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[1]

Camp near Centreville August 7th. 1861

Dear Tom

Bragg & Leitch arrived last night bringing me a box, bundle of shirts for Edmund & a letter from Preston all badly wellcomed. I had learned from a letter to Abner from Armistead that Mother had been confined to bed with a bilious attack but was a great deal better & was disturbed to find that she was not well when Pres wrote. Almost all the letters from our neighborhood stated that she was sick &had it not been for Armistead’s letter I should have been much more [...eaty?] than I have been.

I hope you are all [crossed out] not worn out with reading & hearing about the battle for I have nothing else to write to you but the part our regiment played before & after the fal [‘the fal’ crossed out] during the battle. . We were stationed at Fairfax C H from the first of July until the fourteenth or fifteenth when we retreated to Bull just below the stone bridge. At Fairfax court house nothing important occurred except[crossed out] & we spent a great time though with one or two regiments we were on the advanced post of the army & had occasional alarms at night from our pickets. On the morning of our retreat we had all our bag- gage packed & the wagons sent to Bull run by seven o’clock as we had been informed by day break of the advance of the enemy. After starting the wagons we were drawn up in Battle on a hill a hundred yards from our camp wh.[which] commanded the of a hill beyond the courthouse & about a mile from us.

[2]

In about twenty minutes our pickets who had been stationed about three miles distant came in & said that there were about fifteen thousand of the enemy turning our left flank. As the retreat had been meditated long before no provision had been made to meet such an enemy except a breast work for infantry wh. we had thrown up very roughly across the road on our left along wl.[while] they were advanceing. Behind [crossed out] This breast work was thrown up to cover our retreat in case of a sudden attack & to entice the enemy to pressure us [?] into three or four masked batteries planted on Bull run about nine miles distant by leading them to believe that we were only a [] collected about the courthouse to oppose their progress but frightened out of our purpose by their terrible array wh.[which] was pretty soon displayed on the hill opposite to us. The column advancing on our left was cut off from view by a very thick woods about two hundred yards from our position. As soon the enemy appeared Bouham ordered our regiment to begin the retreat wh.[which] we did at double quick for about a quarter of a mile in order to make room along the road for the two South Carolina regiments that had been en- camped a little in advance of us. At Centreville the[crossed out] wh.[which] is about seven miles from Fairfax C H the road forks. The right hand for wh.[which] we took crosses Bull run at the Stone Bridge about three miles lower down at Mitchel’s or Black Burn’s ford & was protected by a good breastwork with three or four masked batteries. Between this ford & the stone bridge there is another ford which our regiment was ordered to hold & where we took our position that night & returned the next morning

[3]

to the side of Bull run next the enemy in woods about half a mile from the turnpike on a road wh.[which] turned off from it to the left & led to the ford wh.[which] we held. Here we were depoyed as skirmishers every day from Wednesday morning till Sunday morning retiring every night about two or three hundred yards to sleep. Some of the men had oil cloth & some a blanket & over coat but we had scarcely any thing to eat but ship biscuit & hot muddy water from Bull run. The position of our regiment here was a very [?] one as the enemy was not more than

                      occupied

two miles from us & we were[crossed out] the most advanced post having a creek, a steep hill & rough road of a half mile between us & any assistance or place of retreat. On Sunday morning a company from our regiment posted on picket near the turnpike fired into the enemies skirmishers about day break. In a few minutes we were marched to our posts. In about an hour the company wh.[which] had fired came in reporting the approach of the enemy in great numbers, bringing one prisoner & saying they thought they had killed one man. By this time we could hear the roar of the cannon carriages & amunition wagons & the orders of the officers along the turnpike.

Sunday August 11th. I intended to give you a full account of the battle when I began this but was interupted & as I determined to send above home for a short time thought I had better finish & send it by him. Abner asked leave to to[crossed out] go & as our movements are at present rather uncertain & I might have to leave him at any rate & thinking too it might be some comfort to Mother to hear directly

[4]

from us I consented. He can stay until Thursday evenening.

We moved to day about a mile from where we were camped when I began this letter. We are about half a mile beyond Centreville & about three or three & a half from the battlefield. Jackson’s brigade was encamped very near here last week & I hope have not gone yet. I will leave if possible tomorrow. As it passed down the road Tom Preston, [?], John Alexander, John Leyburn & two Meyers boys came to our tent & stayed about an hour. Tom Preston is chap- lain to Echols’ regiment. They were then moving to a

                    are

woods near where we have[crossed out] encamped now.

Our regiment was ordered into battle about one o’clock. We lay for about half an hour under a fire of musketry part of wh.[which] came from on old house about seventy yards

                           were hid

off where about thirty yankees. We then charged down a hill about a hundred yards with a shout to Sherman’s

                                                     by

[?] battery which had a little while before been taken ^ cousin James Preston’s regiment & it was here the college company suffered considerably. His regiment becoming scattered the enemy seem to intend to retake the battery but retreated when we shouted & another regiment appeared upon their left & fired into them. I did not fire a shot. Most of our regiment fired at them as they retreated about two hundred yards off. Willy Page was killed before we were ordered to lie down. Every one in the company regrets his death exceeding – ly none as much as Edmund & myself. Our company recieved a reinforcement of Winfrey, [?], & [Byaeds?] last night.