4th Michigan Infantry

Item LTR-5165

Description

4 page original Civil War soldier's letter, written in period ink and war dated.

Headquarters 4th Regt. Michigan Infantry
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps
Camp at Green Lake, Texas
July 14, 1865

Dear Mother,

I received your letter of the 21st and was very glad to hear from you as it was the first letter I had read since I left Nashville. We broke camp at New Orleans on the 5th of July and laid around all that day in the sun till 8 P. M. when we got orders to move down to the landing. Expecting to find a boat there but there no boat for us, so we had to wait till the next night at 10 p.m. The transport Doris came up and our regiment and the 3rd were soon onboard and underway. The next morning we woke and found ourself on the Gulf of Mexico and the steamer rolling very heavy and it wasn’t very long before half of the regiment was seasick. Charley Tuthill was the first one in our company that was sick but he soon got better. Almost all of the officers were sick but I escaped, it did not affect me the least. The steamer we were on was very long and narrow but a very stout boat. We had several small storms and some rain that wet the men on the upper deck. We saw hundreds of porpoises and shot one. We were out of sight of land all day. We went on the next day and night and arrived at Indinola on Sunday morning. We could not get a boat to come out after us till Monday morning so we spent Sunday on the boat shooting at sharks. The would come up to the boat and swim around till they got 2 or 3 balls in them and then they would leave. We had to anchor 28 miles from shore. The water was too shallow for our steamer to run in. The boat came out after us and took us within half a mile of shore and from that we went onboard small sailing vessels and went to shore on a plain of sand with no water but salt water and we could not drink that so we laid around till 4 p.m. when we started for this place. We went through Indinola that is a small town with 1 street with a row of houses on each side. The street is a very nice one, it is white sand and as hard as marble. There is no one in the place, the houses and stores are all closed. We marched out 2 miles to where there was some fresh water and stopped to fill our canteens for it was the last water we could get for 18 miles and you may bet it was the longest 18 miles I ever walked. We got started at 4 p.m. and marched until 11 p.m. and laid down on the prairie to rest a few hours. We got up at 4 a.m. and started again this time we had not went far before the men began to give out for the want of water. We had marched then about 20 miles when we met a man and he told us we had 10 miles to go before we would come to any fresh water. So the colonel started and told the men that could stand it to follow him. When we got here we had about a 100 men in the regiment. I had 15 men out of 44 that I started with and that was more than any other company in the regiment. Had Charley Tuthill got through with me it was too bad to see the men fall out on the prairie where there was not a house in sight. We got here about 10 a.m. on the 10th and as soon as we could find horses, we took them and sent men back with water so we got our men all in. The last arrived here today they all say that they suffered awful. I saw men offer $5.00 for a drink of water. One man out of the 3rd Regiment died on the way. His name was Corporal Barbour. They buried him on the spot where he died.

It is 32 miles across the prairie and it is as level as a board. I did not see a tree on the route but I saw thousands of cattle. The prairie is covered with them when we want any beef we go out and shoot it. We are encamped man burnt lot it was the only place we could find where there was any shade. He says he has got three thousand head of cattle so you may make up your mind that I have seen more cattle together than there is in Oakland County. The prairie was covered for miles around. The lake is about as large as Case Lake and it is full of fish of all kinds and there is lots of alligators here the men have shot over a dozen some of them were very large. I think we shall lay here about a week and then move on. We have got about 40 miles to march from this place but there is plenty of water the rest of the way so you may not hear from me till we get through. You need not fret about me for I can stand it as long as the best of them. If you can read this you will do well for I can’t write today. I am so nervous but I thought I would let you know where I am.

So good bye from your affectionate son CJF