The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1862-12-19
ARMY CORRESPONDENCE.
SUFFOLK, Dec. l, 1862.
Dean BROTHER

DEAR BROTHER: t4Ef 8
As thought a line to you might not come
amiss, I take this evening to write.
There is not much excitement here. Every.
thing is quiet in this portion of the Graud Ar.
my of the North. We have occasionally some
little picket skirmishing but it don't amount to
much, for we have no enemy to contend with
this side Of Blackwater (which is 22 miles) OK.
cept guerrilas, or, you say, old farmers that
slip out of their houses and shoot you if they
have good chance to slip back again without
being seen.
The force we are watching is on the other
side of the Blackwater, and when they come a.
meet them and drive them back. We have got
so used to going up and having little fight
with them that we can almost tell when there
is an order coming for us to 60. In an average
we make trip up every ten days, or two weeks.
We were just up week ago, and had a pref
ty brisk time with them. / Judge it was as big
a fight as they had in South Carolina, and we
only call such things skirmishes' We drove
thom back across the river and some Of our
cavalry went over, drove their pickcts out of
their little houses and sat down and ate the
poor devils breakfasts which they had just rea-
dy. We started from here ou Monday, at a.
bout 10 o'clock, and never stopped until we got
to the river above Franklin, which is on the op-
posite side, where they hold some six miles,
There is crossing place there, but we could
not go across, for it was too deep and no bridge,
but we shelled them, and cracked away at their
pickets on the other side. We then were turned
around and marched back again in front of the
town where our cannon was put into position,
and opened out on them. They were all in line
of battle, on the other side. AS soon as our
cannon let loose, they commenced and shelled
us like the devil When our regiment was or
dercd in, l thought to myself ''good bye! here
goes the last of the little old hundred and first,
the remains of ten hundred men that marched
from Pennsylvania last spring but now only a.
bout three hundred" We went through, sup
ported our battery and drove them out of their
position, but they threw their shells among us
very thick. They nearly all fell in front of us
or else just behind us a few feet. One of them
fell at the side of the st. Major Uongenecker)
and nearly took his arm Our loss was 16,
believe. l don't know what the loss on the 9TH
er side was. We were out three days We
expect to move from this direction towards
Richmond. Officers that pretend to know, say
we marched, till we got back here again, about
seventy-five miles. We did not get to sleep a.
ny until ten o'clock the second night.
1t is nice time to stand picket Just now.
No fires, and snow or rain, you have to take
it. A fellows fingers get awfully cold carrying
a gun before daylight comes have got out
of that now, the COL having appointed me
Provost Sergeant of the Camp He has been
away from us ever since the Fair Oaks fight
(whcre he was woundedD until last week.) He
is not yet quite WELL Captain May was Com
manding the company ever since. We have
this town pretty we'll fortified and are still fort.
flying, there are thousand men working daily
on the forts, and cutting down the timber.
have nothing more to write to you. You
must excuse my hastily written letter, for the
rations of candles don't last long.
We have all built little log houses, four or
five in ''mess" and live very snug
The timber here is all pine and makes very
nice log houses. You can get them just as
long as you want and as thick we made shin
giles and everything else.
Yours. &c.
j. b. HELM.