Civil War Soldier Letter Opelousas LA 1863 \"REBS SKEDADDLE CANT FIGHT Carry Gun\"

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Civil War Soldier Letter Opelousas LA 1863 \"REBS SKEDADDLE CANT FIGHT Carry Gun\":
$43.19

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Opelousas LA 1863 Rebs Skedaddle
Hifriends,
After sometime off, I am back selling some of the
Civil War documents frommy personal collection
See All My Current sales
Civil War Soldier Letter Opelousas LA 1863
\"Rebs Skedaddle Cant Fight Carry Gun\"\"The rebs wonte stande but will
Skedaddle so we cant get a chans to fight them\"October 26, 1863Opelousas, LouisianaSergeant Ephraim Betts \"E\" Co. NY 114th Infantry
writes to his wife S.M. Betts & FamilyHe mentions several places where he has recently fought:Vermillion Bayou, Louisiana (Battle of Vermillion Bayou - April 17, 1863)Brashear City, Louisiana (Battle of Brashear City - June 23, 1863)Natchez Mississippi (Battle of Raymond - May 12, 1863)This letter is from a series from the
Betts Family of Coventry, Chenango County, New York,
and the only one written by Sergeant Ephraim BettsEphraim Betts is a well know soldier from \"E\" Co. NY 114th Infantry.
Two of his diaries are located at the
Hill Memorial Library in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.Much more info and photo of Ephraim Betts below.See letters for sale this week from the Betts Family in Coventry, New York\"Oct 26 / 63
Near Oppalusas have been hear four day\"
\"To day to drop you a few lines my health is good
with the Exceptions of one of
my Eyes it is rather sower (sour) &
pains me sum it is not vary much inflamed\"\"Days it has been sower (sour) ever sins
I wrote to you at Vermillion Beauyo (Bayou)\"I do not hafto carry a Gun now sins
my Eye has been sower (sour) & shal not\"\"We are one hundred & ten miles from
Brasher City (Brashear City, Louisiana)
dont know how longe we shal stay hear not vary longe\"\"I do not think we shal have
mutch more fighting in this department\"\"But probably we shal have
a goodeal of marching to do\"\"The rebs wonte stande but will
Skedaddle so we cant get
a chans to fight them\"\"From youre Husband to Wife & Family
E. Betts to S.M. Betts & Family\"Complete Text
Oct 26 /63
Near Oppalusas have been hear four dayDear Wife & Family I set down to day to drop you a few lines my health is good with the Exceptions of one of my Eyes it is rather sower (sour) & pains me sum it is not vary much inflamed & I think it will be well in a few days it has been sower (sour) ever sins I wrote to you at Vermillion Beauyo (Vermillion Bayou, Louisiana)I do not hafto carry a Gun now sins my Eye has been sower (sour) &shal not tis it gets better my health is good other away as I could aske I cannot write but a little but thaught you would like to hear fromme if it want but a few lines I had a letter from Nelson last nigh he was to Natches (Natchez Mississippi)I shal write to him as soon as my Eye gets well I received your letter with the mandrake root in it I was not oute but it just filde my Bottle Icarry the viol in my pocket all the timeRogers paid Warren the other five dollars & that will make it all rite We are one hundred & ten miles from Brasher City (Brashear City, Louisiana) dont know how longe we shal stay hear not vary longe dont know where we shal go from hearI will keep you posted of our whare bouts & want you to Write to me as often as you can tell the Children I think of them vary often you must kiss them for me I do not think we shal have mutch more fighting inthis department but probably we shal have a goodeal of marching to doThe rebs wonte stande but will Skedaddle so we cant get
a chans to fight themYou must Escuse this for it troubles me to write & I will closeFrom youre Husband to Wife & Family
E. Betts to S.M. Betts & Family
Page One CompletePage Two Complete1 Sheet 8\" x 5\", 2 pages of text.
Excellent condition.
Tiny spot lower left.
Text in pencil.
Note: sale is for the document above.
Photos, charts and additional text shown below this note are historical information only and are not included in the sale.
(photo not part of the sale)
Ephraim Betts
Residence was not listed; 38 years old.Enlisted on 8/11/1862 at Coventry, NY as a Sergeant.On 8/13/1862 he mustered into \"E\" Co. NY 114th Infantry
He was discharged for disability (blindness) on 2/2/1864 at Franklin, LASources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.
New York: Report of the Adjutant-General 1893-1906
Research by Debbie B. PierceThe Regiment FightingThe regiment was involved in much fighting during the war.
The 114th New York Infantry was organized in
Norwich, New York on Sept. 3, 1862 and moved to
Baltimore and were to attached to Emery\'s Brigade
at the Defense of Baltimore. They moved to Fortress Monroe and saw Guard Duty
at the Great Western Railroad. The 114th was involved
in operations in Western Louisiana. They moved all over
Western Louisiana and were involved in the Red River Campaign
and in the Repulse of the attack on Washington. They were also at Sheridan\'s Shenandoah Valley Campaign
and at Fisher\'s Hill. Battle of Cedar Creek.
They were Mustered out in June of 1865. The Regiment lost 9 Officers, 112 Enlisted Men killed and
mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 192 Men by disease.
For a Total of 315 Men.
The Ephraim Betts Diaries

The following was submitted by: Deborah Pierce
Biographical Historical Notes from his two diaries.
Ephraim Betts was a sergeant in Company E of the 114th New York Volunteers. He enlisted on September 2, 1862, at Coventry, New York. He was taken by transport boat to New Orleans and was stationed in Louisiana until he was discharged, February 2, 1864, because of trouble with his eyes. The diaries describe Ephraim Betts’ daily activities as sergeant of Company E of the 114th New York Volunteers. They illustrate his journey from New York to New Orleans by transport boat, describing the sunken ship Cumberland, near the mouth of the James River, where the Merrimack was sunk. Described are Betts’ arrival in Camp Mansfield, January 3,
1863, the routine camp life, the marches, his participation in skirmishes, and details of an assault on Fort Bisland on the Bayou Teche, April 13, 1863. The diaries relate thatBetts’ regiment joined General Weitzel’s assault on Port Hudson, June 14, 1863, and detail the surrender of the Confederate forces. They describe the Sabine Pass Expedition, September 7, 1863, and the Federal failure to capture the pass. Also described is the treatment of deserters caught on board the boat which took Betts back to New York after his discharge, February 14, 1864. The diaries include lists of men in Betts’ command, personal cash accounts, and lists of letters sent and received. Loose papers include two military passes, and unidentified notes and accounts.The Private Collection includes CDV of Ephraim Betts and bible. “Remember me when far away and no one else is near. Read this sweet verse in this bible, I prey, and think how I loved you dear.”
114th Infantry Regiment
Mustered in: September 3, 1862
Mustered out: June 8, 1865.The following is taken fromNew York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912. July 21, 1862, Mr. Elisha B. Smith, of Chenango, was appointed Colonel and authorized to recruit this regiment in the counties of Chenango, Cortland and Madison, with headquarters at Norwich, where the regiment was organized, and, September 3, 1862, mustered in the service of the United States for three years. The men not to be mustered out with the regiment were transferred, June 3, 1865, to the 90th Infantry. The companies were recruited principally: A and H at Oxford; B and C atNorwich ; D at Eaton and Lebanon; E at Greene; F at Sherburne and New Berlin; G at Hamilton and Brookfield; I at Otselic; and K at Cazenovia; and a few men were enlisted in Cortland county.
The regiment left the State September 8, 1862; it served at and near Baltimore, Md., in 8th Corps, from September 9, 1862; at Newport News, Norfolk and Fort Monroe, Va., 7th Corps, from November 9, 1862; sailed in Banks\' Louisiana forces from December 4, 1862; served in 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from January, 1863, but mostly detached from it at Brashear City, New Iberia, Opelousas and Berwick City, La.; beforePort Hudson, La., with its brigade from May 31, 1863; in the Reserve Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps, from August, 1863; in 3d Brigade, 1stDivision, 19th Corps, from September, 1863; in 1st Brigade, same division and corps, from February, 1864; and it was honorably dischargedand mustered out, under Col. Samuel R. Per Lee, June 8, 1865, near Washington, D. C.


During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 4 officers, 64 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 5 officers, 50 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 2 officers, 168 enlisted men;total, 11 officers, 282 enlisted men; aggregate, 293; of whom 8 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy.The following is taken fromThe Union army: a history of military affairs in the loyal states, 1861-65 -- records of the regiments in the Union army -- cyclopedia of battles -- memoirs of commanders and soldiers. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908. volume II. 
One Hundred and Fourteenth Infantry.—Cols., Elisha B. Smith, Samuel R. Per Lee; Lieut.-Cols., Samuel R. Per Lee, Henry B. Morse; Majs., Henry B. Morse, Oscar H. Curtiss. Seven companies of this regiment were recruited in Chenango county and three in Madison. They rendezvoused at Norwich, where the regiment was organized, and mustered into the U. S. service for three years, Sept. 3, 1862. Three days later it started for the front, moving to Binghamton by canal boats, and proceeding thence toBaltimore. In November it sailed for New Orleans as part of Banks\' expedition, and on its arrival there was assigned to Weitzel\'s (2nd) brigade, Augur\'s (1st) division, 19th corps. It was stationed for a time at Brashear City and neighboring points, andwas first engaged at Fort Bisland, where it had 11 men wounded, 3 mortally. It did not participate in the Bayou Teche campaign, but joinedits corps before Port Hudson, May 30, 1863, where it was actively engaged for 40 days in the siege and suffered severely in the grand assault of June 14. The loss of the regiment during the siege was 73 in killed, wounded and missing. In March, 1864, in Dwight\'s (1st) brigade, Emory\'s (1st) division, 19th corps, it moved on Banks\' Red River campaign, engaging at Sabine cross-roads, where Lieut.-Col. Morse, commanding the regiment, was wounded, at Pleasant Hill, Cane river crossing and Mansura. On July 15, it embarked for Washington, the corps having been ordered to Virginia. On its arrival, it marched through Maryland, and then joined in Sheridan\'s famous Shenandoah campaign against Early. The regiment fought with the utmost gallantry at the battle of the Opequan, where it was subjected to a murderous fire, losing 188 killed and wounded, or three-fifths of those engaged, and being complimented for gallantry by the division-general. It was present at Fisher\'s hill and Woodstock, and again showed its splendid fighting qualities at Cedarcreek, with a loss of 21 killed, 86 wounded, and 8 missing. Col. Per Lee was among the wounded at the Opequan, and was promoted for gallantry to brevet brigadier-general. The regiment was mustered out, under Col. Per Lee, June 8, 1865, at Bladensburgh, Md. Its total enrollment during service was 1,134, of whom 9 officers and 114 men werekilled and mortally wounded; 2 officers and 192 men died of disease andother causes; total deaths 317. Its loss in killed and wounded was 422,or 10.6 per cent. Its proud record entitles it to rank among the three hundred fighting regiments of the war.
Opelousas, LouisianaIn 1862, afterBaton Rougefell totheUniontroops during theCivil War, Opelousas was designated the state capital for nine months. The governor\'s mansion in Opelousas, which was the oldest remaining governor\'s mansion in Louisiana, was the victim of arson on July 14, 2016, and the structure was reduced to a chimney and its foundation. The one story mansion was located on the corner of Liberty and Grolee Streets, just west of the heart of town. An observation tower was removed from the top of the residence in the early 1900s but the remainder of the exterior was identical to its original construction in the 1850s. The entire roof section of heavy rafters was held in place by thousands of wooden pegs, not one nail could be found in the attic. There were plans to restore the building to some of its former splendor.The capitol was moved again in 1863, this time toShreveport, when Union troops occupied Opelousas. DuringReconstruction, the state government operated fromNew Orleans.The Union forces led byGeneralNathaniel P. Bankswho occupied Opelousas found what thehistorianJohn D. Wintersdescribes as \"a beautiful town boasting several churches, a fine convent, and a large courthouse,\" far superior in appearance to nearbyWashington, also in St. Landry Parish.Early in 1864,jayhawkersbegan tomake daring daytime raids in parts of St. Landry Parish near Opelousas.According to Winters in hisThe Civil War in Louisiana, the thieves \"robbed the inhabitants in many instances of everything of valuethey possessed, but taking particularly all the fine horses and good arms they could find.\"Winters added thatconscriptioninthe area came to a standstill, as men could avoid the army by staying within the lines of the jayhawkers. The conscripts who did not join the lawless element stayed home until the state or the army could protect their families.\"
Welcometo zianon Civil War documents. For over 15 years, I have been collecting and selling original, unique, one of a kind American Civil War memorabilia. I have always been fascinated by Civil War documents. Holding one in your hands and uncovering a bit of lost history is incredibly exciting. It is a pleasure for me to find a new home for these valuable pieces of American history.Items I will be selling include letters, broadsides, diaries, General Orders, and many others. Items marked Civil War are dated from 1861 to 1865. A few items before or after the war are noted byCivil War Era. All items have been stored in and will be shipped in acid-free archival sleeves, with heavy cardboard packaging to insure safe delivery. All items are unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic and in the condition as described. Documents are accurately displayed, with text transcriptions, andhigh resolution scans. You know exactly what you are getting.I have sold many documents high end collectors and new ones, as well as libraries and museums, and of course soldier’s family members. I have been away from for some time so I had to start a new account.
I hope you enjoy these documents as much as I do. Contact me at any time if you have questions.

Guaranteed Authentic& Original Every item is an authentic, one of a kind originalStored and shipped in an acid-free archival sleeve,
& packaged in heavy cardboardLet me know if you have any questionsofferding:Members with response Scoreof 0, contact me before offerding.
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Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Israel and more - see listing.
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Pay with PayPal within 3 days of sale end.Combine Shipping: If you buy several items on the same day, and wish to combine shipping, wait for an invoice before paying.All items shipped First Class USPS.Items shipped in an acid-free archival sleeve, packaged in heavy cardboard.Thanks so much !
Returns:14 day returns from sale end (USA) ONLY if the item is not as described. Contact me to discuss return.Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and have fun......design & content ©2017 by zianon
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New pieces are added several times a week.
\"They Brought John Kirk Home In A Box\" \"They Died In The Hands Of The Rebs,
Starved To Death\"
\"I Rode Last Night With A Soldier
Who Was Shot Fair
In The Forehead,
Above The Eyebrows.
The Ball Coming Out Of His Mouth.
And He A Well Man Except One Eye\"\"Was Some Negroes Not Far From Here,
Out In The Country, Killed Their Master,
Burned The House, And Run Off,
Taking With Them Some Horses\"\"Fetched Them Here And Sold.
Then Our Adjutant Bought One.
They Say They Are A Going
To Hang The Negroes\"\"Their Old Master Got Hold Of Her
And Whipped Her So That
She Could Not Sit Down\"\"He Had The Luck To Bring Home
A Secech Bullet In His Thigh
He Was Wounded At The BattleOf Allegany
The Ball Is Still In His Flesh
Though It Does Not Hurt Him Much.
The Doctor Could Not Extract It\" \"Spotted Fever Or Black Death Prevails.
It Kills All Whom It Touches
& Is Fearfully Contagious\" \"He Was So Hungry, It Tasted Good.
He Did Not Look To See
If There Was Worms In The Food\"\"Troops Are Rapidly Marching To The Field.
Thousands Of Tens Of Thousands
Of Wounded Are Coming
To Us From The Battlefield.
I Have Several Hundred Under My Care Now\" \"Tore Up Considerable Of Railroad & Destroyed
Considerable Of Property. For The Rebels Captured,
457 Prisoners Besides A Number Of Horses & Mules\"\"See The Gun Boats As
They Lay At Anchor Waiting
For The Fight Of Some Reb\"


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Civil War Soldier Letter Opelousas LA 1863 \"REBS SKEDADDLE CANT FIGHT Carry Gun\":
$43.19