40th New York Infantry - Mozart Regiment

Item LTR-541

Description

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

Yonkers, NY

June 24th 1861

Dear Mary,

I have the opportunity of writing a few lines to you, so although I have a soiled piece of paper and a pen with no holder, I will try to do so, knowing that you will overlook such defects, and take the will for the deed.

I am writing with a bench for a desk and an ammunition box for a chair, while two chaps are engaged in a game of cards on the bench. Our company is on guard today, and I am on the “second relief.” What we call a “relief” is as follows. When any company goes on guard, the men are divided into three equal parties, each of which is called a “relief.” The first party goes on duty at 9 a.m. and stays on until 11. Then the second relief goes on until 1 p.m. while the 3rd goes on from 1 to 3. Then the first goes on again and so on until 9 the next day. Then they are done and another guard goes on.

Camp Wood
Near Yonkers, NY

June 27th 1861

Dear Mary,

At the point where the ink stops in this letter, I was interrupted by an order to fall in to get our knapsacks, India rubber blankets and percussion cap boxes. Having received them, we packed our knapsacks and at about 3 p.m. started from barracks. Instead of marching directly to camp, we were marched to our ordinary drill ground and went through many evolutions with our heavy packs strapped on. There was a large tent on the ground, and after parade we were marched through one by one. And behold! There on one side was a long row of tables, at which stood all the prettiest maids and matrons in Yonkers, with piles of large tin plates heaped with strawberries. While alongside stood bags of pulverized sugar and tub of A1 milk. Each man in turn received his plate full and passed on and after the regiment has gone through, the first men could come again and so on. I was invited in until I got three heaping plates, and to crown all, just as I was passing out with the third, a young lady threw a whacking big ladle full onto my plate. So I think I did pretty well.

When the berries were played out, we fell into ranks, took and shouldered arms, and marched to camp. It is named after Mayor Wood, of New York City, and consists of about 230 tents of various kinds, five men to a tent. Our tent is number 20, F Company and we have dubbed it the “Specimen Brick”. My number is F50.

One of our men smashed my toe with the butt of his gun, while we were drilling today or I would not have had time to write even to you. I am excused from afternoon drill.

We start for Philadelphia on Saturday and if you could come up in time and see me, I would be glad indeed. But I could not write before, and I can hardly hope that this will reach you in time.

As we are in tents now, the only desks we have are our cartridge boxes and the only writing materials, one lead pencil among twenty-five. Tomorrow the Union Defense Committee and Mayor Wood review us and will present us with a magnificent flag, and pay us our New York pay from May 25. This will come handy, as we are hard strapped for cash. I wanted to write home today, and to you and had but 5 cents and one envelope. So I had to borrow a cent and an envelope from my Captain.

Write soon and believe me that I desire it, for I have not received anything from you since the letter Kate sent me. And now, since this is to be my last letter before departing for the war, let me say to you, that whatever you may hear again from me, you will never take for true until you have seen me again, and if there are any things in my letters which you do not like, wait until you see me and give me the opportunity to explain them if I can.

Truly and Sincerely Yours Ever,

J. H. B. Jenkins

Miss Mary A. Benjamin
Care of John Lewis Jenkins, Esq.
Smyrna, Delaware