93rd Pennsylvania Infantry - Killed at Fair Oaks

Item LTR-6283

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 3 pages written in period ink.


Camp Tennally
March 23, 1862

Dear Mother,

Your very kind letter of the 20th came duly to hand and was very thankfully received. I am very glad you received the knapsack. For I think it is the last one that will be published. For the press has been sent to the city until we can settle down some place for to stay. It seems I have been favored a good deal as regards to health. For I have not had to take any medicine since I have been in the service. With the exceptions of the dose I took while I was home on a furlough. And my eyes were not sore but once since I left Leb. But they soon got well again. Since we got back from our tramp in Dixie, we have had two losses. (The one was the loss of our Band. They got tired of playing in the army so they went home. We miss them a good deal on dress parade and guard mounting. But still I guess we will have to get used to doing without a band.) The other loss was exchanging our old Belgium guns for Springfield muskets. Which pleases us very well. But we had a hard time a getting them. On Tuesday last we marched to the Washington Arsenal for to exchange our guns. The distance being 7 miles. We had a hard march of it. As we went down and back in about six hours. The distance being 14 miles and we did not stop over ½ hour through the whole march. And when we got to camp, we received orders to march the next morning. At 7 o’clock the next morning, we began to think they wanted to kill us right away. But before 9 o’clock that night the orders were countermanded and we were not a bit sorry. I close by subscribing myself,

Your affectionate Son,

A. Reynolds

(N.B.). You must not forget to give Anny a kiss for Alfie so that she will not forget him.

A. R.

Write soon.