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| Gilmer Letters | Civil War Letters of Russell County |
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Dear brother & sister I received your kind letters at this place. I am well with the exception of a cold. We left winchester on new years day and have been laying out a part of the time without tents or blankets. Their has been three deaths in our company since I wrote to you last. Eliga harrass James peck & Bolivar Cowan. bolivar died at Bath in Morgan County. We have been down on the potomack river a burning bridges & tarring up railrode on the Baltimore & Ohio railrode. We was in a skirmish at Capon bridge we lost four men killed & severl wounded the minny Balls whistled around our heads for a while. We ran the yankees out of Bath with out any fighting only fireing a cannon or two from their we went on to the railrode and their we had a little fight the minny balls whistled around my head but as it happened none of them struck me we made the attack after night and we found that we could not accomplish any thing after night and we left and next morning we went back to try them again but they was gon all but a few and we burnt the bridge depot and telligraft office. Their was a few men on the other side of the river that fired while we was fireing the bridge but they done no harm. Their was more canonading on the potomoack the night of 4th than I ever hurd. I have saw more men since new years day than I hever saw before. Martha I got all of you christmas gifts and you all got my new yars gift I have paid you all by sending my likeness to you. It has to pay you all. Martha I am in hurry I will have to bring my badly written letter to a close as I have written this in a hurry. I hope you will excuse all bad spelling and mistakes for I know that I have left out some words and put in some that I ought not to put in. Bolivar Cowan was not sick more than 48 hours he died without a struggle. Write soon and let me know whether you got my likeness or not. W. R. Gilmer Martha & Hayes | |