34th New York Infantry - Christmas Eve

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 4 pages, written in period ink.

The Capitol at Washington
Christmas Eve

Headquarters, 34^th Regiment, Company E
Camp McClellan, 1861
Poolesville

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Grandma, I thought that I would write you a few more lines while I was about it.  We are having so much duty to do nowadays that we have to do our writing nights.  And we hardly get to writing before the drum beats the revile for us to fall in for roll call and in a few moments after that, the drums beat the taps for the lights to be extinguished.  And the officer of the day goes all through the camp.  And if he finds any lights burning, it is his duty to put the ones that is using them in the guard house.  But they cannot fool this chicken much, when I hear the approach of the footsteps of the officer of the day, I put the light in under a large cup that I have and when his footsteps recede, then I take the cup off from the candle and commence operations again as usual.  As if nothing ever happened.  But if they should catch me at it, good day Tom, but there is nothing like playing fire in the army since it is nearly one o’clock at night.  But then we all do enough every day to get put in to the guard house for.  But the inmates of the guard house has never been honored with my presence yet.  I hope that they never will be either.  Our company has had the least ever in the guard house of any company in the regiment.  Up to then we have played a great many a roles since we have been delivering.

Grandma, if there is any one up your way that speculates much you can tell them that they can make their fortune down here.  I will give you a list of the prices of things down here.  Apples is worth from eight to eleven dollars per pound, butter is worth 30 cents per pound, cheese is 20 cents, eggs 30 cents per day.  And in fact, everything is in like proportions to the above-named articles.  I paid 10 cents for two common sized apples the other day.  I told you that I would give you a list of the things that we have had since that we have been in the army.  Four pair of pants, four pair drawers, four pair socks, two pair of shoes, four shirts, one every day coat and one nice tip coat.  Then things that I have just mentioned are good woolen guards, one stock, one dog collars, as we call them, they are made of leather, one knapsack, one haversack, one canteen, one a cartridge box, suede cap box, belt and bayonet sheath, one gun and bayonet, and there is other things that we have had that I cannot think of just now, oh we have had one cap and one nice belt but with all of the trainings you can see that now, oh we have had one cap and one nice belt.  But with all of the trainings you can see that it costs Uncle Sam a quite a sum to clothe and furnish one man with all of his equipment necessary for a soldier, what must it cost to fit up to seven hundred thousand men ready for service.  I am afraid that it would make a poor man of me to take care of so many men.

Tell Horatio that Fairfield Smith has been sick for a great while, and is quite feeble and has just got a furlough and started for home this morning.  Tell Mr. North that I cannot find that regiment that his grandson is in but that I will not give up the idea of ferreting him out for I feel sorry for the poor fellow about not getting letters from his friends, etc..  I think that after a while that I will run about him.

Well, there grandma, tis rather the dullest and coldest Christmas that I can recall before in my life.  I could get along on standing guard today, provided that I could get something good for my Christmas Dinner.  But that is out of the question.  We have run rather short of provisions for a few days back.  But as a general thing we have no reason to complain.  For we live good enough for soldiers, to be sure if we were at home, we would want to live better.  But there is a great many poor at the North that does not begin to live as well as the soldiers.  We may search the annals of history and we cannot find where that there has been an army get up so soon and armed and so well fed and clothed as the present army is.

I must bring my letter to a close for now.  It is after one, and I have to go out as guard.  Please excuse this poor writing.  I am in such a hurry that I can hardly write.  Please give all of our friends out your way my best wishes and love and tell them that I am well, hale and hearty and like soldiering first rate.  I would not be much surprised but what we will be in better when this letter reaches you.  If we do, I will try and kill a secesh for you and Uncle North.  Give all of your family my love and regards.  And please write soon and close yours as usual and eat a good New Year’s dinner.  Accept my love.

T. H. Guinnip