Click here for this soldier’s biography:
https://micivilwar.com/authors/rogers-robert/
Regiment: 8th Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures:
Camp Nelson July 26th/63
Dear Sister,
I received your letter last Friday and was glad to hear from you. I wrote to you the
other day and directed it to Richland so I thought I would write again today. My health is
getting pretty good now. Erastus is well. He is on guard today. Our Regiment is scattered
a good ways now. The most of them left the night of the 21
st after Morgan. The last we
heard of them part was at Covington, Ky. the rest was at Buffington. They was in the fight
with Morgan. The Col. got a letter from the Regt. that they took 300 prisoners and 350
horses. They marched 16 days and 12 nights, so they only had 4 nights to rest. There is
about 40 of our Regt. about 10 miles from here guarding beef cattle. There is 1,360 of the
cattle. All the tents are here and most of their blankets. We are camped in the woods
about ¾ mile of the Ky. River. We have had three other camping grounds within 1 ½
miles of here. Some places along the River the rocks are 400 feet straight up and down one
place between here and the river on the lower side of the road it is 200 feet straight down.
The other day a four mule team ran off where it was fifty feet down. It killed three of the
mules and the driver. We live pretty well here. We have pork, beans, beef, and rice. We
have bakers bread, tea and coffee. Our sugar and molasses is the smallest rations that we
have. We have a mess of blackberries, every few days there is five or six of our boys out
today picking berries. Two of our Co. was wounded in the fight at Buffington, one in the
head mortally, the other in the leg. One of Co. G was accidently shot on the road. He was
the one that shot Andrew Whalen the day we left Covington. Andrew Whalen’s folks used
to live back of Leroy Cummings. There’s one wounded that I did not hear what Co. he
belonged to. We have our water to draw about one mile. The corn looks good. No more at
present. Write soon. Direct as before. From your brother, Robert
To Helen Rogers
