Letter – Bryant Vincent, 22 December 1864

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Letter written by Private Bryant L. Vincent of Company K, 12th IN Cavalry, to his friends, from Murfreesboro, TN. Vincent writes that he has been in three hard battles, but has come out safely. He mentions defeating Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and comments on the way that Union Major General George H. Thomas “whipped” Confederate General John Bell Hood in Nashville. Vincent describes the battles he has been in since leaving Tullahoma, TN, including the Battle of Overall’s Creek. Another saw his brigade guarding a forage train under heavy fire until they received reinforcements. He writes that he has gotten used to the sounds of cannons and musketry, and they will have to wait until he returns home to fully explain what battle is like. Vincent remarks that the hardest part of being a soldier has been the rations, as food has been scarce for several weeks. The railroad to Nashville has been torn up, and several bridges have been burned.

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Murfreesboro Dec 22 64

Dear Friends

I rec[eived] 3 letters this morning I am well and doing well I have been in 3 pretty hard fought battles since I have been at murfreesboro but I have come through all staraight all though sometimes I thought I would not I have seen some awful hard marches. but it is all in a fellows life time and I guess the fighting in this part of the country is nearly done [???] for we have whipped old Forest here three times and the way Thomas has whippped Hood in front of Nashville will be a caution to him not to try it again and

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but a small part of his forces will ever get across the Tennessee for they said when they came up here that Victory or no Victory they would not go back again we started from tullahoma Nov 30 and got here Dec 2 we marched day and night, the first fight was Sunday the 4 of Dec it is called the battle of overalls creek, the next fight was the 6 of Dec we had to support a battery the revel artillery was playing on our artillery and our co lay right behind the battery and the way the shot and ball came was a caution we lost 2 men both wounded from our co I do not know how many from the regt the next fight was wednesday the 14 our Brigade went out to guard a forage train

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we fought all day and were surrounded on all sides just at night as we had got the wagon loaded with corn and got on to the pike they commenced harder than ever in front and rear we made up our minds we were gobbled and we should have every one of us been taken if it had not been for reinforcements coming out but they fought hard before they gave up. I have got so the noise of cannon and muskets dont bother me much for I have been within sound of it about all the time for 3 weeks, I wish I could give you some idea of what a battle is but I havent room to do so by letter and I will have to wait untill I get home then I can tell you something about it

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[Thad?] is well [???] is not very good but I guess he will be better before long we shall probably start for tullahoma tomorrow, and when we get settled there you can send the box. I am glad you could not send it for it would be nothing but a trouble here I wrote to you the day before we left tullahoma and told you not to send it but I guess the letter did not go through, I dont know how long before this one will but I will have it ready, the hardest has been the rations we have been obliged to live on all most nothing for the last 3 weeks we have drawn only one hard tack and one pint of meal for 5 days rations and had it not been for parched corn I believe we would have starved the railroad is badly torn up between here and Nashville and several bridges burned but there is a large force at work on it and before long we will have a plenty of rations but I have written a long letter and I must close Vincent

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Mother

you must not worry about me for I am all right and have probably seen the hardest I will have to so, you said something about homsick I aint homsick, it is pretty cold here

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Bryant L. Vincent, from Pulaski County, IN, enlisted as a private in Company K of the 12^th IN Cavalry on November 14, 1864. He survived the war and was mustered out on November 10, 1865. Being a new recruit, his youth and inexperience is fully evident in this letter. The war obviously remained somewhat of an adventure to him despite the hardships he was compelled to rapidly cope with.

Letter – John Wiggins, 20 April 1863

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Letter written by Sergeant John W. Wiggins of Company F, 39th C Infantry, to his brother Joseph A. Wiggins, from Shelbyville, TN. Wiggins is replying to a letter from his brother, and writes that he is glad that Joseph is safe. He mentions supporters of Abraham Lincoln, and says they “showed themselves to be what they represent.” He remarks on the deaths of family friends. Wiggins has heard of recent reinforcements sent to the Union army at Tullahoma. Wiggins mentions their hard drilling, and how they have a new brigadier, General William B. Bate. Wiggins hopes that R. B. Vance, who was recently promoted to brigadier, will get command of his brigade.

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Shelbyville Tenn

April 20th/63

Mr. J.A. Wiggins

Dear Bro

its with pleasure that I put my pen to respond to yours of the 7th which has been before me only a few days I was truly glad tohear from you and hear that you had come through on a [???] and from the account you gave me that you was in a tolerable close place and it also seams like the Lincens [Lincolns] and their gallant Leader showed them selves to be what they represent I can inform you that I received a letter from home today and they was all well it was dated Apr 12th it said that Geminie Welch was dead and I also received one from home a short time before this and it said that Calvin Colvard wife was dead;

I expect that we will have something to do in a short time the enemy is reported to have received a reenforcement of (20,000) twenty thousand

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and it is reported that they are reenforcing at Tulihoma [Tullahoma] with 3 Divisions from Miss and it is also reported that they are reenforcing from VA; I would be mighty glad to see we are living tolerable well at present we have to drill tolerable hard we have got a new Brigadier Gen Bate Col R. B. Vance has been promoted to a brigadier but has not been ordered on duty I am in hopes that he will get command of this Brigade Brother Burton was examined and came clear of conscript so I recon I must close for the present so no more only remian Your Brother Respectfully

John W. Wiggins Co F

39 Regt NC Troops 2nd Brigade

McCowns Division

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John W. Wiggins, age 19, from Cherokee County, NC, enlisted in Company F, of the 39^th NC Infantry, circa February 23, 1862. He is listed as a sergeant as of November 25, 1862, and was wounded at Stones River on December 31, 1862, but returned to duty the next day. He was promoted to 1^st Sergeant of Company F on March 1, 1863. He was fatally wounded at Chickamauga on September 19, 1863, and died in the hospital on September 21^st. He was twice reported on the Confederate Honor Roll for valiant service, at Stones River and Chickamauga.

Letter – Cecil Fogg, 10 July 1863

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Letter written by Private Cecil Fogg of Company B, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, to his father from a camp near Elk River, TN. Fogg comments on the weather and road conditions since leaving Murfreesboro, and mentions an encounter with Confederate troops at Beach Grove. He describes marching to Manchester and Tullahoma, and writes that they captured prisoners and took some corn meal to eat. They discovered that the Elk River bridge had been destroyed, and heavy rains made it too dangerous to cross on foot, so they were forced to travel out of their way to an older bridge. There are rumors of Union victories in locations such as Vicksburg or Richmond, though Fogg is skeptical.

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Camp near Elk River, Tenn. July 10^th/63

Father

   I have written 2 or 3 letters since we left Murfreesboro, but I was in such a hurry each time that I don’t know whether I told you anything or not. We would only have about 15 minutes’ notice to write our letters in, and there was no ink, and but little paper, etc. to be got. We sent back our knapsacks, and we could not carry such things very well. We had dry weather before we left Murfreesboro. We left there on the 24^th of June. It commenced raining that day, and  rained nearly all the time for 3 days, and it rained every day but one since, till yesterday. There has been no rain here since day before yesterday, but the roads are awful, and teams can hardly get along at all. We were stopped 2 days at Beach Grove by the

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Rebels. On the 3^rd night they slipped off in the dark and we did not discover it till about noon the next day. Our brigade went on 12 miles in the afternoon, and camped a few miles from Manchester. We went in to Manchester the next morning and stayed there that day and the next. The next day we started on toward Tullahoma, and went to within about 5 miles of the place. There were 2 showers that day, about as hard as I ever seen it rain. It rained about 2 hours each time, and we were in it all. We could hear the [rail]cars at Tullahoma all that night, and the next night. Our regt. was out skirmishing the day before, and the night that the Rebs left town. We could hear the cars all the time, but couldn’t tell whether they were leaving, or receiving reinforcements. We went into town the next day and camped about a mile west of town that night. The town is,

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or was before the war, about as large as Withesville. It looks like a town built in the woods. Where we were the ground is not needed [kneaded?]; the trees are left standing and the town is well shaded. We left there the next morning and came to Elk River, where we camped that night. We captured a few prisoners, and a large quantity of corn meal at Tullahoma, and a great deal of meal had been destroyed by the Rebs. We brought some of the meal along with us, and it came in very good play when our crackers ran out. The day we got to Elk River the bridge was destroyed, and we went up the river about 2 miles to a ford where the most of the 14^th A. C. had crossed. It was pretty late when we got there, and we camped on the north bank that night, calculating to cross in the

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morning. But it rained that night and raised the river so high that we could not cross. Some regts. crossed, but they lost some men and a good many guns. The water came up to the necks of the shortest men, and it is a very swift stream. We had to go way around, about 4 or 5 miles, to get back to the old bridge, which the pioneers were repairing. We stayed there that night and the next day. They had got the bridge fixed up so that we could cross, and we crossed that morning (the 4^th) and came 2 or 3 miles this side of the river and went into camp. We heard National salutes all around us and ahead of us. Besides that, we heard any amount of stories of great victories gained by our armies in the East, and Vicksburg, Richmond, etc. But we all had the privilege of believing just as much as we chose to of it. And I did not chose to believe any of it.

[rest of letter missing]

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Cecil Fogg enlisted in Company B of the 36^th OH Volunteer Infantry on August 12, 1861 at Marietta, OH at the age of 20. He served through his three year term of service and re-enlisted for the war, but was mustered out July 27, 1865 based upon a surgeon’s certificate of disability. The 36th served in West Virginia in 1861, and participated in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam as a part of the 9^th Corps before being transferred west in January 1863. As a part of the Army of the Cumberland’s 14^th Army Corps (George H. Thomas), the regiment fought at Chickamauga and later in the Atlanta and Savannah, GA (March to the Sea) Campaigns.