175th Pennsylvania Infantry

Item LTR-533

Description

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

175th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, Col. Samuel A. Dyer
Company I
Suffolk Va Dec 2nd, 1862
Dear Wife,
After writing you from Washington on Saturday last, we remain in the barracks, all sleeping on the floor but quite comfortable as there was a good fire in the building.
Early the morning of Sunday the last day of November, we were up, had our breakfast again and then marched thru Washington to the landing on the Potomac to embark for Fortress Monroe. While waiting at the landing for the luggage to get onboard, Maj. General Burnside passed onboard a steamer. We did not know that it was General Burnside until he was past. At about 1 o’clock, we started from Washington in the Steamer Georgia. We arrived at Alexandria where we stopped and coaled and got in some quartermaster’s stores and at 4 o’clock sailed again for Fortress Monroe. We arrived off the Fortress at 9 o’clock Monday morning and then left for Norfolk VA, where we arrived at about 2 o’clock. We passed where the great rebel vessel Merrimac was burned. We took the cars from Norfolk and arrived at this place, which is 23 miles from Norfolk, about dark. It was raining and we had to remain on the ground without shelter for a couple of hours when our baggage came up and we pitched our tents. It was so damp we did not sleep much and this morning our tents were all taken down and put up in better style. We will soon be as comfortable as we can expect. Our living is pretty good. We had for dinner today good pork, bread, coffee, & potatoes. We are in the enemy country, thus pickets being very near us. Yesterday, a party of 3000 of our men started out a few miles from here where the rebels were building a fort on a stream called the Black Water. This morning, we heard their cannons roaring and we have just been informed by soldiers who were there, that our party drove in the rebel pickets, killing a number and taking several prisoners together with some horses. So you see, dear wife, we are close to the enemy. There are about 35,000 thirty five thousand soldiers here so we have quite a town of soldiers. We breakfasted this morning on our sausage and you would have laughed to have seen the looks of the boys when your husband put his pan of sausages on the fire. I do not think they would have been more surprised if I had put on a bucket of ice cream.
Everything is very high here. Sugar is 20 cents per pound; flour $18oo per barrel. We are within about one mile of the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry in which Mathew McHenry and John McDonald is in. I want to get up and see them as soon as possible.
I am quite well and good spirits. With love to the children and hoping you may continue well. I close with Love. Your affectionate husband,
William Weir
Write to me and direct
William Weir
Care of
Captn Thos A. Hicks
Co. I, 175th Regiment
Pennsylvania.
Drafted Militia
Suffolk
Virginia