Friday, December 7, 2012

1862 December 8 near Aquia Creek




                                                 Head Quarters 1st Brigade Caseys Divis
                                                       Camp in the Field near Aquia Creek
                                                                               Dec 8th 1862    Va.
Dear Sister Helen
                                                         It is most 11 ock P.M. and I am
very tired but as I am anxious to let you know where
I am and how I get along I must write a few words
     We have been on the march 7 days now and have
seen some tough times     We left Fairfax Seminary
last Monday at 12  marched through Washington
and Uniontown making about 10 miles before night
the troops camped each side of the road and the
Genl & staff put up at a house that happened to be
near had supper – lodgings – etc breakfast and started
again at about 8 and so on each day making about
13 miles a day and camping about 4 ock in the first,
good ground, there were 2 Brigades ahead of us
and they made rather rough work all along the
route  killing pigs – sheep- poultry and even oxen
to eat but our Brigade did not act as bad
but they made – way with a good amount of turkeys
and pigs etc.  I have had a pretty easy time of it so
far as I have stayed with the Genl all the time
and he was fortunate enough to find a good
house to stay in every night except last night
when we stayed on the boat that ferried us across
the Potomac and tonight we have put up our
Head Quarters tents so that we are quite comfortable
but the boys have rather hard times of it as they
have only the little shelter tents that only hold 2
and have nothing but hard tack & Pork to eat –

   We are now just beginning to see the gay side of
soldering but I have enjoyed it amazingly and
feel better than I did when we were idle at camp
Casey & Chase   although we expect to see fighting
soon as we are within 8 miles of the Rebel army
we shall probably get orders of some kind to -
morrow as Gen only had orders to go to Aquia Ck
and shall then know what is to be our fate.
         I received a letter from Father last Tuesday
with 2$ also one from Geo & one from you yesterday
but my poor boxes I fear are doomed to stay at
Washington until I call for them on my way home
from the war for I have not seen or heard from
them further than that they left home & York about
2 weeks ago – Oh my from Thanksgiving dinner what
shall I do with it.. but I trust that as soon as
we make a stand for any little time they
will be brought up and that I shall get
the substansial [sic] part of the contents at least..
     I would like to write you a long letter and
tell you-all about our march through Maryland
but I am so tired that I cannot do it this
time but if we don’t move from here in a day
or two I will write again and “the next will
be longer”  I am very well and shall stand
it through I guess.  It is pretty cold weather
here now and it takes lots of wood to keep the
soldiers warm   I wish you could see the amount
of wood that they have burnt since yesterday
a pine grove about twice as large as “Hemlock grove”
has all been cut down and consumed already..
          Give my love to all the folks tell Father am
very thankful for the $$$ tell Chas to write me soon
tired  and in a hurry     Your brother   Jim..

James Howard, 15th Connecticut

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 12668

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