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https://micivilwar.com/authors/winchell-edward-a/
Regiment: 2nd Michigan Infantry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures: Robert E. Lee
Camp near Arlington
Sept 12
Dear Uncle I hope you will
excuse me for not writing
to you before but as I told
Frank and Emma I have not
had time we are kept busy
from morning till night
all of the time you say that it
seems that somebody was
writing to me every day I did
not receive but one letter for
three weeks and that was from
Emma but never mind that.
You ask me if I have experienced
any change I have experienced it
in two respects the first is they
will give no passes to go to
Washington and the second is that
they arrest you if they catch you a
cramping any vegetables and
take you to headquarters that is
General Lee’s mansion on
Arlington heights that is the
only way in which I feel the
strict discipline as they call it
I could not tell you in what
respect it is felt by the
officers unless it is a going to
Washington. Colonel Larned
has been sick most of the time
since he came here. There was
some talk at first about Larned
being Colonel but he puts on to
much style the boys would not have
any confidence in him on the
field of battle.
There is a nother thing that
I can not inform you upon and
that is what makes so many
officers resign I am sure I can not
tell unless it is that they did not like
Bull Run or Manassas but
then I do not and
it would not right for me
to say without knowing for certain
You say that you hear a great
many large stories about camp
life and the many narrow escapes
we have from secesh. I dare say
that you hear of a great many
things that never occur but then
we have some pretty narrow escapes not
from being catched by secesh
them selves but by
there bullets which is not quite as
bad as by them. The other day
when company D was on picket
out at Balley’s Cross roads a company
of secesh came down by his house
which is not very far from his
house we heard them talking
before we could se them but as soon
as they came in sight we let
drive in amongst them and the
way they sent the bullets back was
a certain I dont know how many
we killed but I guess we made
some of them fall for a spell the
ball came thick and fast about
us untill we took leg boil for the
reserve we came back in about half
an hour but they had gone but the
pickets kept up a concentrated fire
all day from the houses and barns
and corn fields but with out doing
any damage there was only one of
our boys hurt and he was hardly hurt
a ball just grazed his skin just
close enough for him to fined out
how they feel
Emma asked me in her letter if I had
given that note to jack. Tell her
I am ashamed to answer her that I
have not and that is the reason why I did
not write to Uncle Edmund I could not
give it to him before I went to bulls
run and after that I have had plenty
of chances but have neglected it I did
not tell Emma in her letter because I
thought I would see him before I wrote to
you but I see that he has left the regiment
and it will be no good to give it to him
Doc Stephens I believe has taken his
place and I am a going to se him if i
can I dont know what Uncle Edmund will
say when he hears that I have not given
his note to
him I will write to him
Give my love to all of the folks Good Bye
From Edd
