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Regiment: 2nd Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures:
Bolever Ala
August the 25th 1863
Dear Uncle
I now send you a fiew lines once more.
I think I have not wrote to you since I left Triune Tenn in
[ ? ] last so I will now five you some account of our adventures
since then we heft
[ ? ] the 23 of June early in the morning our
regt and the 1
st Tenn in advance we went only about 5 miles till
we found the rebs skirmishing then commensed at one our regt and
the 8
th takeing turns with
[ ? ] driving them before us for
[ ? ]
5 miles than they opened on us with three piece of artillery hell
us in check has come time the rest of the
[ ? ] came up we then
formed in to line and moved down on them agane through a
piece of woods the shot and shell going over our heads all the
time we went to the edge of the timber with in about 40 rods of
of there battery and then haulted to west for the mounted uni
on the right to flank them I could se them load there guns and
fire then but they did not se our line or they might have done more
damage in the mean time they sent a party around to the rear
of us and they masse a charge into the 1st East Tenn Cavalry and
the first thing we knew they wer fireing more than a mile in
our rear
Tenn boys did not flinch for then but got right up and
met them and a hand to hand contest ensued for about 15 min
in whitch Colonel Bronlaw had his horse shot this made
us fall back and let them get of with there battery this sus of
theres was all that saved them the day wer all verry warm and
a good many of the men give out we had one man lost his arm
wth a peare of shel two or three others slightly wonded and I think
only one killed we stayed on the ground all night and went on in
the morning agane our brigade went in the rear then we went only a
little ways till we found them agane skirmishing anyone began the
rebes falling back till they come to Middleton they then made
a stand our artilery then opened on them at about 8 oclock in the
afternoon they took up positions in the houses and held our lines
in check but they soon shelled then out of them I saw one shell
strike in one house whare there was about 10 or 12 of them fireing at us
it blew about one 1/4 of the roof of and they soon left what was not hurt
as soon as they wer all dislodged from the buildings we then arade a charge
and drove them at all points this put an end to the fight for it was most
dark it rained all day and all the time of the fight we wer now as
wet as could be we then mounted our horses and marched till 12 oclock
and then leg down ad slept till morning it raining all of the time
started in the morning went till noon stayed two dayes and started for
shelbyville on the 23 we wer now joined by another Division of Cavalry
and one of Infantry it was some 15 miles and over 1/2 of the distance we
hed to fight and there is hardly a tree or a house but shower the marge
of the bullets but the could not hold us in check a moment the last
[ ? ] we went at full gallop the road was full of blankets hats guns
wonded horses and evry now and then a dead or wonded man andevry
thing that you could think of belonging to a mounted trooper sink right
I can never discribe it seamed as if the earth trembled under the tred of
so many horses we went into the town at a full gallop 600 of them
threw down there arms in the town we allso took 3 pices of artillery
in the town there was lots of them tryed to swim the river but the
water was so high from the rain that the wer most all drowned or shot
boath man and horse the next morning we found lots of dead horses on
and men down the river for more than a mile one place there
was 20 of them went in below the brigde and the wer all drowned or
shot but are by the 1 Penn there was such a stampede among them
crowded eachother of the bridge on they fell into the river we took over
800 prisners and I think 34 commissioned officers that day we then
I give up the chase and stoped for the night in the town it rained
in the night an some in the daytime you may think it strange
how we fight in such weather we have got water proof cartradges
and caps whitch will go wet or dry we then went on to elk
river we got there on the first day of July and found the emny ready
to dispute our crossing with 26 peaces of artilery some heavy skirmishing
was then done whitch resulted in our geting over the river just about
sundown and found the rebs drawn up in line of battle in
our front we then formed in line and leg in line all night
expecting to fight in the morning but daylight found them
all gone we then went on after then to lower station right
to the foot of the mountains had some fighting with them there
and then left them since then we have been in the go all the
time after bushwhackers and clearing the country of gurillies and
fetching in counterbands dureing whitch time a grait many
things has hapened of whitch I would like to tell you but time
does not permit but I hope that the time is not far distant
when I will be able to tell you without the trouble of writing
so good by for the present from
John Wasson
make your one
corrections
for I think there
is some
Boliver Ala.
August the 27th/63
8 oclock
J.W.
John Wasson
