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Regiment: 1st Michigan Light Artillery
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures:
Hd Qrs Battery F 1st Mich Arty
Near Marietta GA June 20th 1864
My Dear Hattie.
Again after the
[ ? ] of second days I have a few
minutes spare time. And am going
to answer
your letter for
at last
one has come to hands.
You will percious by the heading
of my letters that I am changing
my location about as often as the
wind changes. Seldom it is that
two days roll around and find
me at the same place.
Darling you dont know how
glad I was to get that letter of yours
it was the one which you had
opened and written a few lines more
on receiving my letter when you
wrote to the office
Given after time the mail had
arrived and brought me any number
of official + business letters but none
from you till I began to
[ ? ]
that you had run away or that some
one took our letters out of the office
the latter of which I am now soon
inclined to believe.
If I recollect rightly the Battery
was at Burnt Hickory when I
wrote you last. Since then we
have been in several little fights
and came out ahead each time.
In the mean time such weather
as we have been blessed with
has rained for over two weeks
in the last twenty days and
now it is so very muddy that
it is almost impossible to move
at all. Yesterday ( by-the-by we in-
variably move on Sunday) got
marching orders at 2 o’clock PM
and moved forward in the mud
and rain till 10 o’clock at
night and made the unprecedented
distance of 2 ½ miles. Killing in
the mean time two horses and
forded a creek getting our ammuni
tion wet. Have not as yet had
a man wounded. But in an
Artillery fight on the 10
th inst with
one of their batteries named after Gen
Beawryard I had one horse shot
one of a the limbers of one of my
guns torn to pieces and one of
ther’r shell exploded knocking down
two of my men. To balloner all
this. I dismounted two of their guns
and killed, wounded, several of the commoners
The above I learned by diserters
who came into our camp on the
following night. On the 15
th had
a fight with
[ ? ] Rebs again and
after firing (131) rounds they broke
and ran
making quite as good
time as I
did at Richmond.
Whilst a majority of them escaped
a few ran into our lines with white
flags flying and gave themselves up
besides we took quite a number
of prisoners.
Again on the 17
th we drove them
back some 2 ½ miles loosing a
few of our infantry. I fired (17)
rounds lost no men.
On the 7
th day of May we left Red
Clay GA and since that time there
has been but one day but that we
have either been in a fight or no
hearing of either marketry, artillery
or of both. Have got so acustomed
to it that we dont care anything
about it at all. In fact dont think
that I could sleep soundly unless I
could hear the sharp crack of musketry
or the rear of Artillery. Even none
whilst I write Hookers 20
th Corps
is thundering away with his Artillery
on our left and the firing
[ ? ]
to approach nearer. Should not
wonder if I should get searching
orders
[ ? ] night.
Yesterday morning I
found that my horses had no
food and away I went to find some
After going some two miles I came
to a plantation and found any
number of women + children but only
one man. The others had all gone
to war. I went in + asked them
if hey had any corn. One woman
said they had a little in a corn
crib. So I sent some men to get it
I then said that I thought they
had more and that if they would
tell me where it was I would
not search the house. So the old
lady took me into a room and
under one bed they had some
20 bushels. Up stairs some 30 more
and no others places I found some
I think all but 20 bushels gave
them a receipt for it and a
safe guard for her property to secure
it against soldiers which so pleased
the whole family that they went to
work and got me up quite a
good dinner to which I did justice
gave my thanks and off I
started for camp just in time to get
marching orders. Am glad to
hear that Bradley has got a
[ ? ]
[ ? ] and hope he will do well
that past two or three weeks have been
so cloudy + cool that my eye has
improved. If we were only through
with this campaign I should at
once get a leave of absence and go
to a good oculist and have my
eye operated on. I have expected
that we would have been through
by this time but this fighting a
large army of good soldiers who
have chosen and
[ ? ] chosen this
over
[ ? ] and have had
ample time to fortify every available
spot is slow business. To whip
them we must approach them slow
-ly and
[ ? ] fortifying as we
go for to charge all their strong
holds would result in the loss
of thousands of men that the
others course
[ ? ] besides it
ever more sure.
We have followed the enemy for
many days and driven them out
of all their works up to the present
time and now are within some
(12) miles of the Chattahoocho
river. Atalanta lies six miles
on the other side making our
present distance from that place
(18) miles. The army feels confident
of being able to whip Johnsens Army
and of capturing Alalanta but
it will take days and perhaps
even months to accomplish it.
We dont know what then is ahead
of us and may find the enemy
so strongly posted and fortified
as to defeat our intent
[ ? ]. But I
hope not and am anxious to
get away fast enough to pay the far
farmed city a visit on the Fourth
of July. Darling you are not forgotten
for thought my letters are necessarily
very brief (this is an exception) still often
very often I am thinking of you and
of the happy days of the past
I must now close and send
away some of my disabled horses
and get others for my battery.
May He who
[ ? ] over all
protect my darling girl and return
me to her safe in good time.
Byron
