28th New York Infantry

Item LTR-9703

Description

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


May 28, 1861

William Hunter

My Dear Friend,

I write to you because I feel in the humor of writing and for another reason i.e., I know you will be glad to hear from me and know exactly how this soldiering suits my taste. Well it is a new kind of business and requires a great deal of patience to get along comfortably, again it is pretty much of a d—d farce (this war). From beginning to end and is more of a paper fuss than anything else; all the talk about fight to the contrary notwithstanding. There is quite a fuss brewing between the State and United States to determine which shall pay off the troops since they were enrolled previous to their being mustered into the U.S. service. And it is also said that the general government expects the separate states to pay off their own troops if this is the fact there the U.S. is to pay and no case on hand.

We have all kinds of rumors here the same as you have at home without one grain of fact in every hundred bushes of chaff. For instance take the case of our own Regiment (the 28th). One day it is said we are to go into barracks at the Industrial School buildings. Again that we are to go to camp two miles down the River. Again its confidently stated that we have received marching orders and are to start for Fort Monroe in a day or two now. All of this is d—d wrong and nothing else.

I don’t believe from the appearance now that we will ever get a shot at any of the southern cowards. The fact of the business is they won’t come to the scratch, but then we must make a fuss and a great noise in order to keep up appearances that’s all there is about it. We have officers ranking from ensign to Brigadier General and darned if I believe any of them know anything about military to drill a company to make it. The fact is everything in Albany has to be run through just so many committees before it can be acted upon and by the time that is ready the country can (and as a general thing) does get along without it. So it is with this war and everything connected with it.

Jack, Jim and myself are quite well. Write to me in care of Captain Fitzgerald, Albany NY.

I am yours sincerely,

Chas. F. Biddlecome

Mr. William Hunter, Farmington, NY