 | Letter from Charles N. Tenney to Adelaide E. Case, January 12, 1862 |  |
Letter from Charles N. Tenney to Adelaide E. Case, 1862 January 12
Here we are after a retreat
of about twenty four miles, at the
place denoted
above. I say retreat for I know not what else to
term it for we
have entirely
withdrawn all troops, even picket
from Romney & Springfield
toward
Cumberland. What the object
is, I know not, unless it is like
Gen. Rosecrans'[1] movement
from
Sewell Mountain,[2] oig to lure
them back to those positions in
order to whip them severely. If
such is the case, it will prove
a sorry advance for the Rebels.
But
I suppose you are "dying to
know" the details of the march .
than to make extracts from
my diary. So you must
excuse all the imperfections for
it was written for myself.
"Jan. 10th:- If a person needs excitement
to
live, surely a soldier in the valley of
the Potomac does
not lack the required
stimulus. But in my way of
thinking, the excitement we have
is not of a kind. For a
rumor
once started never loses any thing
in circulation, and but
on the
contrary, by the time it reaches
our Reg't., it is
calculated to put
us into such a state as to deprive
us of rest for some time.
After listening to hundreds of
such reports" as I wrote of to you
the other day "today at 3oclock
we had dress parade and were
dismissed to prepare to march.
Jany 11th Last night at mid=
night we
left Romney, desti=
nationunknown. After march=
ing over exceedingly muddy roads
till we got to Springfield, (8
miles
from R.) we halted until day-
light. From S. we went to
Frankfort, a distance of 7 miles.
from thence to Patterson's Creek
Station on the B.&O. R.R. (8m)
where we are now
encamped in
six inches of snow & mud. The
march was unusually severe,
being about 24 miles, over exceed
ing bad roads. Many of the boys
are nearly tired out."
Hal is well and stood the
march first-rate. We would
have done much better if
it
had not rained so in the
afternoon of the 11th. But
I will not complain, if I can
serve my country
Do you ever indulge in the
pleasant recreation of making poetry?
It is something I
seldom do. If you
doubt my inability though, I will en-
close a sample. Do not flatter me now
& say it is good nor the other way
& say
nonsense. Seriously, though it is but the
expression of my heart. The
first two
stanzas are from "Fugitive Poems, by a member
of the Va. Legislature" the remainder is "all
mine"!!
Upon thy gentle face,
Yet by the earth the sea the sky.
My heart would thine embrace.
Thy modest blush the dart.
By which the youthful boy would shiver
My unoffending heart."
Which Cupid loves to throw,
To cure the pain, 'twill take the art,
That none, but thee, can know.
By which the deed is done,
And are we close the present hour,
Thy heart will claim its own.
We'll prove the cure divine.
And let the world think at their leisure.
"The work's of him that's blind"
There, now don't you think I am a real, live
poet?
But, this is something I seldom allow
myself to do. perhaps I have done wrong in
sending these lines to you, but my conscience
does not reprove
me. How I wish I could
take the cars tonight and fly to old happy
Trumbull my home, and to you, my
sister
But does Laurie ever call me "brother Charlie,"
Have I not good reason to be happy,
while
I can call Addie, "Sister" and Hal "Brother"?
Your own affectionate
General William S. Rosecrans (1819-1898 ) was the son of Crandell Rosecrans and Jane Hopkins, and the great-grandson of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In March 1862, Rosecrans was given command of the XIV Corps and promotion to Major General. As Commanding General of the XIV Corps Rosecrans secured a victory at Stones River(Murfreesboro) and immediately into the Army of the Cumberland. Rosecrans resigned from the Army in 1867 to resume his career in business. He eventually would become Minister to Mexico, serve in Congress representing California, and register of the Treasury. William S. Rosecrans died March 11, 1898 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sewell Mountain is located in West Virginia. On September 18, 1861 the 42nd Virginia Infantry Regiment marched along with Loring's army to reinforce Generals John B. Floyd and Henry Wise at Big Sewell Mountain. On October 6, Loring discovered that the Union forces under General William S. Rosecrans had retreated, and the 42nd returned to camp.
| Letter from Charles N. Tenney to Adelaide E. Case, January 12, 1862 | |