46th Pennsylvania Infantry

Item LTR-9104

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 2 pages, written in period ink.


Camp near Alexandria, VA
May 11, 1865

My Dear Friends,

I received Pa’s letter the same day or the day before we left Camp Reynolds. The business of the Camp prevented me from answering it immediately. And after we had gotten on Governors Island in NY Harbor, I did not think it advisable to write because we were expecting to go home any day and indeed that was the orders received by the authorities at NY. But I suppose in order to make a little more money out of us, we were sent here to Alexandria. From here we expect to be sent back to our own state to be mustered out and paid off when our regiments and Corps arrived at this place which is expected next Monday. We were assigned to the 46th Regiment, 20th Corps, Sherman’s Army which will be among the first of Sherman’s troops here. Governor Curtin was here a few days ago and secured an order form the war department to send his men to their own state. We had a hard time on the ocean going from Castel Williams to Fortress Monroe. I have seen the ocean in its two great phases. That of a calm and a storm and I am satisfied with boats. (For the full particulars of this visage, I would refer you to a letter I have written to Mary today. I hope you will see her as often as you can anyway). We started from Castel Williams on Sunday last about noon. We arrived at Fortress Monroe Monday night at 11 o’clock, traveling about 350 miles. I was well but nearly half of our company were sick. The storm through we came is reported to have disabled our vessel so much as to prevent her from ever getting back to NY again. I like our new camp better than any that I have been in before. We are at liberty here to go almost where we please. In every other pace except Fortress Monroe, we have been closely guarded by regulars or old soldiers detailed for that purpose. It’s getting so late that I must stop writing. Be sure and send a line to me soon. For I am very anxious to know if you are all well or not. Tell Charley to excuse me for not writing to him. I think if he had to wrote on his knee outdoors in the wind he would not write much either. Address: Alexandria, VA.

Yours truly,

B. Sunderlin

(Don’t mention Regiment or Corps)