| | 1 | Author: | Senior, Charles Berry | Add | | | Title: | Letter from Charles Berry Senior to his Father, 1864 May 17  | | | | Published: | 2000 | | | | Description: | I take another
opportunity of writing to you the chances
that we have of sending letters is very
limited. The mails leave here now just
when it happens I am still in the enjoyment
of good health & strength & hope that all
of you at home can say the same Perhaps
you have received the last letter I wrote
if so you will see that we were then expecting
some hard fighting. Some of it we have had
I have not seen a part of what is called
the horrors of war luckily I have not been
called upon to suffer myself but alas
how many of our brave boys have. I
still have but very narrowly escaped
almost miraculously been spared my life
I have heard the hissing of bullets the shrieking
of shells & the loud bellowing of artillery
I think that the fighting has for some time
subsided The rebels as far as we know have
retreated all except a rear guard
of them which they have left to harass
us & prevent us from rapidly pursuing
them I heard our Lieutenant say that
it was believed that their main army has
left for Richmond but it is not surely
known for 8 days there has been more or
less fighting Our regiment has been principally
here at Calhoun Ferry the heavist fighting
has been at Resaca Last Saturday our
regiment was put to support a battery
that was planted to shell the rebels out of
their fort down here & we were very much
exposed to the replies of rebel shell
five of our regiment suffered & killed & 3
wounded with a shell one of the killed had
both of his legs ripped from his body We
were ordered to lay flat down face to the
ground & while we were in that position
a whole or large piece of shell struck the
ground about four
8 feet from my head in
a direct line plowed a ditch in the
ground on the top for 6 feet Then only four
feet from us it richocheted & just
marvelously glanced over our heads all
done of course with the quickness of lightning
the only harm that it did it almost drove
the dirt into the pores of our skin
making a sharp burning sensetion if
it had not glanced it must unavoidably
have struck my head or
shoulder on sunday morning we crossed
the river on pontoon bridges & found
the rebels close on the other side our
Company was sent out skirmishing & only
one man wounded while we were out
The rest of the regiment were engaged
& lost 54 killed & wounded They drove
the rebels however & killed & wounded
full as many of them we were skirmishing
by the flank & when the battle was going
on we were nearly in rear of the rebels the brush
was so thick where we was that we could
not see far ahead & we got too far round
to the right It is a wonder that when
The rebels retreated they did not happen
to come upon us & take us all prisoners
there was nothing in the world to
prevent them If they had known where
we were only one company of us we could
have offered but very little resistance
we were so much in the rear of them
that the bullets of our men came over
the rebels & whistled around us
we came out of the wood to an opening
& the rebels had retreated Then came
the scene of the killed & wounded I
can not describe it so I will not attempt
but if it may be called satisfaction I
saw many of the rebels in their death
agonies one poor fellow begged of us to
kill him he said he would rather be dead
than laying there Though they had been
fighting against us I thought it was enough
to soften the heart of the hardest man
to see even a rebel in such a condition.
Paper is very scarce I must stop I could fill
one volume nearly I shall not be able to
write home regular but you have the
chance of writing regular to me & I wish you
to do it | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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