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Kiss charley & Minnie for me – Much love to all – will try & write in less haste to-morrow or next day and have a letter ready to send by every opportunity – May God bless you [and?] [?] – y[ou]r aff[ectionate] husband N[athaniel] V. W[atkins]
New Kent County [Virginia] May 13th [18]62
My dear Nannie – We are now in the Army of the Peninsula – in the Grand Army, - somewhere in New Kent County – in a nice old field – doing finely. We staid at Hanover C[ourt] H[ouse] [Virginia] one day to rest and get orders from R[ich]mond [Virginia], expecting to go to Richmond & stay a week to drill on field pieces. Our company has been tem- porarily divided one half (including our boys) being detailed to take charge of four field pieces which were left at Glo[uce]ster P[oin]t [Virginia] by the Glo[uce]ster militia, and the other half being armed with mus- kets. We were ordered on Sunday morning to march to [General Joseph E.] Johnston’s Army, and after hearing a fine sermon at Hanover Church started at [?] and marched [?] 15 miles & Monday after a long dusty march reached this place. We dont know what will be done with us, but our
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officers are making efforts, with some prospect of success, to get us again into a heavy battery near R[ich]mond – I hope I can hear again from you – dont know now where to have my letters directed, and can write only when I accidentally find someone going to R[ich]mond. We have all kept very well during the march, and I have improved a good deal – am getting fat & hard, but until to-day was as dirty & black as you ever saw me af- ter a weeks threshing of wheat. To-day I took a nice bath, & put on a full set of clean clothes & had my hair cut short, and my friends scarcely knew me. Yesterday I fell in with a detachment of the 18th V[irgini]a having in it a company from Charlotte, [County] & walked 100 y[ar]ds or more talking with old acquaintances, before we found out each other we had
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been so much charged by the dust & service. After getting here yesterday Sam [?] & I stared off to look a- round for acquaintances – We soon saw a man with 23[r]d N[orth] C[arolina] on his cap – in- quired for Capt[ain] Baskerville & found them camped about 1/2 miles from us, but on drill – this evening we went down to make them a visit (though during to-day we have been moved 3 miles from them) Spent a pleasant time with Capt[ain] B[askerville] Bob Hicks, [?], D[octo]r [Sims?] who is elected L[ieutenan]t in Tom Covington’s place – adjoining them was the regiment in which Jonny Watkins was, but we were disappointed in seeing him, as he had gone home. I saw yesterday from my camp six or seven thousand men on drill at one time – it was a grand sight – but to-day we are moved out where we have only one regiment near us – this was a fine change, as we get much better water, are more quiet, and
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have a much cleaner place – I regre[t]ted to say the [Captain] Baskerville was very well & stands the service finely – he told me that I came in two or three minutes yesterday of seeing Mr. [Foneette?] (the preacher). We are having a much easier time in light artillery, than the infantry have, and are getting on as well as soldiers could be expected to do. We get no news, & know nothing of the where- abouts of the Enemy –There are about 65,000 men on the Peninsula. I have this from good authority & Have seen & heard nothing from Bro[ther] Dick. I write in great haste, as I can send this to R[ich]mond to-morrow. If you could inclose a letter to Mr.How[son & get him to direct is to me, in Capt[ain] Bagleys K[ing] & Q[ueen] artillery care of Col[onel] Cha[rle]s A. Crump, I might get it. He might find some way of sending it to Col[onel] Crump, or I might get some friend going to R[ich]m[on]d to call at Mr. H[owison]’s for it – Oh precious you dont know how much I would give for a few lines from you – I shall write whenever I can get a way of sending off a letter.
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