Archive 13 Letters 6th Maine Battery Civil War in Virginia Handwritten Battles

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Archive 13 Letters 6th Maine Battery Civil War in Virginia Handwritten Battles :
$332.81

This is a wonderful archive of 13 handwritten letters from members of the Brown family that were involved in the Civil War. Most of them were connected to the 6th Maine Battery and these were sent back home to Mary Brown in Bowdoinham. They are all from the war and have great content. Most have their original envelopes and are in good condition.

They say in part:

We arrived in Washington onthursday the 3rd of Aprilafter a very pleasant journey of three days by cars and boat. We were somewhat tired when we reached the Capital…we took quarters the first night in the Soldier’s Rest a large rough building near the depot…As my blanket was packed with the baggage, we Sergeants being privileged characters carry no knapsack, I shared a blanket with one of my boys and deposited my weary bones upon the floor and slept soundly till the bugle sounded the reiville in the morning…

At about elevenon Fridaywe formed a line and marched about a mile and a half east of the Capitol out to Capitol Hill where we pitched our tents…

Large brick building which was once a part of the old Capitol and is now used as a prison for rebel prisoners. Many of them were good looking fellows well dressed and the most of them very cheerful. They were singing, We’ll stand the storm, it won’t be long, for Beauregard ain’t dead yet…

We left Richmond in a few days after I wrote to your mother and most of us were discharged…Well Old Knig has been paying off all the time for two weeksSundayand allSaturday, he went to Harper’s Ferry and has not got back yet…

Jerome and I went up we are about 20 miles from Harper’s Ferry to work now and expect to go near to the front still but we can not…we are near enough to hear some big guns this morning and then some small ones nearby it made some of the boys stick out there eyes theory thought there were some guerrillas coming but we did not see any…

The boys came up to AlexandriaApril 22ndand stopped with me two hours then our gang was ordered out on the Loudon and Hampshire Railroad to take up a train of cars wrecked and so I did not have much time to talk with them…

We have had some cold weather here but nothing like Maine..Out company has ben split up one half of them have been detached and sent to City Point, Alonzo and Jerome had to go they went last Tuesday and there was ten of our men went to Norfolk…

I take this as a gentle hint that the favored one is now in the Grand Army and that when he returns something will be done, am I right? If so please tell me. He is a lucky fellow whoever he is and if he is not as worthy as he is fortunate, I hope some of Jeff Davis imps will get a fair shot at him before he has a chance to claim his lady love…

I am the sole occupant of our tent at present the Battalion having gone off down the road in fact the whole brigade has gone where I do not know,the orders were very strict to have everyman fit for duty that could be spared…The Rifle Pits are finished and the usual time is now spent in drilling. I have attempted to do duty twice but made a failure each time so I remain on the sick list yet…Mary says she is on a Committee to collect such articles as the soldiers need and inquires what they want most…I cannot tell of anything that our Regt is actually in want of we have had an abundance of clothing so far…Tell Mary B to be somewhat cheery of giving for the general benefit of the soldiers for very many things given in that way are appropriated by officers who have no right so to do and the poor soldiers to whom they rightfully belong do not receive the slightest benefit…

When the weather will permit we have to wade out in the mud at night to Parade after which we have to be formed in Close Column, Double Column or Square and listen to a prayer by the Chaplain and a hymn by the band…

The Bowdoinham boys in our Regiment were the receptions a few days ago of the first favor of any kind that we have received from the ladies of our town since we have been in the army in the shape of one fingered mittens, they are very nice ones..

I believe I have never written that we have a literary society int he Regt composed mostly of members of Co G several of them college students. I am a member also it is called the Stratapedian Society and I must confess that I have not the faintest idea what that word means…sometimes the Society resolves itself into a court for the trial of criminals at others into a Senate of the US and introduce bills…I sent also in my letter to him a McClellan Medal which I had given to me. I am apprehensive that somebody thought the medal was money and so appropriated to himself…

I am sorry that the did not take me for the gunboat service but perhaps it is all for the best…but we may have a chance to do al the fighting we want to and more too, for I do not think as many do that the war is going to end in three months, my tentmate and bedfellow, Tallman L MacIntire was one of the four who went from our Co and though it is a weektomorrowsince they left, I have not the slightest knowledge of where they are gone. Hiram Lawrence one of Abbie’s acquaintances of So Gardiner also among them…

I have been to church today for the first time in several weeks, we listened to a discourse by the Rev Whithseey of Bath, who came over from Washington this morning, General Howard is also visiting the Regiment and made a few remarks…

He went on guard the day he left the Regiment. His acquaintances in Co G have the very poorest opinion of him, in fact a young man by the name of Field, a neighbor of Mr Moore’s calls him a big Ass…

I send you a slip cut from a California Paper which may interest you for I think you have not read it before it was received by Charles Elliot…

I went to Alexandria yesterday and it was rather too much of a jaunt for me…I meant to get a picture to send home, the city was full of soldiers and all the saloons were so crowded that there was no chance without waiting several hours…Our Hospital is very well provided for with everything that is necessary and in fact there is great amount wasted besides what is appropriated for the Drs, nurses and others connected with the hospital. Esther Graves has left this Regiment and gone I believe to the 5th…I do not know the reason for her leaving so suddenly…

We had a Flag presentation day before yesterday which was quite interesting. The Flag was sent to the Capt by some gentleman in NY with a request that he should present to the battery. The battery was called into line at 12 and the captain made a very good presentation speech at the close of which as the stars and strips were run aloft the 6th Battery Glee Club song the Red, White and Blue, Lieut Dow then replied to the Capt in behalf of the Battery after which the club sang, a song for our banner…The Glee Club has got to be now a permanent institution. It consists of Lt Smith, Sgt Wiggin, Curtis, Kinney and Hansepecker (We call him Pecker for short) we have appeared in public a number of times…Today we sang at a military funeral at the Old Brick Church called Washington’s Church. The ceremony was very interesting and solemn a procession was found at the Hospital the coffin preceded by an armed escort with arms reversed and marching with slow and measured trees to the beat of the muffled drum. The procession composed wholly of soldiers marched to the church…

I almost forgot to tell you of the glorious news we gottonightand which you will probably gettomorrow. Yorktown is taken so says a dispatch to General Whipple at Arlington today. It is almost too good to be true and hardly dare to believe…the rebels evacuated the city yesterday and our troops were now in possession of it. It seems to me that Secesh is about played out…

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