Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Primary tabs
I have just received your letter written Sunday & Monday July 14th & 15th.
You do not know how sad it makes me feel to know that you are so unwell. I hope your
health will be equal to your courage and that you will be as well for the next three
months as you have been for the past three. You certainly have to suffer a good deal
and to do it entirely alone. How glad I am that Ezekiel stayed in Bradfor this
summer. If I did not know that he was there I should feel much more uneasy than I
have about you. I got a letter from you also that night. Of late you have written
much oftener than I have. Some days when I have not much to do I delay writing in
hopes that I shall have time enough and when the time comes that I ought to write I
am too busy. I will try and do better in the future. I wish you were as well as I am.
I am better than I have been at all before since I left home. The only trouble I now
have arises from flea bites. I have just had a salt water bath and feel pretty
comfortable. It is now past 9 o'clk. P. M. and three of us are writing while one is
still reading letters I had in addition to your letter one from Laura and one from
Ed Peckett. Laura wrote a good deal about her ears. I feel sorry for her.
She has hardly as much encouragement as she had at home. She write that Emma Page is
but just alive of consumption. Dr. Hartley is to remain in Boston some time and he is
doing all he can for her. She thinks he is some older than she thought him at Windsor
and feels quite sure that he is an Englishman. His daughter has been there, but has
now gone to Salem. I feel worried when I think of your health. Had you not better get
your nurse as soon as you can now and have her come and stay with you, for although
we shall undoubtedly leave here as early as the first of Aug. yet we shall not get
paid off and reach home before the 10th. That will be over three weeks from now and
the hardest three that you will have to endure. Jane wont probably be able to do any
thing fro a week at least and if you do your work so long you will yourself be
sick.
We are not disturbed here much by the rebels, still they are near us. It is reported tonight that three hundred horsemen came down to within three miles of us today. This is quite doubtful I think. Though one thing is quite certain. When we send out a large party of scouts they are sure to keep out of the way and when we send out a small party they are on hand. Somebody signals them. Whether negroes or whites we dont know.
Monday night our company went out again. We shall not probably have to go again
before we leave here. We went in company with five six other companies -
the Northfield of our Regt. and four companies of the Scott
Life Guard or
N. Y. 4th. all under the command of Lieut. Col. McGregor of the latter Regt. Our
company was posted in the woods at the corner formed by two roads, with orders to
remain there until the main detachment returned in the morning, and with the further
order to pepper the rebel horsemen who were expected down the cross road (their usual
route) to cut off the main body. We took our position in the woods and the men laid
down upon their blankets, with their guns by their sides, but with orders not to fire
upon any condition unless by order of the Capt. Lieut. Peckett had charge of the
left, Capt. Andross of the centre and myself of the right of the line. I wrapped my
blanket all about me to keep off the mosquitoes, but left a small hole to look out
into the dark towards the cross road. In the first part of the evening the moon shone
and it was comparatively light - a little too light I thought at one time when a
gleam of moonshine came through an opening in the trees and lighted up the place
where I sat. I did not know how many rebel rifles might be pointing in my direction.
We could hear the drums beat tatoo from our camp at 9 o'clock, but otherwise
everything was quiet. When the moon went down the darkness was perfectly
impenetrable. We could just see the gleam of the sky through the tree tops. Later in
the night I heard a rustling in the bushes in front of me near the road. It came
nearer and nearer, and I felt for my pistol handle to be ready for whatever it mgiht
be. Soon I saw distinctly the form of a man between me
and the sky, and I
challenged "Who comes there". The reply was, "It's me, Stover". It was one of our
outer guard who had come in to report to the Captain that they had seen four or five
men in the cross road and that on eof them had come within twenty-five feet of him. I
told him where to find the Capt., and he commenced passing down the line to find him
but soon came back without having seen him, and went back to his post again. Of
course the few of us at the right who got the story had no inclination to sleep.
Pretty soon the Capt. came up to where I was, the word having been passed down the
line to him, and he came up to know what was in the wind. We all remained as quiet as
the coughing and uneasiness of the boys would permit for perhaps an hour and a half
when the other (The Capt. & I have just been out to see what some firing meant
which we heard. It was probably the Monticello firing upon a camp on the other side
of the river, I will continue where I left off) scout came in saying that the fence
on the opposite side of the road was lined with men and that they were gradually
working around us. The other scout from the same direction confirmed the report
saying in addition that they were gradually working around us. The Capt. had orders
not to fire a gun during the night, but to allow horsemen to pass us without firing
upon them and in case we were likely to be surrounded to retreat towards the river,
but to fire only in case we were attacked. The scouts urged immediate action as they
were sure the number of men was large, for they had seen at least forty or fifty as
they
raised their heads against the sky. The scouts said they had
crawled upon their hands and knees past them. Of course we felt considerable anxiety
and were in a good deal of doubt what to do. We did not wish to withdraw from our
position as the whole purpose of the expedition might be frustrated, while to remain
might induce a conflict in the dark with enemies who evidently knew our position and
were bent upon surrounding and cutting us off. It was finally thought best to withdraw
from our position to the river bank for a while at least, where we could have the
assistance of the steamer in case we needed it. The word was passed down the line and
we started. We crossed the main road into a large field and thence moved towards the
river. The enemy were on the cross road. We soon reached the river or rather the high
bluff near it and then sent back scouts to learn where some of our men were who were
missing. After remaining near the river a while and hearing nothing we moved back
again towards the woods and finally about day light resumed our old position. We
found the men we had left behind in their places and they had not been disturbed.
What the alarm meant we could not tell. The scouts still persisted in asserting their
or they should have heard from it, although some of them admitted that they were
asleep and did not know when we moved. We kept quiet till McGregor returned about ten
o'clock, but no horsemen came down the road. Word had undoubtedly been sent forward
to the enemy of
our movement, and they had kept themselves out of the way.
What to think of the men seen by the scouts I hardly know. I can hardly believe that
any were there, but they still stick to the same story. We had a pretty tough time of
it with the flies and mosquitoes during the night, and came home as tired as though
we had marched further.
The boat is just whistling and I must close as it is now Thursday morning.
You need not allow this to be printed nor any part of it as I have written in haste.
Write soon and I will write again today.
Yours affectionatelyRoswell Farnham