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units:cook_s_battery_boston_light_artillery_primary_sources [2019/06/27 14:35] admin |
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+ | Letter of Caleb Mortimer, ca. June 16, 1861, Gilder-Lehrman Collection | ||
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+ | Relay house Md, 1861 | ||
+ | |||
+ | Dear Wife | ||
+ | |||
+ | I received a letter from you today | ||
+ | dated April 29 and also my pipe and | ||
+ | it made me feel glad to get a letter from you | ||
+ | and the old pipe was like seeing an old friend | ||
+ | where the letter has been I am at a lose to | ||
+ | know since I wrote to you we have moved | ||
+ | from Annapolis a week ago last Saturday night | ||
+ | about twelve o’clock we were waked up and ordered | ||
+ | to pack traps and prepose to start and about | ||
+ | half past six in the morning we were on the road | ||
+ | and marched all day about thirty miles through | ||
+ | one of the worst roads one ever did see and | ||
+ | the last part of our journey in a drenching rain | ||
+ | and when we arrived here you never did see | ||
+ | a man more completely used up set of men and horses | ||
+ | you cannot Imagine we put up that night in an | ||
+ | old house said by neighbors to be haunted | ||
+ | but you better believe the ghosts did not haunt | ||
+ | us much that night and the next day we moved | ||
+ | on the hill about half a mile from the house and | ||
+ | commenced a camp and now we are encamped here | ||
+ | in my next letter I will give you a description | ||
+ | of the camp and how we live about a week | ||
+ | ago I need orders to get my section ready | ||
+ | |||
+ | and in a half an hour we were ready to start | ||
+ | and marched down to the depot and putting | ||
+ | our two pieces aboard the cars and started | ||
+ | towards harpers ferry and when about ten miles | ||
+ | from this place we disembarked and took possession | ||
+ | of the renowned steam gun and four mules which was | ||
+ | on its way to harpers ferry to the sesesion army there | ||
+ | and brought it safe back to our camp and we | ||
+ | have it here now and it is quite a curious machine | ||
+ | and if is does what its inventor claims for it is | ||
+ | a murderous weapon throwing three hundred balls | ||
+ | per minutes and if such is the case it is better in our | ||
+ | hands than that of an enemy. It is a big machine | ||
+ | looking about as much like a shark as anything I can | ||
+ | think of and weighing about four or five tons. | ||
+ | Last Monday while we building a shanty I received | ||
+ | an order to have my section ready to march in | ||
+ | twenty minutes and you better believe we dropped the | ||
+ | tools and went I walked in double quick time and | ||
+ | started for the depot again and getting our pieces | ||
+ | aboard the cars together with our horses and on | ||
+ | the same train the Sixth Regiment of Mass. and | ||
+ | apart of the Eight Regiment of New York and learned | ||
+ | that our destination was Baltimore and as we neared | ||
+ | that city every eye was on fire and every tooth set for | ||
+ | we expected a warm reception we arrived about seven | ||
+ | o’clock in the evening took our pieces off the cars and | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | the Infantry disembarked and formed units | ||
+ | a hollow square and my sections of artillery in the | ||
+ | centre and wo be to the party that had attacked | ||
+ | that regiment that night but we marched through | ||
+ | the city without the least disturbance and halted | ||
+ | on the top of Federal Hill about a mile from the | ||
+ | centre of the city and just as we stopped then | ||
+ | came up on of the hardest thunder storms I ever | ||
+ | did see and not a sign of a shelter for horses | ||
+ | or men and it never rained harder finaly we | ||
+ | found a place to ty our horses to a fence and | ||
+ | a room about twelve feet square for the men | ||
+ | and we had hardly got our horses unharnessed | ||
+ | when the long roll was beat which summons every | ||
+ | man to arms and the horses was harnessed again | ||
+ | and every man in the camp was turned out in | ||
+ | the storm expecting an attack as the officers heard that | ||
+ | there was a row going on downtown and might | ||
+ | come up to catch us napping but if they had they | ||
+ | would have met with a terrible reception as my | ||
+ | guns was placed one commanding one street and | ||
+ | the other gun commanding the other and we were | ||
+ | well flanked with Infantry but nothing came but | ||
+ | we stood at our guns all night in the drenching | ||
+ | storm the men built about fifty camp fires on | ||
+ | the hill and the way they piled on the wood was | ||
+ | a caution to the city folks it was the wildest scene | ||
+ | |||
+ | ever witnessed the men was lying on the ground | ||
+ | with a cord wood stick for a pillow and in the | ||
+ | morning a harder looking set you never did see | ||
+ | but the next morning came out bright and | ||
+ | warm and dried them up somewhat and | ||
+ | in the afternoon the camp equipage arrived | ||
+ | including tents and cooking utensils and the next | ||
+ | night we passed as comfortable as could be | ||
+ | in the afternoon. I was busy writing as mounted | ||
+ | orderly for General Butler and rode almost | ||
+ | all over Baltimore delivering dispatches and without | ||
+ | the least trouble in fact the city has entirely | ||
+ | changed the next day Major Cook sergt Wright | ||
+ | and myself as escort to the General and staff | ||
+ | accompanied him to the Gilmor House which is by | ||
+ | the way the Revere House of this pace to dinner | ||
+ | and your husband had the honor of taking | ||
+ | dinner with the General and also as escort | ||
+ | the party back to quarters. I am getting short of | ||
+ | paper and must stop the next time I write I | ||
+ | will give you some more of our adventures in the city | ||
+ | and also of our return give my love to father and | ||
+ | mother and the children and all friends. | ||
+ | Write often for nothing is so pleasant as to get a letter | ||
+ | from home direct your letters the same as before to | ||
+ | Annapolis and I shall get them from your affectionate Husband | ||
+ | Caleb | ||
+ | |||
+ | Caleb Mortimer\\ | ||
+ | Gilder-Lehrman Collection | ||
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