Merrill, Simeon B. – April 30, 1864

Michigan Civil War Collection


Click here for this soldier’s biography: https://micivilwar.com/authors/merrill-simeon-b/
Regiment: 5th Michigan Infantry Battles Mentioned: Historical Figures: Pony Mountain Virginia April 30th 1864 Well Julia I have at best received that long looked for and ever welcome letter that I have looked for so long I received it last evening but did not mistrust any thing until I came to the few lines that Hie wrote and you can judge of my supprise when I read along to where he sayed that we had another little Sylvia and that you and the little fellow were quite smart how glad I am that you are so smart but you must be careful and not try to do your work before you get your strength I dreamed last night that I saw you and the little one how I wish that it was so that I could I would of sent you a letter right back but this morning I went out to pony mountain again to doe pickett duty and will not be back to camp until Tuesday which will be four days but I thought that I would write a little every day while I am out here, I am sitting on a by rock now bigger than our house a conciderable but it is getting dark and I shall have to stop writing May 1st 1864 Well Julia I am sitting on that same rock this afternoon and it is very pleasant, two of the boys that came out with me from our company with are a laying a few feet from me a sleep the rocks are piled up in all kind of shapes there is places where eight or ten men can go in and be out of the storm there is a great many different kinds of shrubery and the most of them are in blossom but the most of the timber is red cedar and pine and sitting where I do it is very beautiful, At the foot of this mountain is a clearing of about 40 acres but has not been cultivated since the war broke out I should judge by the looks of it there is two dwelling houses on it and in one lives a woman and five small children her husband is in the rebel army in Longsteets Division he is comisary Sargeant and the wife is true blue for she is a rank sesesh but she sells us hoe cakes when she has meal to spare and once in a while we get a canteen, Henry Hall a young man from Marion is on post with me he bought a canteen full last night and has the promice of one to night we use it in in our coffee which makes it taste like coffee that we have when at home, There is one other curiosity that attracted my attention yesterday and that was an old bar family burying ground which is in a nice grove of red cedar and a nice brick wall around it about four feet high the top of this wall is capped with nice cut stone in the corner of this yard is a valt with a large merble slab the rest of the graves have nice tomb stones the graves are all covered over with flowers and I think that it is the nicest that I ever saw it belongs to a generation of Halls, well Julia whiles I am sitting here a writing some of the boys are up on high rocks and some of them in trees for it is not much trouble to get into a tree for you can step from some of the rocks onto the limbs and then it is no trouble to climb it they can see the rebel fortifycation acrost the Rapidan but my eyes is not quite good enough but I calculate that I shall see them as soon as I wanto well Julia tomorrow I will try and write a little more [On Envelope:] Mrs Julia Merrill Fowlerville Livingston Mich