13th Vermont Infantry

Item LTR-7429

Description

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


February 25th 1864
Occoquan River near Wolf Run Shoals

Dear Father and Mother,

Yours came to our camp last Friday when I was in Washington. I got a pass to go there last Thursday. Started for Fairfax Station with Orlo Judson about 4 o’clock about 6 miles from here. Stayed all night. Started about 7 in the morning for Alexandria. Got there about 9. Got on a boat, went over to Washington. Went to the Capital. Went in to the House of Representative. They was a New York Man was talking about some banking question. Not very interesting to us so we went to the mission which finished out the day. We saw in the Capital the original Declaration of Independence. It looked old. Most of the name were faded out. So you could hardly read them. Went to a hotel. Engaged lodgings, got some supper, then went to the theater. Which lasted till midnight. The next morning after breakfast we went to the Patent Office. It would take a year to look at everything over. We saw a great many things worth looking at. The best was a suit of General Washington’s cloths and some of his furniture and his army chest and sword. And a great many things besides. Andrew Jackson’s coat he wore in the Battle of New Orleans. But I could not think of half we saw there. It took nearly all the forenoon and we looked at most of the things on the walk, things the most interesting we would stop a while. In the afternoon we went up to Fort Mass where the 11th Regiment are. Saw T. Fuller, P. Pike and the rest of the stone boys. E. Dunam and Augusta. She does washing for some of the boys, 60 some serving has 50 cents each a month. Hers a hand washing day.

I stayed there two nights. We then started for the city. We went directly to the landing. Got on a boat and went to Alexandria, got to the depot just in time to see the cars going and out of sight. So we had to stay over until the next day. At eleven we started for camp. Got there about 3 last night and feel well paid for going. Warren wanted to know what time we thought our time was out there. Various opinions about it. I do not see how they can keep the men that were drafted more than nine months from the time of draft and the rest of us are in the place of drafted men. But I do not know and shall not care so very much if I have my health. Although I would like to be at home to help hay. If I could but we shall not have so hard a time as the three year men will. They are all getting sick of the war. A great many are deserting. There was 16 from one company in the Pennsylvania Regiments deserted at one time. And I have heard a great many say that they should take French as soon as they were paid the next time, well I guess this time. So good bye.

Write as often as you can.


A. W. Town