45th Pennsylvania Infantry - Wounded at Jackson, MS & Wilderness, VA

Item LTR-8957

Description

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


Headquarters, 45th Regiment, Company I
Pennsylvania Volunteers

Camp Wright, South Carolina

May 23rd 1862

North Edisto Island

Dear friends,

Once more, I sit down to write you a few lines to let you know that I am well, as usual. Yours of the 5th found me in due time. We were then under marching orders and I had wrote you a letter the day before. I thought that I would wait until we came to our stopping place. We are now about 15 miles from Charleston. There is about twelve thousand men on this Island. There is three regiments of Pennsylvania troops here: the 45th, 55th and 97th. There is a company of our regiment here. We heard today that the other four companies were coming here too.

I think that before you get this, there will be something done around Charleston. And I think that we shall see some of the secesh. They told us that we would be in Charleston before Sunday. I don’t hardly think that we will. For it is now Friday. There was orders read on dress parade last night. That we must be ready to march at six hours’ notice. With three days rations cooked and on hand all the time. And 60 rounds of cartridges with us. And I think that we will not have to take our knapsacks. Nothing but our blankets. We have done up our overcoats and packed them in large boxes. And left them in quartermaster care at Otter Island.

I did not know what the name of this camp was. So, I put it after the General Wright we are under.

There goes the band for guard mounting at nine o’clock. This is a very nice place around our camp. Plenty of blackberries here. The day that we came here on the boat, we came in sight of the rebels. They burnt a house across the North Edisto River, right opposite of where we are now.

Well, I will have to wind up for this time and I hope that we will be in Charles before I write again. Our Colonel has got a flag, 40 feet long, to put up on Fort Sumter. And I hope that we will go and put it up.

So no more at present. Direct as before. This from your brother.

William Chase

To G.W and M. H.
Stoney Fork, Pennsylvania


P.S. William Chase, Esquire
Port Royal, South Carolina
Company I
45th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers

W. C.