Letters

LETTERS FROM SOLDIER

Taken from This Regiment of Heroes, by Charles LaRocca.

FROM A MIDDLETOWN VOLUNTEER

Editor's Note: The following appeared in the Middletown Whig Press on October 15, 1862.
The following letter from one of the "Ellis Guards," Co. E, 124th N.Y.S.V., will give our readers an idea of their situation of the 'sacred soil':

Miner's Hill, Va.
Oct. 8, 1862

Friend C.

Our first camp ground after we entered Virginia was Camp Chase, about four miles from the Long Bridge. We remained there three days and then moved to Camp Ellis, a distance of about five miles. This was the nicest camp we had yet occupied. From it we had a view of both Washington and Georgetown, and with a telescope I could read a great many signs in the place. From there we moved to our present camp on Miner's Hill, where we have now been almost two weeks. Our camp is pleasantly situated on a small rise of ground gently sloping toward the . west, and is enclosed on two sides by woods. One thing we lack near our camp is a good parade ground. Every afternoon we have to go about two miles to drill. The parade ground is in sight of Fall's Church. Last Friday I was on picket duty almost three miles from camp, on the road toward Leesburgh. While there I saw and conversed with the mother and sister of Jackson, the man that shot Ellsworth. They both profess to be Unionists, but I would not give much for their Unionism, if put to the test. But very few people remain in those parts of the country held by our troops, and those are all, or pretend to be, Unionists. Everywhere can be seen the effects of the war. In some places, peach and apple orchards have been cut down to give range to cannon; and in others, large pine and oak trees have shared the same fate. In many places can be seen the remains of rebel barracks which were occupied by them last winter, but destroyed by our troops when they advanced. I wish you were here a short time to see what kind of houses the F. F. V.'s occupy around here. Most of them are composed of logs, filled in between with mud or something else to keep out the wind and rain. The land around here is not worth much. The farmers say that in the best times it never was worth more than $30 an acre.

Lewis

RECORD OF THE "ORANGE BLOSSOMS."

We give below a succinct record of the part taken by our Orange County boys of the 124th Regiment during the past year. It is a record to be proud of. The letter is from Mr. John W. Pitts to his brother in this village:

124th Regt. N.Y.S.V.
White Sulpher Springs Va.
September 8, 1863

One year ago today the 124th were in Washington, many of them for their first and last time. Our ranks were then full, and the regiment numbered about 980 men. Let us look back over the past year and see what there men have done. From Washington they marched to Arlington Heights and then to Miner Hill. We staid here till the 11th of October when we marched to Washington and took the cars for Harper's Ferry. We left the cars at Knoxville, a small place four miles from the Ferry, and marched back from the river and camped near Antietam Mountain. Our Division, (then commanded by Gen. Whipple) was ordered to Harper's Ferry, but Gen. Whipple marched us on down with the Army of the Potomac and camped us near Stoneman's Switch, where we staid till the Battle of Fredericksburgh. We then crossed the river, but our Brig. Gen. Piatt was thrown from his horse and hurt so that we were not called in. After the army recrossed the river we went to our old camp again. The last of April we had marching orders with 8 days rations. The 28th of April we marched about 8 miles down the river; the army was crossing in two places, below and above Fredericksburghthe 1st, 3d, and 6th Corps were at the left. On the 30th we were ordered to the right. We started about 2 p.m., taking a roundabout way, so that the rebs would not see us, and marched till 2 o'clock that night when we halted. Early next morning found us again on the march. We crossed the river and marched out to the fronthaving marched in less than 24 hours over 30 miles. We did not do much except move around and go on picket till the afternoon of the 2d of May. Gen. Hooker was shoving forward our lines when Stonewall Jackson threw his massed troops against the 11th Corps and they broke and got in our rear. That night we were on picket and fired a few shots at them. Early next morning we were engaged with them for three-fourths of an hour, and how well our regiment fought our list of killed and wounded will show. When we again recrossed the river we took our camp at the old place. On the 6th of June we again left our old camp in company with the 86th N. Y., Col. Ellis acting as Brigadier. We marched to Beverly Ford, and were there joined by several regiments of infantry and cavalry. Crossing the river we had a brush with the rebs and drove them. We then fell back this side of the river, and staid till the army started after Lee. Joining the army at Bealton Station we marched with them to Gettysburg, where we were again engaged on the 2d of July. Here it was that our brave Colonel and Major were killed and our Lieutenant Colonel wounded. For two and a half hours we held the ground against three times our number. Here, too, we lost a good many men. When the rebs retreated we followed them up, and at Manassas Gap we supported the skirmish line and had one man killed and one wounded. We drove the rebs out of the Gap, and then marched to Warrenton and from thence to White Sulphur Springs, about 7 miles from Warrenton, where we still lay, ready when the order comes to shoulder our rifles and again do our part in the War for the Union.

John W. Pitts