168th Pennsylvania Infantry

Item LTR-5118

Description

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

January 16th 1863

Dear Sir,

I received your letter yesterday, the 15th inst., and was glad to hear from you and others of my friends and that your health was good. For the last few days I have been a little under the weather for a few days but I am now getting the right side up so that I can eat everything before me. I have written two letters home to Father giving them a slight history of my rounds but have received no answer yet. And I will give you a little sketch. We left Pittsburgh on the 3rd day of December and landed in Harrisburg on the 4th at 6 o’clock in the morning. We stayed there until 5 in the afternoon. We then mounted the cars for Baltimore and landed there at 2 o’clock in the morning. We then marched through the city to a house that is called the soldier’s relief. So we walked in and relieved ourselves by taking a short nap. We then got up and took breakfast and at ten o’clock we mounted the cars again for Washington City. So we landed there about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. We stayed there that night in the barracks with a pack of thieves. They would steal almost everything before them. I really do believe they would have stolen the shirt off my back had we not placed a guard around the pile They would kick up a fight among themselves to draw the attention of the crowd while others of their crowd would slip round and steal something. They have the most rogues there I ever say at the capital, both in it and out of it.

The next day we got on board a steamboat and started down the Potomac where we could not tell but finally we run in the Chesapeake Bay and it was not long that we could see land on one side and scarcely could see it on the other. The bay is said to be 45 or 50 miles wide in one place. We finally reached Fortress Monroe where we halted a short time. We then pushed on for Newport News, VA Where we encamped and stayed eleven days. From there we crossed the James River by way of Fortress Monroe and run up the Elizabeth River to Norfolk . From Norfolk we went to Suffolk. There we stayed eleven days. Then we got marching orders and left there the 28th day of December and marched on foot 3 days through mud and black water. The mud was about ankle deep and the water sometimes knee deep. The second day we traveled, we ran out of provisions and after that the slickest rogue could live the best. We were then in secessionist country. So we would dash in and help ourselves to whatever we could find, such as eatables, although such things were pretty scarce. Except at a few places where we made a pretty good haul. I think about 200 lbs. of pork and sweet potatoes from different places. We did not suffer very much in the outcome. More than walking and carrying heavy loads. There were hundreds of soldiers giving out and laid down by the roadside for my part I stood it very well. Better than I thought I could outlast. We come to the Shoal River. There we crowded in steam boats so think that we could scarcely stir.

There was about 4,000 of us in the train. So we crowded on different boats and started down the river. How far we rolled down that river I cannot tell. We ran through three sounds, the Albemarle Sound and the Pamlico Sound and the long sound and through Cape Hatteras, into the News River. Then up to New Bern, North Carolina where we are now encamped. This is nice level country here and the land apparently good. There is about 75 or 80,000 soldiers encamped here. And all apparently dissatisfied they say they do not wish to fight to free the Negroes for they think that is the policy of the war. I will have to bring my letter to a close and will give more satisfaction in the next. We have in this country a new kind of grape that is said to yield in abundance. The grape is said to be about the size of an ounce ball. I will send you a sample of the branches. I think you can get them so they will grow. No more at present but remaining your friend.

William C. Bowen Jacob Sine J. D. West
All well