Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-05-10
LETTERS FROM THE INFANTRY-No. TO-
HEADQUARTERS OF SIXTH REeIMENT,M V. MI
Co G. Elk Ridge Landing, !
HARDWOOD Co., Md, Nav 7, 1851. J

HEADQUARTERS Nj. v. n
Co G. Elk Ridge Landing,
HARDWOOD Co., Md, May Z, 1861.
Dear R: We have now exchanged our
barracks at the Capitol for regular camp life
We received marching orders from Gen. But
Ter, Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday morn
ing were marched to the depot. Hosts of our
friends in Washington surrounded us and babe
us good bye. We reached Elk Ridge Land
ing, near the Relay House, at nghtfall, and
took possession of the heights which command
the Baltimore and Ohio and Baltimore and
Washington railroads On reaching here
we found that our camp equipage had
not arrived. 1t began to rain, and we
were without shelter of any kind Each
company divided the men into squads,
and all went TO work making wigwams of the
limbs of trees, and such fence rails as could
be found. AS soon as we had these made, we
Myself and sixteen others crawled into one If
these tents with nothing to lie on save some
leaves Of trees spread on the wet ground, and
with the rain pouring in all night. Perhaps
some think did not sleep. l slept soundly
all night, woke in the morning wet through,
and never felt better in my life. The cold
had contracted in the senate chamber, was
entirely cured, and l have not coughed a dog.
en- times since. Parker was in our squad, but
we were too crowded for him and he and
Capt. Pratt lay on the ground outside, near
the fire.
1t rained all day, Monday, and here we were
on the top of the ridge, without shelter. With
a squad of nine of our boys, l proposed to
build tolerabe shanty. passed them over
the guard lines, and found pile of boards,
with which, in half an hour, we built shanty
| which did not leak, and was the envy of the
whole regiment. We called Capt. Pratt, and
| formally named it the pratt House." and
then invited the captain to snooze inside, which
he did Last evening thunder shower came
up, and while we were comfortably enjoying
our neat little shanty-the Pratt House,
sudden gale of wind took off the roof, leavin g
us at the sport of the watery element But
roof was on again, and we never slept sounder
or dryer at home. We had coffee, bole1 beef
and bread, in abundance one of the Infantry
caught rabbit, and another one ran down a
quail, both of which were served up in French
style
His I ueSday- morning the sun Shines Out
beautifully, and the-beys are all well. The
troops occupying these Heights-a very i'm
portant position-are our Sixth Regiment, the
New York Eighth Regiment with eight field
pieces, and the Boston Light Artillery. We
have six of their guns planted at our quarters,
which command the country round about
The full number of both regiments, and the
| Artillery, is about two thousand men. When
we receive our camp equipage, which we ex-
pect every hour from Boston, we shall be very
| pleasantly located 1t is a beautiful country,
and most of the people are Unionists. We
have the power to cut off all supplies to Vir.
ginia ana Baltimore, and to keep open eommu-
ncation with Washington. Our troops last
night stopped a train with four car loads of
-four for Virginia. The cars were locked, but
the doors were broken open with axes, the
flour taken out, the train searched, and allow
ed to pass on. This morning another train
was stopped, and large quantity of tea and
tobacco for Virginia was seized. These arti-
Giles will come very handy for u.s. All passing
trains are stopped and thoroughly searched,
and for this purpose three companies are kept
constantly at the Relay House.
When the grounds become dry, and we get
settled with our tents and full camp equipage,
our boys will all be perfectly satisfied with
this location land even now, under the severe
storm of the last two days, with no shelter
but that afforded by boughs of trees, and with
the cold wet ground for bed, they have not
complained, but have borne it all like
heroes If we have suffered somewhat
we consider the greater hardships of
that gallant and noble band under Gen. Ar
mold, who, leaving Boston in the Revolutions
ry war marched through the wilderness to
Quebec in the dead OF winter. What the faith
ers endured to establish this government can
not the children endure to maintain it?
n.