[Letter]: 1863-05-18 from Joseph to Mother

1863 May 18 from Joe [Richardson] (Camp near Suffolk VA) to Mother re: the “fine time” he has had. He received her letter of 11th and Mrs. Miles of 14th. Ordered to march with three days rations and marched from 2 until 6 o’clock, halted for two hours and made coffee, resumed march until 8 o’clock next morning, halted and had ration of whiskey and grub and rested until 4 o’clock in afternoon and resumed march for two miles which made a total of 20 miles and then broke ranks and found best shelter they could. He sheltered by a fence and slept waking up at 11 o’clock wet and cold, made a fire to sit by until morning, then made coffee, got the water out of his gun and tunic. Orderly rode by and said “hurry up boys, they are close” they marched about a mile and half and found them and “for the first time we had the pleasure of hearing the music of the bullets and a shot at Mr. Reb and the Old Tenth done its duty and received praise from all.” On the field half an hour before there were three men in Company wounded, five in the regiment wounded but none killed, skirmished five hours and drove them everytime advanced but the Rebs would not come out of the woods. They left them at six o’clock and we had had no trouble with them since. They did not go there to fight but tear up a railroad commencing at Carrsville near the Blackwater and bring in the iron to Suffolk - the place where General Foster (Robert Sanford Foster 1834-1903) has his headquarters. [Gen. Robert S. Foster was at the Siege of Suffolk] Joe relates that one fellow from the Company was shot in the ankle and the foot may have to come off, another fellow was firing at a Reb and the Reb at him and the Reb’s bullet went into his gun and struck his gun before his bullet got all the way out, so with the bullets in the gun it swelled the gun so that it nearly burst the tube. There are about 12,000 troops all together and it was a handsome sight the first night all halted together and made coffee on a large farm that was surrounded with woods - it is called the “deserted House” and there were thousands of fires burning at once, it was very dark and a pretty sight. Hopes all are well, love to all. From your boy Joe, I see by the paper that Dave Anderson is missing and supposed to be taken prisoner. [For this date there is an original letter and also a typed transcript pasted to a black sheet decorated with American flags and title “Military Covers Civil War” above four photo corners which are empty]