27th Indiana Infantry

Item LTR-6976

Description

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


Kalarama
Washington Heights
September 21st 1861

It is a pleasant morning. The sun shines forth in all his majestic splendor and all nature seems to rejoice in this place. I am seated on the side of the heights just inside of the camp. The boys are out drilling and I have been out in the mountains surveying the curiosities of nature. The steep hill sides of the mountains and the rippling brooks surpasses all the world scenes I ever viewed.

We are situated on a high hill about three miles from the city and about six from the Rebels camp. But we are safe. For there are about 200,000 men between us. But there are scouts here every day or two from the Rebels and we have to be careful you know. When we started from home we traveled on very well for the first day. But all a horror we were running along very fast when all at once the cart was thrown off the track by an old bull and we were all piled up in a pile. But as the kind hand of providence guided us all, there was but one killed of the soldiers and one of the horses on the cart mashed up so he was not expected to live. We threw the broken carts off the track and got other carts and went on but the spirits of the boys were lost for the night. But the next day we got among the mountains and the scenery soon dispersed the gloom of everyone. The glens, mountains all together surprise us so that we forgot for the time everything else. But if you want a description I can’t give it at present, but just imagine yourself in the carts running along. On one side a mountain almost or higher as you can see beautified with rocks as white almost as snow. And on the other right perpendicular down nearly as far as you can see are the pine bushes and all kinds of shrubbery and at the bottom a beautiful mountain stream. I could write all day but I am so tired of setting here on the ground that I stop for the present.

Give my love to all my friends. Give Mary the directions and tell her to write as soon as she can. Get her to tell all the neighbors to write if they can.

P.S. There is some talk of us going to Kentucky. We can hear the cannon roar today in the course of the Chain Bridge we think.

Direct your letters in care of Captain W. W. Johnson, 27th Regiment, Company C, Indiana Volunteers, Washington.

To all, your son
L. H. Windship