Letter to Sarah Garibaldi (Poor)

Scope and content:

Written from "Camp Stevenson," Virginia. Letter regards Chirstmas celebrations, and the breaking of a dam "in order to dry the water in the Ohio and Chesapeake canal so as to prevent provisions being carried into Washington by that road."

Language:

English

Other descriptive data:

Dear Miss-
I received yours of the 24 instant just yesterday evening from which I understand with the greatest pleasure that you was well and also the whole of the family, with the whole of the neighbors around you. This leaves me enjoying a perfect good health as it has been the case always. We have had right merry Christmas, we had plenty to eat such as it was and plenty to drink, pretty near the whole of Holloway's company was drunk. The Captain bought about 10 or 15 gallons of liquor and gave it to the company, he was right merry himself. The whole of the 27 regiment was almost drunk even the Colonels, they were drunk too.

The last letter I wrote you I told you that we were under marching orders, but we did not know where to and now that we all got back safe, except one killed out of our Regiment, belonging to the Rockbridge Rifles, and another slightly wounded by a shell belonging to the artillery, I can tell you where we have been. We left this camp on Monday morning at three o'clock and reached the Potomac river on the second day after dark, at the dam number five about ten miles above Williamsport, there we remained for four days breaking the dam in order to dry the water in the Ohio and Chesapeake canal so as to prevent provisions being carried into Washington by that road.

The only time that we could work at it was at night in the darkest so as to keep from being shot from the Yankees from the opposite side of the river. They had full view at us in the day time, we had to descend down on the dam from a high precipice of steep rocks while they on the other side they had a small hill, which was in cultivation, to descend to the dam and had a full view at us. We, in the day time, had to march way from there and go out in the countries where we had a full view of then and then march back again in the night after about seven o'clock. We had left our tents about midway between here and the river, therefore we had no tents to sleep in, neither could we make any fire in the night in order to keep from being seen by the enemy, but we [had] good overcoats and blankets enough to keep from freezing.

There was a great large mill just below the dam, and was burn'd up by the shells thrown in there by the enemy on the second night. A company from our regiment called the Rockbridge Rifles was in the mill guarding those that were working on the dam just as the mill was set a fire from the other side they came out and that was when one of them got killed by a bombshell. They had a narrow path to go through where no more than one at a time could pass and the Yankees were throwing balls as fast as they could at the same time. Some of them remained behind rocks all day and came out at night about ten or fifteen remained there all day and didn't come out till night. I anxious to see the Yankees crept up behind rocks and remained there hid for about an hour and shot several times at the Yankees. After I got tire to stay there I got up and walked off, and as I was going away from my hidden place I believe there was no less than five or six shot at me but none of them hitted me, it was almost too far off to be killed by a ball although there was several of the Yankees shot we could see them laying on the ground and when they were falling.

There was a constant shooting from each side of the river from morning till night, it was no regular battle only for those that wanted to fight could go and take up a position on this side of the river and fire away as much as they wanted. The general came by one evening and looked very much pleased at the boys and said pitch in boys it is a free fight. We killed a good many Yankees and they only killed one of us. After we succeeded in breaking the dam, we came back to our old camp where we now are. It is believed that we shall leave here and go to Romney to have a fight with the Yankees. This is the general belief, that we will march in a day or two and if we go Romney we shall have a hard fight in driving away the enemy from behind their fortifications. They are just now taking a list of all the cartridges we have in order to give us a full supply and march us off to Romney. I have a heap more to tell you but I haven't time to do it for we have to go out on a general review. So goodbye. I send you my likeness also. So Goodbye.
John Garibaldi

To Miss Sarah A.V. Poor
Write to me as soon as you get this and direct your letter where you did the last one.

Subjects:

Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Infantry Regiment, 27th
Romney Campaign, 1861-1862
Correspondence

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