Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“A more complete scene of desolation cannot be imagined.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Lagrange, Tenn., April 24, ’63. We have just returned from the hardest and yet by far the most pleasant scout in which I have up to this time participated. We started from here one week ago to-day, Friday, and my birthday (how old I am getting) on the cars. We were [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Every newspaper I read raises my disgust ten per cent.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Lagrange, Tenn., April 14, 1863. I am brigadier officer of the day again, and of course it is a rainy, muddy, disagreeable day. Visiting the pickets occupied my whole forenoon and I rode through a constant rain. You may consider it an evidence of perverted taste, or maybe demoralization, or possibly [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“We still continue to guard against daybreak surprises by rising at 4 a.m., and standing at “guard against secesh” until daylight.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Board of Survey Office, Lagrange, Tenn., April 6, 1863. I was in Memphis a few days since. It is quite a lovely town and quite Northern-like in its general appearance. Many of the blocks would pass muster creditably in Chicago, though the numerous fires it has furnished for the edification of the “Vandal Yankees” have [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“The 6th boys deserve infinite credit for their fighting, and their colonel, a rope for his carelessness.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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The following material contains wording that may be  offensive to many in the world of today. However, the work is provided unedited for its historical content and context. Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Lagrange, Tenn., March 31, 1863. I have lost my negro, Bob. The cavalry have been indulging in a pretty rough fight near here, [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“’Tisn’t safe to go three miles from camp now, although 100 men can go 40 miles in any direction safely.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp at Lagrange, Tenn., March 29, 1863. All perfectly quiet except the regular picket firing every night which here exceeds anything I ever before met in my experience. ‘Tis singular, too, for we have a large force of cavalry here and I should think the rascals would hardly dare to venture so near them. A [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“’Twas certainly censurable in our post commander’s sending so light a guard with so large a train..,”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Lagrange, Tenn., March 19, 1863. Nine whole days of the most beautiful sunshiny weather imaginable. Warm as our home June, almost. The boys bathe in the river that runs near our camp. The little birds warble in the trees, the beautiful young ladies walk out to enjoy the gentle spring breezes. [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“This town has been most shamefully abused since we left here with the Grand Army last December.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Lagrange, Tenn., March 15, 1863. I have just returned from a walk to and inspection of the cemetery belonging to this nice little town. There, as everywhere, the marks of the “Vandal Yankees” are visible. The fence which formerly enclosed the whole grounds has long since vanished in thin air, after [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Have so much to do that I see I will have to stop this letter writing business.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., March 9, 1863. We leave here again in the morning for the Grange. Ordered to report there immediately to relieve a regiment, the 6th Iowa, which is going down the river. Am right glad to be again on the way. Can’t think that we will stay there long, though [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“I think I have had less trouble in my company than most of the officers.–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., March 7, 1863. The rumors from Vicksburg in the Tribune of the 5th are enough to make one’s flesh creep, and more than sufficient to account for my little touch of the blues I do feel to-night as though some awful calamity had befallen our army somewhere. God grant [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Never since I first entered the service have I passed two months in which there seems so little worth remembering.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., March 5, 1863. You certainly should not complain of my neglect, in writing no more than once in ten days while we are quartered at such an intolerably stupid place as this, for there really have not been two incidents ocurred worthy of notice, since we pitched our tents [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Our pickets have been fired on twice during the last two days. Nobody hurt, I believe.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., February 25, 1863. I guess it’s full two weeks since I wrote you last, excepting a half sheet a few days ago. My reason is that it has been raining ever since, and my tent leaks so that (that’s rather a larger story than I think you’ll swallow, so [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“The regiment is going to the d___l as fast as time will let it;”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., February 18, 1863. The prominent rumor to-day, and one in which there seems to be considerable stock taken, is that Governor Yates has obtained authority from the general government to have several regiments from Grant’s army returned to Illinois, as a kind of public police. That is, to repress [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“You certainly have to measure men by different standard in the army from that used at home.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., February 15, 1863. It’s 11 o’clock now, so I haven’t much time to write. We’ve been having some trouble in the regiment this week. The colonel appointed Lieutenant Mattison, captain of Company “I,” vice Medley, resigned, and Lieutenant Dorrance, captain of Company K, to fill the vacancy occasioned by [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“I have advised my men to whip any enlisted man they hear talking copperheadism..,”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Ninth.—Papers of the 6th give me much pleasure. The dashing move of the ram “Queen of the West,” the gallant fight of our soldiers at Corinth, are certainly enough good news for one day. At noon roll call to-day, I spoke to my men of the resolutions passed by the officers at Corinth and approved [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Just as true as there is a God, if I was provost marshal in Fulton County, with my company for a guard, I’d hang at least ten men whose names I have.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., February 7, ’63. There was a dose of medicine administered to the command in this district yesterday that will certainly be productive of good. I already feel that it has indued me with fresh vigor and really made me quite young again. “The sale or introduction of the Chicago [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“I tell you, between ourselves, that of the 30 line officers there are not more than six that are worth their salt.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., February 1, 1863. I’m on duty as “field officer of the day,” and have been temping around in the mud looking to policing, guards, etc., and just now a detail has come for me to go on picket to-morrow. I was only relieved from picket yesterday morning. We are [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Officers are beginning to resign in a very lively manner in our regiment.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp Reed, Jackson, Tenn., January 22, 1863. I received your four-volume letter of the 5th, 12th, 13th inst. last night, and return you my sincere thanks for the time and writing material you expended in my behalf. I suppose that you now understand why you did not receive my letters. You ask me how I [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“This is the first winter weather that we have had, and I’ll be willing if it proves the last,”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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The following material contains wording that is offensive to many in the world of today. However, the work is provided unedited for its historical content and context. Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., January 16, 1862. (1863) It commenced raining early the morning of the 14th and did not cease until about 2 a.m. the [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Its pretty well understood in this army now that burning Rebel property is not much of a crime.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Camp 103d Illinois Infantry, Jackson, Tenn., January 12, 1863. Your letters are beginning to come through with more regularity and on decidedly better time. Have received your date of December 30, although the last was dated November 16th, and was the first you wrote after we left Peoria. You bewailed our being sent south of [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“There is the d___st state of affairs in this country now that ’tis possible to think of.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Holly Springs, Miss., January 7, 1862 1. The colonel and I were ordered to report here to give evidence before the “Court of Inquiry,” convened to inquire into the case of the 109th Illinois Infantry reported for disloyalty. I started from Jackson yesterday but had to lay over at Grand Junction last night waiting for [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“The colonel commanding the 15th Illinois Infantry, which had just arrived, put me under arrest and stationed a guard around my company..,”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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January 4, 1863. There I quit, for we received orders to get ready at once to march to Jackson, Tenn. The colonel ordered me to take charge of the train (wagons) and with my company guard it through by the wagon road, while the other nine companies went through by railroad. The regiment got off [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“In the strip of country from Holly Springs to Coffeeville, for, say 15 miles wide, there is not enough left to feed 50 chickens a week.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Provost Marshal’s Office, Waterford, Miss., December 30, 1862. Fifteen days outside the world and still we live. No papers of later date than the 15th inst. have reached us, and ’twill be at least five days’ move before we can hope to see one. In that time there have been some six or eight fights [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“These successful raids of the enemy almost make me sick.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Provost Marshal’s Office, Waterford, Miss., December 23, 1862. Suspect this will be my last from this country. Where the army is going I know not, but the divisions which have been in front are now filing past us, faces northward. The movement commencing at the time of the raid on Holly Springs, gives it the [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“Colonel Dickerman appointed me provost and sent my company to guard a bridge one and one-half miles south of this place.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Provost Marshal’s Office, Waterford, Miss., December 12, ’62. From captain of the provost guard, I have been changed to provost marshal. I had charge of two companies, doing the guard duty for the provost of our division until yesterday; the division was ordered forward to Oxford, except our regiment, which was left to guard the [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

“The retreating Rebels destroyed every culvert and bridge as they fell back, and it of course takes time to rebuild so many.”–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

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Provost Marshal’s Office, 4th Division, Army of the Tennessee, near Tallahatchie, Miss., December 8, 1862. Still we tarry by the wayside anxiously awaiting the order to move forward. We did provide three days’ rations once, but devoured them without leaving camp. Two divisions, McKean’s and Ross’, have left here, while the remainder of the army [...]

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)