Near Farmington, Miss., May 28, 1862 We moved up here this morning under the hottest sun and over the dustiest roads, and I then helped the major lay off the camp, and pitched our tents ourselves. Gracious, how hot it was! I worked and sweated and blessed General Pope for ordering us forward on such [...]
Camp on Corinth Road, Miss., May 27, 1862. Why don’t you write me just a word, if no more? I’m almost uneasy. Not a line from home for a month. We hear that smallpox is raging in Canton, and—I want you to write. They say there is some smallpox in the center and right of [...]
Near Corinth, Miss., May 24, 1862. I returned last night from a two day’s scout. Our orders were to scour the country along the Tennessee river to near Eastport and return through Iuka, Burnsville and Glendale. A Michigan colonel commanded the party and skipped Iuka three miles. There were little bands of Rebels in sight [...]
Near Corinth, Miss., May 19 ,1862. Our regiment now is acting as a kind of rear guard for Pope’s division. The enemy’s cavalry in bodies of from 1,000 down have been running around our left flank and threatening to interfere with our trains. Every day we send out six companies to patrol between here and [...]
Still in Camp near Corinth, Miss., May 15, 1862. It seems to me that we are a long time in bringing this “muss a la probable” to a focus. What under the sun our Halleck is waiting for we can’t guess. One hour’s march will commence the struggle now and you don’t know how anxious [...]
Corinth and Hamburg Road, Miss., May 11, 1862. You remember that in my last I spoke of a reconnoisance our people made on the 8th inst. On the 9th Beauregard returned it with interest, driving our advance back some two miles and almost scaring this wing of the Eagle. He appeared on our left flank, [...]
Near Farmington, Miss., May 8, 1862. I’ve been within one and a half miles of Corinth to-day. Didn’t see anything especially worthy of mention, but had full rations in the way of leaden bullets whistle. Yea, and larger missiles also. For four days past our battalion has been the advanced picket of Pope’s army, full [...]
Headquarters 7th Illinois Cavalry Camp, on Hamburg and Corinth Road, May 3, 1862. I arrived here yesterday in safety. Stayed in Peoria the Monday night that I started, and was in Cairo at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Woke up Thursday morning on a boat at Paducah and devoted the day to admiring the Tennessee river. Stopped [...]
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. On Steamer Henry Clay, off New Madrid, Mo., April 16, 1862. I finished my last in a great hurry, helped strike and load our tents and equipage and [...]
Camp New Madrid, Mo., April 12, 1862. I have the extreme happiness to inform you that there is at last a hope of my dating the next letter from Memphis or vicinity. Our regiment has for several days been alone at Point Pleasant and we enjoyed it very much. When we are under a general [...]
April 10.—The Rebels have run and left Island 10, and our boys have taken some 2,000 of them prisoners below here. They passed up on a boat this morning. We will be paid off to-day or to-morrow.
Headquarters 7th Illinois Cavalry, In a very fine House, Point Pleasant, Mo., April 7, 1862. If this isn’t fine your brother is incapable of judging. Cozy brick house, damask curtains, legged bedsteads, splendid tables and chairs, big looking glass, and everything just as fine as a peacock’s tail. I do wish you could have been [...]
April 5, 1862.—One of our boys has just returned from Madrid and says he saw our gunboat Cairo there. She slipped by the batteries at “Island No. 10” in the storm last night. Mosquitoes here already.
Camp, near Point Pleasant, Mo., April 4, 1862. I received your last letter within three days after it was mailed, and praised Uncle Sam duly therefor. Our regiment has had a run of bad luck since we’ve been here. Two men killed on the plank road, two wounded at same place, two killed by falling [...]
Point Pleasant, Mo., March 28, 1862. There isn’t a thing to write only that they keep up the infernal “boom, boom,” with their cannons all day and night long. It’s perfectly disgusting the way they waste powder and iron without killing anyone. They have knocked every house in town to flinders, and round shot and [...]
Camp near Point Pleasant, Mo., March 26, 1862. It is, to-day, very much warmer. I’m altogether too hot to be comfortable in my shirt sleeves. Don’t know what is to become of us in July if it is so hot in proportion. I shake in my boots at the thought of the mosquitoes, flies, etc., [...]
Point Pleasant, Mo., March 24, 1862. It’s only 9 a. m, and didn’t get to bed until 2 this morning, so if I do not talk rational you will excuse me. That isn’t the excuse either. I rode 50 miles between 9 a. m. yesterday and midnight over roughest road. Two hundred of us were [...]
Twentieth.—To-day ’tis cloudy and we have fire in the tent and I wear my cloak besides. There are no news of any kind to-day. We are on a little piece of dry land here (some of the earthquake’s “get up” I suppose) entirely surrounded by swamps of the vilest kind, cane and cypress. We have [...]
Near Point Pleasant, Mo., March 18, ’62. You see we are creeping along down the river surely if the motions are a little slow. This is about 12 miles below Madrid and said to be 75 or 80 below Cairo. It is said that the Rebels have between a dozen and 20 steamboats above here, [...]
New Madrid, “by Jingo;” March 14, 1863. Night before last we received four heavy guns from Cairo and two or three of these infantry regiments planted them during the night within a half mile of the enemy’s main fort and within three-fourths of a mile where their gunboats lay. The seceshers discovered it at daylight [...]
Yet near New Madrid, March 12, 1862. The enemy are separated from us by only a few cornfields, the country is perfectly plain; we can see from our tent door the smoke stacks of their gunboat, and the music of their bands mingles with our own and yet ’tis confounded dull. I received a letter [...]
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. Near New Madrid, Mo., March 6, 1862. What oceans of fun we are having here. Here goes for all of it to date, and I’ll be lucky if [...]
Commerce, Mo., February 25, 1862. We start to-morrow morning for ______ with from 25,000 to 40,000 men, who are all piled up here in all kinds of shifts. Our regiment takes the advance. At a venture I’ll bet we get whaled, by vastly superior forces. Goodnight.
Headquarters 7th Illinois Cavalry, Cape Girardeau, Mo., February 19, 1862. Aren’t things working right now? Do you notice the accounts of the old 8th, and will you say again that I got out of her ranks at the right time? I knew that the 8th would never make her colonel (God bless him!) to blush, [...]
Cape Girardeau, Mo., February 14, 1862. Sam arrived here to-night and brought me everything I could wish for except my watch. Jem Harper from Company K is home on furlough and we expect him now shortly, also Benton Spencer. If you could manage to send the watch by one of them I would be much [...]