21st North Carolina Infantry & 1st Battalion North Carolina Sharpshooters

Item CON-11484

Description

Original Civil War Confederate soldier's letter. 2 pages written in period pencil.


Camp Walker
January 6, 1862
 
Dear Sister,
 
It is with pleasure that I again seat myself to address you a few lines to let you know that I am well at present.  I have not received a letter from any of you in over a week and I don’t know what to make of it.  
 
The ground is now covered with snow and I believe that we will have more before long. Our cabins are not finished yet.  But it won’t be long before they are.  But we keep as comfortable as there is any need, for the snow is not very deep.  It just covers the ground.  But they say that in the winter, snowstorms are very frequent and I don’t believe that our tents would stand that.  Up about Thoroughfare and Broad Run they are butchering thousands of hogs and so you need not be afraid that the Army will suffer any this winter.  
 
I was up on New Year’s night until after 12 o’clock.  That is, I was on guard and stood from 11 to 1 in the night.  So, I was on the last hour in 1861 and the first in 1862.  Just about 12 o’clock, a musket was fired close to us in another regiment in a band from an Alabama Regiment began to play and continued well for about an hour.  New Year’s Day was a beautiful day.  The nicest that I have seen in a long time.  On real cold nights, the guard don’t have to stand.  The Colonel takes them off at 9 o’clock.
 
I was up at the station yesterday and I never seen so much difference in a place in so short a time in my life.  There are a great many buildings there.  But just slightly put up.  Every state has its different depot which we want to see if there is anything for our Regiment.  We must go to the North Carolina Depot.  Well, you can’t imagine what a quantity of things there are at that little hog stable of a place.  
 
I don’t know what to write now, so I must close.
 
Write to me soon and don’t forget it and ask Johnny if he should like to be here on that I could whip right good.
 
The other day I walked through the battlefield of 18 July near Blackburn Ford and seen where the corpses of several dead Yankees were dug out and almost every bone taken.  I got a rib and was going to send it home.  But I thought you perhaps did not want it and throwed it away.  Do you want a bone?  If you do, I will get you one.
 
Your affectionate brother,
 
A. A. Clewell