The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-01-09
COMMUNICATIONS.
Maine Regiments i'm the Army Of the
Potomac.
WASHINGTON, D. G., jan. {, 1864.


Potomac.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Jan. &. 1864.
TO the Editor Of the Press:
The special agent OF the State of Maine, Mr..
Dill of Phillips, (not Pennington, as some OF
the Maine newspapers have it, has just re
turned from the front, and has kindly allowed
me to make use of his notes and furnish you
with some OF the more important observations
for publication in advance Of his forthcoming
report TO the Governor. The right of the ar
my, as you and General Lee are well aware,
rests upon the Rapidan near Cedar Mountain.
This post of honor is held in part by the 10th
Maine regiment and the 9th battery. The
picket line on the extreme left, two miles and
. half southwest of Bealton station, on this
side OF the Rappahannock, is held by the lst
Maine cavalry. The Sd, lth, 9th, 9th 7th and
17th regiments are all within one or two miles
of Brandy station, south of the RappahaHnock,
near General Meade's headquarters.
Mr.. Dill visited the 18th regiment last Thurs
day, finding only six men in the regimenial
hospital: Oliver Walker, Co. A, diarrhea; Jo-
siah Cookson, B: Aionzo j. Morrison, ID, lung
fever-improying; Leonard +. Plaisied, G,
lung fever, gaining; John Mclaughlin, ii,
lung complaint; John Moran, K, fever. Sew
enteen were Off duty in quarters. OF these,
J. A. Stone of Portland was reported quite
sick Corp. G.. X. Fickettof Portland had been
ter; ID. p. Pullen OF Scarboro, with rheuma-
tism for week; Cyrus Baker OF Saco, with
sprain, one day; Freeman Brown of Gorham,
three weeks, but gaining. Few of these cases
are serious.
The Sd Regiment had on Friday seven men
in hospital: James O'Neil, Co. A, pneumonia; !;
VIM. II. Goodhue, G, lung complaint; Cyrus
A. Barrows, ID, lung fever; jeremiah Smith,
ID. lung fever, better; Anthony Y. Souie, d.
ohr diarrhaa 0aiptup- A hal Hnmphrav
4, lung fever, better: Cornelius ). Piper, /,
dphtheria, improving. All of these men, and
nearly all of the eleven sick in Quarters, are
new recruits. One, conscript, has not done
q full days work for three years, aud of course
is worse than useless in The army.
In the regimentaI hospital of the 4th Maine,
Mr.. Dill found the same day fifteen patients; !;
E. X. Waterman, Co. b, off duty three days;
5. w. johnson, G., bronchitis, better; John III.
Thomas, G, dysentery; j. Thompson, y, bron-
chitis; VIM. Estar, L. epilepsy; VIM. Heath,
Il, substitute, never fit for duty; +. Morang,
+, fever; J. Simpson. L, fever, better; j. Sni-
ley, weeks off duty, improving; WIN. NJ.
Smith, 4, dysentery; 5. L. Trott, 4, fever; j.
Ward, K, substitute, not tit for the service; 7.
Armstrong, +, a substitute, 10 years Of age !;
F. Kigore, |, substitute, not fit fol the service
j. Sanborn h, rheumatism. All but four Of
these men are recruits. The epileptic patient
was discharged from the 10th regiment under
the name OF Henry Esley, and Joined the 4th
as substitute.
OF the 7th regiment, l43 have rc-enisted
and gone home on a furlough. Only three of
those who remain are off duty. The 1st, 5th
and sixth regiments, Mr.. Dill had not time to
visit last week.
The 10th has moved within ten days from
Kelly's Ford TO its present position near
Mitchells Station. The change has had
disastrous, though it Is hoped but temporary,
effect upon the health of the regiment.
During the last week the weather ran
through all the changes possible--heayy rains
Monday and Tuesday, a bright, warm We'd
nesday, rain again Thursday, mud knee-deep
Friday morning and frozen hard enough to
bear horse by sunset; two cold, clear days,
and yesterday snow. IL was an inclement
season TO leave snug winter quarters and set
about building new. Here is a table of deaths
in the regiment since the 18th November:
Clark K. Perry, Co. u, Alexandria, Nov. IS,
1853.
VIM. II. Spear, Co. B, Kelly's Ford, Dec. 5,
1868.
Geo. L. webber, Co. G, Kelly's Ford, Dec.
"a, 1868.
h. n. Mallett, Co. B, culpeper, Dec. q,
1853.
c. E. Rogers, Co. B, Culpcpcr, Dec 80,
1868.
Gilman Lawrence, Cob, Culpeper, Dec. 81,
1888.
Edwin Martin, Co. G., Culpeper, Jan. l.,
1864.
One every day, since the division hospital
was removed TO Culpeper! Last Sunday there
were thirty-lour men belonging to this regi-
ment in hospital: Harriff Rowel, Co. A; A.
G. Landpher, b: Joseph Luney, b; J. Rich
ardson, b; Theodore Weeks, b; Geo. viii
liams, b; G. A. Kitchen, G.: c.. A. Kneeland,
ID; G. G. Decker, u; Daniel Wetheri, +
James C. Bishop. f.; John Chadborn, +:
Samuel Cunningham, f; VIM. Powers, +; l..
ID. Rowe, F; 1. Lane, G.; Vim. Love, G; 4.
NJ. Shaw, G.; Chas. Thompson, G.; John
II: Serg. j. S. Stevens, H; VIM. w. Marston,
j.; Chas. II. Thompson, L; j. b. Burnby, X
Isaac Drew, X George X. Grover, K Ill. j..
Ham, X; Augustus Hines, X: James NJ Sher-
man, K; Thomas j. Wilson, X; B. b. Brown,
b II. NJ. Shaw, X. There were at the same
time thirty-eight men off duty in quarters on
account of sickness.
Several Of the soldiers recently deceased
have left small sums of money, for which
their relative should apply TO the surgeon in
charge of the I'd division hospital Of the lst
corps. G. E. Rogers, Of Belfast, left $40: Gil
man Lawrence, OF Plymouth, $50. Thomas
Osborne, of the l7th regiment, hitherto sup
posed by his friends to be living, was killed at
Orange Grove, 9th November last. Mr.. Dill
brought some clothing for him, from home.
Vita the exception Of the 10th, the sanitary
condition of our regiments is everything that
could be expected There is hardly any sick
ness. among the veterans. Throughout the
army hopeful courage lifts the men over the
rougher passages of their daily experience
They believe the end is coming, and will be-
gin lhe next campaign with will to make it
the last. On the other side of the Rapidan the
enemy is nervously busy In strength ening and
extending his earthworks. Twenty-Five oi
Stuart's men came into Culpepper the Other
day and surrendered. Two years ago these
same men were galloping around the stagnan
army of the Potomac. As Mr.. Dill came ul
yesterday he saw six more grayback deserterS
at Brandy station, ragged, without oyercoats
red toes visible through their wornout shoes
Our commissaries supply the Virginians ofCul
pepper with the necessarles of life. Judging
by these straws, / believe the soldiers art
right; the wind sets straight toward thu
zenith and the Confederate balloon must gt
up or burst. ii. w. II.