Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
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I rec’d yr letter to day & tho short, it afforded me much satisfaction. I
know darling you must suffer very much while I am absent but my love it is yr
part in this uncalled for war. Seems to me there must be a dreadful vengeance
on the real “getters” of of the war. There certainly never was a more useless
war or rather causeless, & that is the very reason why all who can, should
take hold & help put it down. I sometimes
think I would anything
possible to be at home with you, yet I always feel as tho. nothing on earth could
take me away from my post. The sacrifice must be made by many yet. And none know
what a sacrifice it is until they try it. It is not a few fine parades on
pleasant days & then a big fight and all over. All this any body could
enjoy. but its hard drudging work day & night almost without cessation,
an endless exposure day after day, of health & life, & the big fight to
come, really the holly day in comparison
with much we have now. Yet
I consider the danger of health & life almost nothing, if one exercises
care. I have not been sick but once & then I brought it on by over eating
& expected at the time I should be sick, but I had had nothing decent so long
& saw so many good things on the table I concluded to go in & take the
consequences & they came & I am not entirely over it yet. The health of
the reg’t is improving daily. Our whole bigade was reviewed the other day &
the appearance of the Vt 3rd was evidently superior to that of the others, &
was so pronounced by the
Genl. The Vt. 2nd is here, they say nothing
but Bull Run. I feared for the consequence of having one of those Bull Run
Reg’ts coming among us, but they say so much about it & our boys have
learned the facts of the fight so well, that the Bull Run men have fallen into
ridicule & our boys dont mingle with them much. The fact is those reg’ts in
that fight are just about worthless. They just about killed themselves running
without having made any show of fighting, with the exception of the Zouaves
& the N.Y. 69th. I dont see how it was possible for so few to be killed in
such a stampede. But the victory was no credit to the rebels, for had they been
any smarter than our folks were they would have taken some
advantage
of this success. Atherton has been appointed recruiting officer, hope he will
succeed in getting up a Co. & be Capt. The Genl. informed me that he had
recomended me for Major & his recommendation was approved off by the Gov.
but I have not rec’d a commission yet. Our Major’s health has failed & he
has gone home. You need not address me as such on yr letters till I inform you. Mr.
Crain is made Quartermaster. Proctor is brigade quartermast & Blunt is
ast. adjt. Genl. with rank of Capt. There will be several promotions on account
of those changes. Lt. Col. Hyde will probably be Col.
There was a
good deal of aspiration for majorship among the Capts. as soon as they found out
that rank did not decide it. I kept still & attended to my own business. The
weather is very cool & has been so ever since the change several days ago. I
hope we shall have no more such hot weather. Reckon Miss B. had a good time with
you. Wish I could see you all. I don’t know of anything you can send me now. I
shall probably want some things before winter. Suppose I shall have to purchase
a horse soon Might have had Major C’s had I known it then. He
had a
beautiful one. Do you have the B. Falls Times? I hope my own wife you will not
allow yrself to give up your feelings & get sick. I shall certainly come
home bye & bye & you will be glad then that I was here. If yr attention
was as much occupied as mine you could bear it better, but I hope you will be
doing something to improve yourself all the while. Begin at once on something in
the way of study, & have some system about it. I guess I recd all yr
letters. What do you do now to pass the time? Is Major Stevens going again? I
will try to write oftener
hereafter, if I accept my new post. I
don’t expect quite so much to do.
Must close now my angel, God bless you always,
Yr devoted husbandW. G. Veazey