Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1805.044.01.10 |
Collection |
Moore Letters |
Object Name |
Letter |
Title |
Letter from Will Moore to his Brother |
Scope & Content |
Will Moore write to his brother from Virginia. He recounts that food has been hard to come by; as he and his regiment were forced to buy food. He says he made out very well buying some coffee, chickens, bread, etc. His regiment linked with the rest of the Army of the Potomac and served as its last guard. They thought there were in for a fight with the enemy, but nothing happened. |
Dates of Creation |
November 11, 1862 |
Date |
November 11, 1862 |
Notes |
The full transcription for this letter is below: Camp near Warrenton Va [Virginia] November 11th 1862 Dear Brother, Having a little leisure time to night [tonight] the first for some time [sometime] I thought I would write to you, We have had some pretty hard times lately, we reached White plains, three or four day [days] ago, I wrote to mother while we were there, the day it was sn-owing, well that day we had not-hing to eat scarely [scarcely], I had a few hard cracker crumbs, off of which I made one meal, we had a little water in which meat had been boiled too that night, so all together we made out pretty well, that day next day about noon the whole Regt [Regiment] was ordred [ordered] out for picket [page break] we managed to buy a little bread before starting, we went about two miles from camp, when we were placed on post, we had also managed to get a little coffee, so as soon as we stoped [stopped], (we four of us), made some coffee a so with our bread and a little butter we bought, we made what to us was a splendid coffee supper, but not all fared so well, we made out well enough that night, about nine oclock there was a box of crackers and a little pork sent to each company they were soon snached [snatched] up, we were on post, two hours, and off four, the post we had, four, of us were Will Blakey Doctor Hilt, (we call Hilt the "Doctor" I dont know how we got the name, but he [goes] by that all together), Chandler and I, was on a hill, by the side of a [page break] lilte hous [lighthouse], we bought a chicken and had them to cook it, we put it in our haversack and thought we would have a good breakfast, the last two hours were on, we were relieved, and as we were march-ing in to the fire where the reserves was, we were told that our division was marching in-haste, we had to halt to allow the company that was out to come in, we thought we had better eat our chicken, we had just time to gobble it down, and off we started, for camp, we got in camp, broke ranks to take down our "dog houses" which we had left standing, we rolled them up straped [strapped] them on our knap-sacks, drawn up in line, and told our Brigade was the Rear guard for the whole army, our [page break] Regt [Regiment] was the last Regt [Regiment] in the Bri-gade, that day, and our compay [company] is the last company in the Regt [Regiment] so you may know we were near the last, every man able to drag one boot before the other was forced along, or there was [danger] of being captured, [Our] [orders] was even to use the bayoned [bayonet] if a man refused, to go along, but thank God there was no occasion to use it. we marched from white plains to our presant [present] camp without any breakfast, and nothing [in] our haversacks but two or three hard crackers, over [some] of he [the] largest hills I [ever] [climbed] with our back knapsacks, it was as hard as a march I think as ever we made, we reache [reached] where our division was encamped long after dark, tired and hungry in the meantime we the company had drawn some crackers so we had som [some] supper that night, yesterday our Brigade was ordred [ordered] out with one day rations in our haversacks and without knapsacks, we thought we were in for a fight we mar-ched right back to within a mile of White plains and drawn up in line of battle expecting the [page break] enemy but [nary] Reb [Rebels] made their appearance, so we marched back again, all our marching was for nothing, as the mail closes at eight o clock so I will have to close, give my love to mother and all the rest, as I have sent my [?] I suppos [suppose] you know [then], write to me soonYour affet [affectionate] Brother, Will [page break] Co [Company] B 119th Regt [Regiment] PV [Pennsylvania Volunteers] 1st Brigade 2nd Division Washington DC |
Extent of Description |
2 leaves, 7.8" x 9.8" |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |
Condition |
Good |
Condition Notes |
Letter written in pencil. Folded vertically in half and then folded horizontally into thirds. There are small tears along the bottom and the top of the crease of the middle vertical fold cutting the paper in two. No stains and smudges, but the bottom left and right corners are slightly tourn and ripped |
Legal Status |
On loan from the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia. |
Multimedia Files |
Click here to view the full transcription of the Moore Letters Collection. |
People |
Moore, Will |
Search Terms |
Moore Letters White Plains, VA Warrenton, VA |