Text of a CSA soldier’s letter to his sister. Lot 248 in the Exceptional Estates auction, December 7, 2024. Some punctuation added for clarity.
Camp six miles from Richmond, July 13 [1862]
Dear sister,
I improve the first opportunity that I have had of writing since I have been here by writing you a few lines. I could tell you a great many things that would doubtless interest you if I could be with you a few hours, but I scarcely know where to commence to write.
We have seen some real service since we have been in Virginia. We were in the fight four days out of the seven. Our brigade started on the pursuit on Sunday morning and followed them until Wednesday. We were not really engaged, but once, that was Sunday evening. We were nearly every day exposed to their shell and grape, and a good many of our regiment were wounded only one killed. Suppose you know the family. I believe they are distant relations of ours.
Tuesday morning we passed over the battlefield of the previous evening. The dead and wounded litterly [sic] covered the grounds. The site was enough to shock any one. There lay men in every position shot in every imaginable place. Some in the act of loading, others aiming, and some others another. We formed a line of battle on the field and along the line of our company, there was four or five dead Yankees. The men would have to stand on them or over them to get into line. It was, the case with the whole brigade. And a very shocking sight with the rest was every man’s pockets was turned wrong side out. Our men as well as Yankees. I have often thought that if I ever got a chance to kill a Yankee, I would strip his pockets but that morning I thought I never could. As we marched that day, we passed the church which had been taken for a hospital for the wounded by the Yankees. There I saw a pile of legs, arms, and hands, three or four feet high that had been cut off by the surgeon. They were still cutting off. Some of the boys fainted (for they were very hot), but I had so much hardened to it that it did not affect me much.
Tuesday evening we were again exposed to the fire for over two hours. They are most of our men were wounded and McCann killed. We were held in reserve in a very exposed position. Two men in our company were slightly wounded and several had holes shot through their cloths [sic], the shell, grape and minie balls fell thick as hail around us. I don’t see how it was that more were not killed. As we were marching up to our place of reserve, through a skirt of woods, a six pound ball struck a sapling in a foot of me and tore it down. The ball fell at my feet. I could tell you hundreds of narrow escapes if I had time.
That was the most desperate fight of the week. The enemy had their artillery in the best position. It could have been command [?] an open space in front for a mile. The battery was charged often through the fight, but our men were as often repulsed. A good many of our men fell just in front of the battery. The young guard were in the fight. They made two distinct charges. In one of these charges, Robt Rakestraw was shot dead, the ball passing through his neck. He was buried under a sickamore [sic] tree as well as could be under the circumstances without any coffin. Several of them were wounded.
This was the last fight of the whole and the most desperate. Had it not been for Jackson in the rear we would have got a whipping on Tuesday evening. Our artillery didn’t do us any good for the Yankee sharpshooters killed our horses before we could get our pieces in the right place. I counted 18 dead horses in 50 yards of each other.
We finished burying the dead Thursday or Friday. I don’t know how many were killed but as near as I can guess there was about 2500 Yankees and 12 or 1300 of our men. The wounded about 3 or four times that number.
During the seven days the Yanks lost killed wounded and prisoners about 50,000 and we about 25,000. We drove them from their [??] about 25 miles to their gun boats.
we marched for four days sometimes 25 miles a day. A great many of our men gave out on the way some backed when we were going into the fight.
We are now back at our first camp on the line. I don’t know how long we will stay here. I hope we will all be march home before a great while though I don’t know whether there is any prospect or not. I will close. Write soon. I have achieved but one letter since I left home which has been nearly a month. Excuse haste. This is Yankee paper. I could have got any quantity of it in the Yankee camps. They left everything. I could have got thousands of blankets overcoats and everything else if I could carry it. We have only got a changing suit of cloths. Others stored in Richmond.
Your bro, Grant
Direct to Co E 53rd Regt Ga Vol, Semmes Brigade, Richmond