Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1861-06-21
Letter From Lieut.. Webb of The Nor,ht.,,
Company.

| Letter From Lieut.. Webb of The Nor,,..,,
| Company.
CAMP BUTLER, NEWPORT News, VAL
June ii, 1861.
DEAR FATHER:-Night before last at
p. NJ, was thinking that perhaps nv
last letter to you would be my last. At
7 our Company, with four others from the
Vermont Regiment, had orders to be ready
to march at IL that night, with fortv
rounds of cartridges. We started from
this Camp with six hundred German, two
hundred and fifty Vermont, and two hun.
dred and fifty Massachusetts troops. Tn.
der orders we marched nine miles without
stopping. We were to meet two Regi.
ments from Fortress Monroe, at point
eight miles from our camp But when
we arrived they were not there; 50 we
marched on, and when about two miles
beyond. we heard heavy firing of artillery
and musketry, and supposed that our ar.
tillery and rear guard of 600 Germans
had been attacked by the Rebels. We
then countermarched back two miles on
the run, formed the line of battle and
charged on them. But we soon found
that they were part of our own forces
that had come from the Fortress to act in
concert with us, whom the Germans
thought were Secessionists, and pitched
into them accordingly-killing three, and
wounding three Or four more of Colonel
Townsend's Regiment. The firing made
us four miles of extra marching, besides
giving the enemy warning of our coming.
We then marched some four or five miles,
when we were overtaken by Col. Towns.
ends and Col. Duryee's Regiments, ma
king in all about twenty-five hundred
men. If we had gone directly to the
place we started for, we should have done
very much better. We were under the
command of Brigadier General Pierce. We
marched up to within seven hundred yards
of the enemy's entertainments and formed
three lines. Col. Duryee's Zouaves made
charge, followed by Col. Townsend's Reg
iment, while we were posted, for short
time, as a reserve in rear of the whole
The rebels were sending their shells in
among us at the rate of one per minute
bursting in all directions; but none of
us were hit, until the order came to
charge.
will describe the place before I 80
any farther Bethel Meeting House is
the name of the place. 1t is twelve miles
from this camp, and eight miles from
Yorktown, (where the rebels have q very
large force,) and four miles from Hamp-
ton. The firing between our two reg-
ments (Townsend's and the Germans) en-
abled them to signal across the river to
send over to Yorktown for reinforcements;
when if we had gone straight ahead we
should have surprised and taken the
whole Of them, for, as | before said, we
were posted in the rear for a while. At
forwards we had orders to form on the
right flank of the Zouaves, where the
balls whistled some, l can tell you. At
forwards we were ordered farther to the
right, where there was no firing, nor did
the rebels expect any. The result was
that they (the rebels received some five
hundred balls among them, and the ma
jority Of them told, too. We kept up the
fire for about half an hour, when the call
for retreat was sounded, and we were OBJ
liged to heed it. We retired from the
field for the want Of more men and artil.
lery. We had only two cannon and two
small howitzers, while the enemy must
have had battery of from ten to fifteen
guns, besides o riAed cannon which
! did fearful execution among our