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https://micivilwar.com/authors/beardsley-henry-b/
Regiment: 2nd Wisconsin Infantry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures: George B. McClellan, Irvin McDowell
Opposite Fredricksburg
May 18th 1862
Dear Cousin Louiso
Your good letter
of the 4th
[ ? ] reached me the 12th
I am happy that you have recovered
your health again. Mother had
informed me that you were very ill.
+ was fearful
[ ? ] be a long
time before you would to
[ ? ] to
health. Louise your excuse for not
writing before was a good one + I would
be a blockhead for not granting
you forgiveness, wouldent I You
must not adk me to forgive you
you know my forgiving notion +
must know than you are always
forgiven. I am only to proud
[ ? ]
you will write me. O forlo
[ ? ] hope
+ a
[ ? ], + express such endearing
words. “Then is not
[ ? ] friend
for whose welfeen I feel so much
soliutiude” God knows I should
like to be at home + taste again
of home comforst to it ever so
humble
[ ? ] be a palace to
living in tents so small that we
cannot sit upright + only large
enough for 1 to live
[ ? ] in +
when it rains hard on tent little
protection. We have sun some
[ ? ]
hard times
[ ? ] i find
[ ? ]
on old age but we are soldiers
bunded for the protection of the best
government that ever existed +
twould be
[ ? ]
+ unbecoming a part of “so let
the
[ ? ] world was on it will
will be
[ ? ] + easy stils”
Since the commencement of this
campaign our division have been
guarding +
[ ? ] railroad bridges rail
roads. Marching +
[ ? ] marching
the present time finds in opposite
Fredricksburg building the bridge
which is nearly completed ready
[ ? ] a toward
[ ? ] tuesday
All the bridges between here +
[ ? ] are rebuilt the
locomotive came up this morning
for the first time.
The
[ ? ] on sand take on
considerable
[ ? ] 10 miles, the
[ ? ] side
[ ? ] brigage crossed one
[ ? ]
[ ? ] ealig day to do picket duty
+ sword
[ ? ] bridges. Sunday
afternoon on pickets on division
in + they had a lively little
skirmish in plan sight which
resulted in the caption of 14 sesh
[ ? ] + a Lieutenant no
loss to our side except several horses
[ ? ] were cripled Our brigade
[ ? ]
formed in live ready for any
[ ? ]
[ ? ] The skirmish
[ ? ]
have can
[ ? ] in a
general engagement. (which our
Generals think we can not
[ ? ]
recd for) had not McDowell
ordered
[ ? ] troops to fall back
inside the lines
Louise it “blood of friends” personaly
may seen
[ ? ] to you
[ ? ] this
preserdation of the Union but the blood of friends
compance with its preservation
of its Union of our nation
[ ? ] prison
[ ? ]000,000 souls! is but a very small
[ ? ]
The south cannot hold out much
longer if our army does not
[ ? ]meets
great recesses which we are confident
will not. Nor comfort oneself with
the belief their ar shall spend the
[ ? ] writen at horses + time
I shall embrace the first oppertunity
(or some of these school men [ ? ]
[ ? ] valley I dont know wich i [ ? ]
till [ ? ]) to
[ ? ] you all a good
long visit in the valy
Charles
[ ? ] made me a
visit a week ago to lives + miles
from hee. he was orderly sergeant
in the sesh maldea of this state a doing
as honor guards when they
[ ? ]
a sworn them into the confederate
service he saw the pickets +
[ ? ]
good his excape
McClellan is very neer Richmond
pushing its enemy before
[ ? ]
wile be in there
[ ? ] in loss than
a week Our western
[ ? ] seems to
be working very
[ ? ] like this
[ ? ] a way to escape in
[ ? ]
difeat I would write more but I shall
let not none so
[ ? ] to tell you when I got
home. Write often to you r cousin HB Beardsley
