No 16 Battle field near
Gettysburg Pa
Sunday
July 5th1863
Dear Parents
I again take up my pen after
another severe battle to inform you that I am
safe from injury. The 12th Corps was in the thick-
-est of the fight, but the 107th by marching &
countermarching, was not with the rest of the brig-
ade, two regiments of which made a charge on
the rebs and drove them from the breastworks
which we built, and then left to reinforce a
nother part of the line of battle, the 2d Mass
and the 27th Indiana suffered severely, we again oc-
cupied the breastworks, in front of which were
the rebel sharp shooters, and as soon as any of
our men raised their heads to look over – zip –
came a bullet, we had 3 wounded as we were
leaving. This has been a hard battle and we
have got decidedly the best of it thus far, but
it is awful for man and beast, as the weather
has been very hot, and we have marched all the
way from
Brooks Station Va to this place,
having
of a week. On the march I had the pleasure
of seeing Capt Edwin Humphry but we was march-
ing by where his regt was bivouacd so I had but
a few minutes to speak to him, he looks as well
as can be expectd after a hard tramp. The enemy
are beyond the town, and the report is that they
are entrenching there. We have taken thousands of pris-
oners and made such havoc in their ranks, and
I think Jeff davis will think he has made a great
mistake in sending his army up this way. The prison-
ers said on the 3d of July which was a the hardest day
of the fight that Lee said he would break our
lines before he slept that night or he would
kill ten thousand men. Yesterday was the 4th of July
and I never thought I should see such a sight
as I did on that day, as this is our victory if a
victory is decided, we hold the ground, and yes-
terday I was all over the ground and saw the
dead rebels by hundreds laying just as they fell
among the rocks and trees, from the effect
of the murderous fire from the Union troops
behind the breastworks, which were built in
the woods, it was an awful sight and I should think if the rebs could only see their
men as they lay it would sicken them of rebbelion
owing to the extreme heat they have turned
as black as niggers and their heads are swelled
up to twice their natural size. The 14th Brooklyn
was in the 1st day and lost 125 only 9 men are
left in my old Company H – they lay on the
3d hill from here in the same line of breast-
works that we are and I was over to see them
yesterday. We are now ordered to pack up – 10 O’clk
It rained all day yesterday and last night I laid
on the wet ground no tent and nothing but a
thin rubber blanket, and have not had a change
of shirt for over 4 weeks. The reason that my
last letter was not signed, was that before
I had finished it got damp in my Haversack
and stuck. I have not time to finish this
as the letters are being called for, it is queer
I do not hear from you this is the
first time I have had a chance to
write as I have been in battle and am
now writing this on the field on my
knee – hoping to hear from you soon