.NjYy.ODMw

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Chaffin’s Bluff Batteries Dec[ember] 7th, 1862

My dear Wife: -

I looked very anxiously for a letter from you yesterday evening, more especially as when you last wrote, you said you were a little sick, but none came. Daniel got one from [Clemnine?] Wilson, written a little after your last to me, saying too that she had just heard from you, & you were a little sick. I try to think, precious, that you are well again, but as no letter came, I keep feeling & fearing that probably you are still sick. It makes me very restless & impatient to be with you, much more so than ever as I do not know how sick you may be. I know if I were with you I could take better care of you, & nurse you better than any one else for I love you more, & I know how essential to my happiness are your health & life. I feel more and more every day, darling, how much I do love you.

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To-day, as there are no religious exercises in our camp except our bible class, sever- al of us went out to a Methodist church some three miles from camp, & heard quite a good sermon from the chaplain of the 46th R[e]g[imen]t. He was Capt[ain] of a company in the 46th at Roanoke Island [N.C.], & was taken prisoner, & after being exchanged was made chaplain of the R[e]g[imen]t. The church (a very good sized one) was entirely filled with soldiers, except a bench of ladies, and a few old men from the neighborhood. As it is only about a mile from the winter encampments of [General Henry Alexander] Wise’s Brigade, they intend putting benches in all the aisles and having preaching ev- ery Sunday for the soldiers; though there is a chaplain now in each one of the regiments, except a newly formed one. The soldiers all seem to turn out to preaching better when it is at a church than when it is in camp; and the ac-

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commodations are so bad too in camp for a congregation, in winter, that only a few can attend preaching. The chaplain’s work must during winter be [struck-through] necessarily be done principally out of the pulpit, & during the week, as well as during the Sabbath. The series of prayer meetings in our camp will close to-night.* I don’t know that there has been any particular [struck-through] general feeling, - one or two expressed concern on the subject of religion; but there has not been any [conversion?] that I know of. I frequently think of Mr. Hines’ plain, good, forcible preaching; and think that if he could spend some two or three weeks occasionally with some of the regiments where there are no religious privileges, how much good he might do. Soldiers, though generally very, very wicked, almost always listen with great eagerness & respect to preaching. I noticed this especially to-day, where in a crowded house, all was close attention du- ring the sermon, which though good was [dry?].

[Marginalia]

The prayer-meetings will [?] [struck-through] continue another week, alternately in the different tent of the men. It will be in our tent Tuesday night.

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Yesterday Col[onel] P[a]ge came around to our guns while we were drilling, and made us fire shell from the mortars & one gun to find the range of our battery. It fell to my lot to fire off the first mortar. We put in the first load 10 lbs of powder & a shell so heavy that it took two men to put it in. After it was loaded I had to put in the cap & pull the string (about a yard long) to fire the gun. At the word “ready,” the whole crew & all the officers ran off of the plat- form leaving me alone with the great monster of a gun. “Fire,” and I pulled the string; - the old thing went off, -I cant describe the feeling [?], but it felt as if a thousand pins were sticking in my ears, & as if the whole explosion had taken place somewhere in my head. I have frequently been near heavy guns, & light field pieces when fired off, but had never before known

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5.

what it was to be [jarred?] by a gun. Abe Daniel was acting as gunner, and did the loading. The next time, I suf- fered so much from the jar, I got him to fire. It knocked Abe’s cap off, & turned him almost around, but he said didnt’ hurt him at all; so I gave the string up to him. We fired from our mortar some five or six times. The jar from a mortar is much greater than from a gun, but there is always less danger in firing them. Every load costs the government between $20 & 30, and we shot off in a short time over a hundred dollars worth of am- munition. As late as this evening my head & ears felt as if I had taken a large dose of [quinine?], but I am well of it now. The practice in times of peace is fine fun, & very exciting, in a battle the excitement must be in- tense – much more so than fighting with muskets. On account of the great

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excitement & effects of the concussion it is necessary always in a battle to have reliefs, & rest the men every now & then. It isn’t so bad out in the open air, as our guns are; but in [boat-proofs?], & iron-clad steamers it is said to be awful. We have been hav- ing right cold weather for the last few days, but do not suffer much more here than we do at home – in fact, except on guard, I am not as much exposed, as I would be on my farm at home. But it cant be so with all the army, as they hav’n’t yet gone into winter quarters. We enjoy our beds very much. Abe Daniel will get a box this week, and then we all will have good beds except old Perkins, who sleeps on a couple of planks, with two blankets & a yankee oil-cloth, which he got in the battle of seven pines. From what I have seen since I have been in the army, white

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men can stand exposure & hardships much better than negroes, especially in cold weather. The health of all of “our boys” is better since we have been eating home victuals than it was: - the government fare is very conducif [conducive] of dyspepsia – they still give us fresh beef, (blue-beef we call it), and as they now have no lots to graze them on they are beginning to look right much like our cows do about the last of march. The butchers say they have been compelled to kill several to keep them from being on the “[lip?]” [underscored] Sometimes instead of calling if Blue-beef, we call it Bill-beef (changing the vowel) which is equally ap- propriate. We like this though much better than the salt-beef, & mess-pork which we sometimes get; and for which from their saltness would make the impression that salt is as plentiful in the South, as sand or ashes. Abe got a letter from Tom Daniel

[Marginalia]

Much love to all – write often darling – by every [underscored] mail.

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yesterday, saying he had just returned from Aunt Nancy’s with cousins Bettie & Eliza[beth]. He told Abe, he had gotten a promise from Bella Graham to correspond with him, & as he understood that Abe corresponded with Sis[ter] M[artha?]., he proposed to exchange letters. Tell the girls, as postage is pretty high, it may save a good deal to the poor soldiers to arrange this matter at home, so that as to make the exchange unnecessary. Dear Precious, if I learn tomorrow, or from your next letter that you are still sick, I will make another application to get a short furlough that I may be with you. It will be with slender hopes, but I shall leave no stone unturned, & no means untried to get it. If you or either of the children ever get very sick, a letter from Dr. Wilson may help me. I pray God that this many never be – that he will keep you all well, & soon restore us to each other – Y[ou]r aff[ectionate] Husband N[athaniel] V. W[atkins]