Chapter I: Introduction

Many of the letters written from the battlefield, camp, bivouac or during a halt on the march were lost. It has been necessary to condense those that were received in order to form them into a small volume. This was done by eliminating only the most uninteresting, personal matter that the letters contained and arranging them consecutively. With these exceptions, they are shown here exactly as they were written. This work was done with the greatest care possible by the surgeon’s daughter, who is President of the Daughters of the Confederacy for the State of South Carolina and is interested in preserving these letters for their historical value, as they give most vivid pictures of a soldier’s life in the Southern army.

CONTENTS

I

ARRIVAL IN VIRGINIA--BATTLE OF ELLYSON’S
MILLS--SEVEN DAYS’ FIGHT--WITH
STONEWALL JACKSON 9

II

MANASSAS AND SHARPSBURG (ANTIETAM)--BATTLE
OF FREDERICKSBURG--IN CAMP
NEAR FREDERICKSBURG 23

III

BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE--MARCH TO
PENNSYLVANIA--INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA--RETREAT
FROM GETTYSBURG--BATTLE
OF GETTYSBURG 49

IV

IN CAMP AFTER GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN--MILITARY
EXECUTIONS--A STRATEGIC
MOVE--RETURN FROM FURLOUGH--THE
SEVERE WINTER--SCARCITY OF FOOD 73

V

BATTLE OF WILDERNESS--THE “BLOODY ANGLE”--AT
PETERSBURG--CHAFFIN’S BLUFF--PETERSBURG
AGAIN 93