LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 22,
1861 TO HIS FRIENDS, CAMP
KALORAMA, NEAR WASHINGTON
D.C.
Dear friends,
I take my pencil in hand to
inform you that I am well at
presant, and I hope that
these few lines may still
finde you engoying the same.
I have not much to write to
you, but here I send you a
little paper that will give
you some information. Tell
the children that I think of
them one and ol. And I would
like to hear from them ol,
and dear father in
petickular I would like to
hear from you.
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LETTER DATED OCTOBER 4, 1861 TO HIS FATHER, CAMP
KALORAMA, NEAR WASHINGTON D.C.
Most
dear and affectionate father,
I take my pencil in hand to inform
you that I am well and harty, and that I received
your vary affectionate letter of the 20th on the 2d,
and it gave me a gradeal of pleasure to learn that
you ware ol well. I received a vary pleasant anseer
to the first letter that I rote that was riten by
Eunice, Sarahjane, and Simon, which gave me a
gradeal of pleasure And I rote one rite away and
poot ol three of thare names on it, and I received
no anseer. And then I rote a gain and sent a smal
paper in it coled the Camp Ketel. And in a day or to
after I sent a newspaper coled the National Republic
and still received no anseer til now, and I was
beginning to think thare was up some whare or other.
You wanted to know how things was
with me. Thay ar ol rite, and it is vary pleasant
weather here and has been so ever since we came
here. We hafto sleep on the ground, but we have
plenty of blankets to sleep on. We ar vary turnover
comfortable. We have plenty of evrything to eat and
plenty of clothes, to. I have got since I came here
1 pare of shoes and 2 pares of firstrate stockings
and 2 shirts and a cap and a splendid pare of pants.
We will get our coats soon. Thare is part of them
here now but not a nuff for ol, and the cornel sade
that he would not distribute them til he got a nuff
for ol. And as for a blanket you need not send one,
for I donte nead it. And if I did, it would bee of
no youse for you to send one for I would never get
it.
You need not fret about us, for we
have a cornel that will not see us want for any
thing that is in his power to get for us. And we
have one of the best captains in the regiment that
will not see us want for any thing that is in his
power to get for us. He has gon home to recrute, and
I expect he will bee round that way. And if he dos,
I want you to give him my watch for me. I gave him a
few lines to give you if he was down that way.
This is ol at presant, but I reman your affectionate
sone,
James
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LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 21, 1861 TO FRIENDS, HILTON
HEAD SC
Dear friends,
It is with the gratest of pleasure
that I take my pen in hand to inform you that I am
well at presant, and I hope that these few lines may
finde you ol engoying the same blessing. It is just
noon, and I have just came in off dril, and my ies
is full of sand as it is vary windy here to day and
the sand is flying in every drection. This is ol
that I donte like here. As for anything else, we get
along vary well.
We ware payed off on Monday or
Tuesday, and I donte recollect which, but it donte
make any difference which. We got our money any how,
and I sold my revolver, too. And I"ll tell you the
reason why I dun so, and that is this. I could
neither get powder nor caps for love nor money and
it was a goodeal of bother to take care of it and
keep it in order, olthough I would not have cared
for that if I could have got ammunition. And I gist
though that it would not pay to carry it, and I got
a good chance to sel it, and so I let her rip. I got
eighteen dollars for it, and I drawed thirty-six
dollars and seventy-nine cents from Uncle Sam. And I
sent forty-five dollars of it to Mister George
Henderson of Newcastle by Adamses Express, and I
want you, Father, to lift it for me. Thare will bee
some litle frate or postage to pay on it, and I
supose that Mister Henderson will haf to have
something for his troubel, too. However, you can
ficks that, and then gist take anuff out of the pile
to pay ol expenses and you for your trouble, to. And
then take care of the balence for me til I come
home, or if you need it, gist make use of it, and if
I should never get back again, it will ol bee rite.
And if I ever get home again, I will exspet to get
it again. It is ol in United States tresury notes,
and that is sade to fetch the golde any whare in the
union states. And if you donte need to lay it out,
you can go to some bank and draw the golde for it
and lay it away or dispose of it as you think best.
We are caveing in to the work
prety strong at presant, makeing intrenchments. We
ar going to make regular fortress here—one that ol
the rebles in the United States or in any other
state and part of Butler County can [not] drive us
out of. And then when we get this dun, we exspect to
have easy times and plenty of fun.
We ol get along together just like
brothers and would fite to our neas in blud for one
another. Our regiment is noted for its behaveure and
good conduct whare ever it goes. And thare is yet
room for any who wish to show them selvs to bee men
to goin our regiment. And our company is not yet
qwite full, and it would please me vary much if some
of the boys around home thare would once in thare
lives show selves to bee a man or a mouse or a
longtaled rat and come and goin our company. But I
am a fraid that they will ol turn out longtaled rats
and stay at home as usual. Preacher Brown is gowing
to start home this evening to recrute for our
regiment. And if thare is any one that feeles
inclined to come, [he] will bee fetched thrue with
out it costing them a sent and without beeing in
danger of foled off into any other regiment. And any
young fellow that can come and is to big a cowerd
surely showes his as without takeing down his
trouser. This is ol the consolation that the cowerds
can get from me.
This is ol at presant on this subject, and I am
geting tired writing, and my time is about to come
to a close, so good by for the presant, but remain
your afectionate friend til death. Give my best
respects to ol inqwiring neighbors and friends, and
tel Con Fisher that I would like to hear from him
and give him the adres.
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LETTER DATED MARCH 5, 1862 TO HIS FAMILY, BEAUFORT,
SC
Dear parent and brothers and sisters one and ol,
I take my pen in hand once more to let you know that
I am yet on the land liveing and in good health, and
I do hope that these few scribled lines may finde
you ol engoying the same blesing. I have began to
think the time long to hear from you ol. I have not
heard from any of you for the last month, but the
reason of it is, I supose, is because the ship that
saled from New York some time agow with a male went
down at sea. At any rate she has not been heard of.
It is
geting prety warm down here. The darkeys is makeing
garden here, and the flowers, gardens, and peach
trees is in full bloom. I have nothing of importance
to rite to you at presant--only that we hear acounts
evry day or to of rebles being whiped out and taken
prisners by thousand, and this is joyful news for
us. Beaufort has become prety well setled up with
darkeys and merchants. Thare must be five or six
stores in it now, and we can get any thing we want,
but the prise is vary hie. Stinken buter is only
fifty cents a pound, and toby cigars five cents a
peace, and other things in proportion. That is the
way a solder's money goes--pop goes the weasel. You
nead not send me any more stamps or paper, for I can
get plenty of them here now.
Or men is
ol fat and harty, and ol sends thare best respects
to you ol. This is ol at presant but remain your
dutiful son until death, James McCaskey
P.S.
Please done forget to write soone and let me know
how you ar ol getting along.
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LETTER DATED APRIL 1, 1862 TO HIS BROTHER, BEAUFORT,
SC
Dear Brother,
I
seat my self down for the presant to inform you that
I received your vary welcome leter of the 18 of
March yesterday evening. I am not vary well at
presant. I have a vary bad cold, but I am excused
from duty at presant and am on the mend. I am a
litle nervous and cant write vary well, so you will
have to excuse a few scribled lines for the presant.
I
was vary sorry to hear that grand mother met with
such an accident, though I hope that she will get
well again. And another thing makes me feel vary bad
is that you have such friendly neighbours so close.
I dident think it would ever come to that--that my
nearest and dearest friends would ever give them
selvs up to such work as that. I use to think that I
would like to go home to sea you ol, but sense it
has come to this, I donte think it would bee a vary
plesant trip or site to sea one's friends in such a
plight in times of war. However, this is anuff of
this for the presant.
We
ar ol geting along vary well at presant and evry day
or to hearing of victories gained buy our armies
evry whare. And we ar exspection evry day to have a
scratch with the rebles our selvs. The rebles ar
firing on our pickets evry day or to, and we ante
going to stand that kinde of work vary long til we
will gow over and setle up with them.
It
is geting vary warm down here, and the darkeys have
been planting corn and potatoes here for the last
month. And thare is such reports that the war will
soon be over. And I donte think that it can last
vary much longer my self, for I rather think that
the rebles is geting in rather close quarters to
thrive vary well at presant. Tel father that I would
like to hear from him once more, and please write
soon your self again.
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LETTER DATED MAY 4, 1862 TO HIS MOTHER AND FATHER,
BEAUFORT, SC
Dear father
and mother,
I seat
myself to inform you that I am well at presant, and
I hope that these few scribled lines and miz spelt
words may finde you engoying the same blesing. I
have not heard from either of you for some time, so
I thought that I would gist set down and write to
you, and then mabe you would write to me.
I have
nothing of any grate importance to write to you at
presant. Only we heard that the Mississippi River
was clear and clean red out from one end to the
other, and New Orleans is ours. And I hope before
vary long that the hole thing will be ours, and that
the war will soon bee over. And we will return home
out of this cursed soil of South Carolina, and once
more bee free from Uncle Sam, or rather from some of
his offisers hoo rather thinks that thay ar Uncle
Sam them selvs. This is one grate fault that corupts
our army to a grate extent, and that ante ol of it.
It olways will bee the case while the world stans.
It is
geting prety warm down here at the presant time. I
supose that it is as warm here now as it generally
gets in the north whare you live. And dear knows how
much warmer it will get here yet before the solders
will leave here.
I would
like to hear from you both vary much at the presant
time, and know how you are geting along and what
kinde of times thare is in that part of the land
under the presant surcemstances of affares. This is
ol at presant. Father, please write soon and let me
know how you ar geting along.
From James McCaskey
Good by for the presant.
This eight Mishigan regiment is one of our brigade.
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