappointed. Give my best respects to all friends, and my love to all the family, some of you write often and tell me everything that happens about town.
Goodbye, as ever,
Your loving son,

WALTER

P.S. I've got to endorse this letter for want of stamps. I haven't written any in so long a time that my hand is stiff as if I had been mauling rails, you can readily see the difference now and some time ago. I hope it will soon get better.
I forgot to tell you that our whole brigade was throwing up breastworks every day, about two miles from here, that is the only duty they do now, no guard duty.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Chris- What is Walter's full name and where is he from? Any idea where the letters are going?

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Ask and you shall recieve. I'm planning to post Walter's letters here and his brother's in another thread.

Richmond, VA., June 15, 1862

Dear Mother:
I hope you are not uneasy about me because I have not written before. I knew if I wrote it would take a week for you to get it, so I put it off till I could send it by Mr. Albert Farmer, who will go tommarow. The Surgeon of the hospital has given me a passport to stay wherever I please in the city and report to him every week. I believe I should go crazy if I had to stay out in the hospital where everything is so dull and disheartening. In fact I don't believe I am the same thing I was two weeks ago, at least I don't think as I used to and things don't seem as they did. I don't believe I will ever get over the death of George. The more I think of him the more it affects me, and unless I am in some battle and excitement I am eternally thinking of the last moments of his life. How he must have suffered, if he was conscious of it. I shall never forget it. I think a long letter from some of you would make me feel so much better. I shall send by Mr. Farmer my watch, sleeve buttons, also the shirt I wore off. Everything I ought to have brought I left behind. I only brought one flannel shirt, and by the way I'll send this one back and try this summer without them, as they are very heavy for summer wear. The war news you read every day in the papers, but Capt. Billy Brown came down from Gordonville with some of Jackson's prisoners. He says he was in Lynchburg. Twenty-Two hundred were sent in and that thirteen hundred were on the way.
The Yankees are near Richmond, we don't hear anything of, everything is quiet. Please some of you write me soon.
Your loving son,

WALTER

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

Does anyone else want to see the rest of these letters? I've obtained copies of his and his brothers.

Please post them Chris.

[FDTaylor]

Re: 4th North Carolina Letter

I'd be interested in reading the other letters, either posted to the AC or sent privately by e-mail, fdtaylor@cox.net . I had a number of relatives in the 14th North Carolina, which was brigaded with the 4th for much of the war.

Thanks,
Fred D. Taylor
Co. G, Porsmouth Rifles
9th Virginia Infantry

CAMP NEAR ORANGE C.H., August 2nd,1863

My Dear Mother,
I recieved your letter day before yesterday, just as we recieved orders to march. We marched about 15 miles yesterday through the hottest sun that I ever felt. The men are constantly dropping out from overheat, and one or two died from the effects. We are in camp to-day, but have orders to hold ourselves in readiness to move at a moment's notice. The report is the Yankees are advancing on Culpepper. I guess we will leave here tonight or before day in the morning. This army is seeing a very hard time at present. Nothing to eat but beef and flour and the hardest marching that this army has ever done. At the time we crossed the mountains at Port Royal, we marched from 4 o'clock one morning until daybreak the next morning. We were drawn up in a line of battle twice during the time, once we had a very sharp fight between our sharpshooters and the Yankees. Our brigade was in line on an edge of a mountain overlooking the whole scene. I don't think it will be long before we shall have a fight, from our present movements. I thought I told you in the letter I wrote from near Hagerstown, while in line, that I was with the Regiment. You must have missed getting that letter. This makes the fifth I have written since I left home. When I got with the new regiment everything had so much changed at headquarters, new men detailed, and my not knowing any of them, I concluded to go back with the company. I have been doing duty with the Company ever since I got back and I believe I feel better satisfied. Jim Gay got back to the regiment this morning, left Wilson last Wednesday. He has told us all about the Yankee raid.
I have been suffering some little from pain in the feet, caused by hard marching. The doctor told me yesterday that I might put my things in the ambulance. At night when I went after them, someone had stolen my knapsack with all my clothes, except what I have on, and my shawl. I'll try and make out with what I have until cold weather comes on. You may send me two pair cotton and two pair woolen socks the first oppurtunity you have. That will be the first thing that I will need. Dossey came over to see me this morning and read a letter to me that he got from his Cousin Claudia yesterday.
There is some little talk sometimes of our Brigade being ordered to North Carolina. I wish to gracious we could be. I'll bet the Yankees wouldn't cut up there like they have been. To-day is Sunday and one of the hottest that I have ever felt. We are in a piece of woods where there isn't one breath of air stirring. If we do have to march to-day, half of the men will give out from overheat. I would much rather marhc two nights than one day. You may send me that homespun shirt in my trunk, at the same time you do the socks - that checked one. I hope the authorities will send some troops home to prevent the Yankees from making a raid through there. Write whenever there is anything to tell me about home and you all.

Your affectionate son,

WALTER


Does anyone else want to see the rest of these letters? I've obtained copies of his and his brothers.