Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-05-11
Letter from the 9TH Iowa Infantry

correspondence oil the Charles City Inteligencer.
Letter from the 9TH Iowa Infantry.
MoRRIsvILLE STATION. N. C.,l
April 10, 1865.
DEAR EDITOR 1T seems almost an
age since ! wrote to let you know how
the old Seventh was fourishing. If l
mistake not, we were at Savannah
when last wrote. Since then we have
marched six hundred miles through
swamps and over corduroy" We
have driven the chivalry" of the
Carolinas before us like so many sheep,
and Notwithstanding the many threats
that we were "only marching on to de-
struction," this morning finds us in as
favorable circumstances as the most
ardent could wish for. In the lam
guage of the weuns," we fatter our
selves that we have "Gone and done
| it."
They told us last night that the
war is over" and you may readily
judge that if we were not all drunk
with wine, we were with excitement
at least we all acted as if set up a
little. You wouldn't blame us if we
drank toast to the played out Con-
thievocracy,' would you? You know
we enlisted for the war. Well, of
course, we're free now, so | slung my
knapsack and struck for the woods
this morning, and Pm going to sit
here on this old pine log and write till
get ready to stop. Let the bugle
sound and the drums beat as much as
they please.
don't know anything about your
assembly" Cap. When we were
soldiers we were not supposed to
know anything unless the drum beat.
We've soldiered four years, and now
we're going to play civilian awhile
go to Iowa, or some other good State,
build little shanty in the woods, or
some other place, and live the life of a
patriotic old batch, or "some other
man."
Previous to the 10th of this month,
while we were in camp at Goldsboro',
North Carolina, thorough preparations
for an active campaign were being
made, and the usual rumors of March,
ing orders reached us daily. ] think
almost all were making calculations
on a week or SO more of rumors, be-
fore the real orders came, and we
were therefore somewhat surprised
when on that morning we received Oh
ders to be ready to march at 10 o'clock.
BY the given time we were waiting to
hear the words Fall in," which were
only couple Of hours later than the
time set. Everything moved off with
uncommon speed for military matters,
and by noon you could see in every d.
rection, vast clouds of "blue coats"
vending their way over the hills, and
through the forests of the "Old North
State" some going east, others north,
in fact almost any way you could
look. They looked like swarm of
bees crowding out of their old hive.
l never saw the boys in better spir-
its nor in better trim, any way, than
at that time. A grander and more in
vincible army never kept step to the
fife and drum. That night we march,
ed till eleven O'clock. 1t rained and
the roads were very muddy, but we
have found few swamps that we could
not fill up with rails, or if rails were
not plenty enough, down came the
trees, with which the Carolinas are
amply supplied. On the 10th We
marched fifteen miles. On the 18th,
we left camp late but made up lost
time and bad roads by marching all
night till three O'clock next morning,
when we cooked our breakfast and
marched on. That day we marched
twelve or fifteen miles and "cordu-
royed the most of the road.
About nine o'clock, on the morning
of the 18th, we reached small town
called Lowell, where we halted for an
hour or two. Here we received the
gratifying and most glorious news Of
the surrender of Gen. Lee to General
Grant wish you could have seen
the actions of the boys, and heard the
cheers which resounded through the
grand old forests around that village
Of Lowell, N. c., on this ever memora-
BILE occasion.
On the 18th we marched l8 miles,
our general course during the three
days being towards Raleigh. The
18th. we were on our way, bright and
early, and by noon had stepped of
another Is miles which brought us
within four miles of Raleigh.
They told us before we left Colds
boro' that there was lion in the way,
yet we kept in the middle of the path
and he did not harm us. The same
would-be lion" is now chained, and
is as tame as lamb. On Friday, the
l4th, we marched into Raleigh, and
surprised the citizens almost TO death
by acting like human beings, instead
of tends, as they own they supposed
we would act. Saturday. bright and
early. (not SO very bright, either |; for
| never saw it rain harder in my life y
we s.arted for HillsborO' where John