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1Author:  Senior, Charles BerryAdd
 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
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