June 18th 1862
My own darling Bettie
Wednesday, the 18th June, finds us occu-
pying one of the most beautiful spots we have yet camped on
A belt of wood, sloping northward skirts a most charming
little stream, as rapid and restless as the times we live in,
though taking its rise from a few springs not more than 100yds
distant. Beautiful fields, covered with the richest grass, are spread
out before us. Horses and men, for the present are enjoying
most delightful repose. Merry, rolicking fun & the jocund
laugh have usurped the places of the stern look & war-worn
visage of the weary soldier. I suppose we have some 8,000 or 10,000
men camped around here, most of them, however, being reinforcements
lately brought out, and I can say with Coleridge that we appear
as lazy and "Idle as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean."
We have reason however to be very thankful, for we are mostly
very well, though some, a good many indeed, have given way
under the exposure of our late marches and have sever attacks
of fever & pneumonia. the Captain has been quite sick, and Lt
Cochran is just entering upon an attack of fever--has been
sick no some five days.--I seldom leave camp and
never except on business, and have but little intercourse
with the remainder of the world, excepting the army. But
camp life has its charms, as well as it sins and horrors
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No good soldier can pass through a campaign, however arduous,
without being able to say he has had many a happy hour;
but wickedness & religion, the serious & the profane, the amusing
and the ridiculous are here in most wonderful combinations.
Let me introduce to your acquaintance Segt Waller Holladay
He is our 6th sergt and commands the 5th gun & detachment.
He is quite a wonderful specimen of the "genus homo". He is a
lean man and short, has dark hair foxy eyes, blackish
sandy beard,
visage. He is a son of the Revd Mr Holladay, who was elected
prof (president) of H.S. College & died soon after. Waller first
saw the light in Turkey (I think) while his father was a missionary.
He is a boy of fine sense, can learn well, and has very con-
siderable literary & scientific attainments, and, for his age, is an
excellent mathematician; but he has about as little common
(very uncommon) practical sense as any man I ever saw.
Without him to amuse us we would miss many a hearty
laugh which we now enjoy. He knows nothing about riding
a horse, and we gave him a very good horse which had
some little spirit, and Waller was so afraid of it that we
had (at his most earnest solicitation) to trade it for "The Sergt's
little mare," which is now one of the best known personages
about camp. On our retreat, when we came to ford South River, the
ford was very deep & the current rapid, and one of the lead horses
of one of the carriages was washed down & cam very near being
drowned. The Sergt. had not crossed & was in great perplexity about
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about the status of his "little mare". We soon began to discuss the
question, & it was soon pretty generally concluded that Holladay's "little
mare" was a May colt and that such colts always were prone
to lie down in water. With equal unanimity it was soon
agreed that the only method of preventing such a dire calamity
was to tie up the "little mare's" tail, which was no sooner agreed
upon than done by the sergeant to the infinite amusement of
practiced
the bystanders who ^ upon his childish ignorance. The sergeants
mare has had a very sore back also, which it is said, the
sergeant proposed to relieve by shortening his stirrups and
rather standing up in them. But, upon inquiry, the sergeant
says, that, if any man says that he proposed any such
"he
remedy for a sore-back horse ^ tells a lie"----who comes there.
An orderly who brings news from our commanding officer--"Prepare
to march immediately & proceed by way of Staunton toward
Waynesboro"--Captain about--horses all out--many men all
about--hot as fire with the sun--such is war and so here
we go. My orders are "Prepare to march immediately--strike
tents--drivers to your teams!" I have my own horse to saddle
mess chest to put in &c &c, so goodbye for the present
[letter of James L. Dinwiddie, 1st Lt, Carrington's Company, Virginia Light Artillery will resume on the 20th]
MSS 10102
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