KP2025.001.077

No. 53
On Picket near Beverly Ford
Sept 30th 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
Your kind letter No. 49 & one from Wm. were both received yesterday, & found me well & hearty & as I’ve heard people say business before pleasure, I’ll proceed with firstly the money matters. I find by reckoning that when you get the $110. for the horse (& you write you are to have it the 23d Inst) which will make $210.00 for you,  that there will be left $199.95 (if I haven’t reckoned it up right just let me know it). I have sent 20. at one time & 30 at another time & 20 by Mr. Morrell making $70, and according to your act I had $44.86 there besides, and you write there is five dollars & interest to pay Ross, $3.29 & some interest to pay Spencer (besides H. Kelly who I guess can be paid with what my wood brings or some other way) & my boots, the express charges about ten more, so that I think I can safely reckon twenty dollars out of the $44.86 to go for Harriett which will leave $24.86 to pay Ross, Spencer & for boots, so adding 20 to 70 will make 90 which will leave $110 more on the Bond and Mortgage. Have you anything to say against that if you have just say it. I am glad you have sold the horse and am perfectly satisfied with the price. I hope the mill and dam will work as well as you anticipate. You ask me Wm. if I could grind. No, no, you say that you ground 12 bushels apples with only 2 ft water in the flume and ask me if I could do it but I don’t know whether the flume is as low as the bottom of the dam or not. If it is you can grind with less water than I could. I expect it is better than the old dam and spout was for you have had experience of the old one to profit by. Have you made any waste gate in the dam or flume, and if you think of anything else about the dam mill or flume that you have not written just pen it down and send it along. I have got the express receipt and a piece of the childrens dresses which is pretty. I don’t care how soon you send those gloves for the nights are growing cooler and I have to ride in the night a good deal a patrolling while we are out on picket. We, our squadron Co. H & L came out here to picket yesterday afternoon & 8 of us go about 3 miles to Freemans ford & back twice a day. We start after sundown at night and at 4 oclock in the morn. Our Division is guarding the R.R. now the 11th Corps having gone to Tennessee. We were 7 days without any mail & yesterday it came again. Tell me who are rejected in the draft & who pay. I can’t write any news about the Army, as I know of. Tell Jesse Walker & Wm. Wimple [Wemple] to make you a visit for me & treat them to the best the house affords for they are old Veterans from the Army of the Potomac & well worthy of any luxuries that you can give them. Joseph is here with me he is on guard now. He is on 2 hours and off 6 and if he is not too sleepy I think he will write in this. He is as tough as a brick now and the regt is generally healthy or healthy as ever they have been. I have read 2 of those banners & shall read one more today, I think. I have carried them a good many days & a good many miles; not send me more than 2 papers at one time again. I send respects to everybody and bid you good by again.
Kimball.
[upside down first page] In afternoon. Our box has come all right. Boots fit first rate. K.P.
[envelope]
Mr Wm H Press
Gowanda Catt. Co.
N.Y.

KP2025.001.078

No. 54
Freemans ford Va Oct 7th /63
Dear Brother & Sister
As I have a little leisure & a very convenient place to write I’ll improve the chance & tell you that I am in excellent health now, but Joseph has had the headache two days, like hell he says too. This is the fourth day since we have had any mail for our regt it almost makes me lonesome to go without a letter from someone so long. I like to get a letter or two every day. My boots fit well and so did the honey & mustard too. Our box was 15 days coming to us a welcome box it was too. I have read all the papers you sent by mail and in the box. The Banners & Progress were very interesting. I read the story in all the Banners called Nora the Seeress and found it quite interesting as I did Cora Hatches discourse of Paeans & other pieces. All is quiet here as far as fighting is concerned and our Division seems to keep Mosby at bay and also Stuarts Cavalry, for we keep the R.R. open from the Rappahannock to near Alexandria. We are scouting every day & picketing very strong. Our Squadron came here yesterday to stay two days. We relieved a squadron of our regt. that had been here 4 days. We get green corn here and corn stalks for our horses besides oats that the mules bring from camp which is now between Bealton [Bealeton] Station & Fayetteville. I have asked so many questions in one or two letters previous that I will not ask any more this time. I have not heard from Charleston in a week nor from Chattanooga. I think now that this army is laying still till something decisive from those places turns up, but I can’t tell certain for the ways of the Lord are mysterious and so are the ways of our Army Generals. Our regt have not yet been paid off as the rest of the Army have. Every other regt in our Brigade have had their pay but ours & now I would not be disappointed if we were not paid until another 2 months & got 4 months pay at a time. I see by my diary that tis seven days since I have written to you but Joseph and I have written to George Hawkins & Cousin Abigail since then; it begins to seem like fall here again. The Acorns & walnuts begin to fall & leaves are turning yellow. I suppose May & Ida are gathering chestnuts about these days, & Wm. is making cider in Pearsons mill, lately improved by Press just take a drink all around for me will you & Joseph says take a couple for him. In four days I have a birthday again & what shall I get for a present? No duty here to do. This time I believe it is the first time that our company was ever on picket that I did not have some duty to do, either standing post or patrolling. Our company morning reports now show 45 men present for duty & the rest of our Co are scattered, some at dismounted camp at Alexandria, some at Hospitals and some transferred to the Invalid Corps. Frank Taylor with others came back to the regiment this week. I can’t send this letter to camp today for the patrol is gone and if they bring mail back I will write a little more. I mean if they bring any for me & try and start it tomorrow.
Well here it is most night & I have just got your letter No. 50 which brings the sad intelligence of Wm. Munger’s death. Several times I have heard he was sick with a fever but I did not once think but what he would recover. You write that you Wm. have colds. I should think you might keep from having colds if I can living out of doors all of the time & have not had a sign of cold since the middle of summer, but we will soon have cold wet weather here and then we will have to endure the pleasantries of many a stormy day and night & sleep many a night in our clothes. Maybe you think that will be rough but we who are used to it don’t mind it. We build up a big fire & lay down around it and no, that is not just the way we do. We get up a tent the first thing we do after we stop when we are on a march. Then build a fire in front of it. Then get a lot of pine or cedar brush and put in the tent to sleep on. Then spread in a couple of rubber blankets on the bottom and 4 woolen blankets on top of the rubbers, use our overcoats for pillows, pull off our boots & hats and sleep with our clothes on. We have some very easy times but after all its not like being at home. I am just a citizen Soldier and think I shall always be. Those who said I would not stand it to live a soldiers life were some mistaken for I have stood it about as well as any of them and feel as though I could go through anything there is in the shape of hardships for us. But I don’t know for those who are tough here one week will sometimes be sick the next. I must go and get some more corn stalks for my horse. We have to keep our horses saddled all of the time when on picket and only unbridle when we feed. The corn field is 100 rods off and I take my horse and bring a big bundle for my horse & Joe’s too so here I go…
Thursday Morn Oct. 8th
This is a cold rainy morning. I have had my breakfast and now for finishing this letter. I guess I will tell you about our patrolling to Beverly ford. About dark I was notified that there were 6 of us to patrol to Beverly ford about 3 miles during the night & two of us at a time every 3 hours. Daniel Warner was to go with me and our trick came at Midnight. So I went to bed early to get what sleep I could but at 9 I was called up to go with the two that were to go then for the two first that went at 9 oclock had not returned & we did not know what was up. Well we started off 4 of us & twas about as dark as they make it in this land of niggers and raining too, but we went through all right & found the two that went first. They had started to come back & got lost and had turned into the woods for the night with some other cavalrymen who were on picket. We got back all right and there was no more patrolling done till daylight this morning. Joseph is feeling some better this morning. I guess he will be all right in a day or two. You say I did not write about being in the late Cavalry fight from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan. I was not in it, but have since been over the ground and I guess have written about it. All is quiet here this morning. I can hear the cars rumbling over the R.R. carrying supplies to thousands of soldiers & forage to thousands of horses. I had much rather hear them than the roar from many cannon as I have heard or of musketry either & what would suit me still better would be to know that those cars were freighted with discharged Soldiers & that the rebellion was conquered never to rise again. That day is coming but I am afraid not so soon as Uriah Clark prophesied of the year 1864.
Ever truly Your Brother
Kimball Pearsons
Wm. & Harriett
Harriett, what has become of Clara Hartman. About a year ago she wrote me a letter & sent in yours & I replied to it & have never heard from her since. I asked you once if you knew whether she got my letter or not & you have never replied to that & now I ask you again & I’ll ask Wm. where Malvina is.
Kimball
[envelope]
Mr. Wm H. Press
Gowanda Catt. Co.
N.Y.

KP2025.001.079

No. 55
Fairfax Station Va Oct 17th 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
Since I wrote last Oct. 7th I have had no chance to write & neither have I received any mail. The 10th of Oct. our Division went to Culpeper to help cover the retreat of our Army & the 11th we moved back on the left wing to within one mile of Sulphur Springs ford & the morning of the 12th crossed the river but 2 regs of our Brigade the 1st Maine & 13th Pa were sent scouting to little Washington or in that direction separately & the rebs followed us up from Culpeper & cut off the 1st Maine who went out through Thoroughaughfare [Thoroughfare] gap & the 13th Pa were likely to be cut off from the ford but or regt went over and checked the rebs till the 13th were all right then fell back. We were under a perfect hail of bullets & lost some men. 3 of our Company were wounded Capt. Chas Blauvelt from Buffalo was mortally wounded & has since died. Daniel Warner who married George Rudds Sister was mortally wounded. He was shot in his back about the hip & our Surgeon says he things tis mortal, & Frederick Tillinghast who was living with Nelson Washburne when he enlisted was shot in the hip. Frank Taylor of Collins was shot in his arm & Caleb Randal of Collins Center in the leg & a good many others that you would not know were wounded. The regt lost about 60 men in killed, wounded & missing. At dark our Division fell back to Fayetteville then the 13th Inst we moved towards Washington on the left of a wagon train & then about opposite Catlett Station but some 3 miles west of it we halted for the night but we had marched till 10 oclock before we stopped. Our regt was sent about a mile to the left on picket & our Squadron Co H & L were sent ½ mile farther on picket & at daybreak the morning of the 14th our boys saw the rebs advancing & notified us and our regimental reserve, when they mounted immediately, our squadron drew up in time across the road & 8 or 10 were placed behind trees and a barricade that we built across the road of rails & when they got near our picket post our Capt. says halt, who comes there, they made no reply but turned to go back when he fired his pistol & told our boys who were on post there 8 or 10 men to give them hell boys, when they sent a volley after them & fell back behind our barricade with the rest of us & gave them another volley & another & then our regimental reserve came up & we had a hot time there for a little while & lost a good many men. Wm. Lenox of Collins was wounded and a good many boys had their horses shot from under them, but the rebs came down in heavy column of infantry and forced us back when a general engagement for 2 or 3 miles in length with artillery on both sides & the 2nd Corps Infantry had one Brigade along wit the train, but the rebs did not succeed in getting the train although they were on both sides of it. We skirmished with them all day & stopped 3 or 4 hours in the night at Brentville [Brentsville], then came on the 15th across Bull Run, Bufords Cavalry being in our rear that day. The 16th we lay still here & had a hard rain but kept our saddles on & packed & put up no tents till last evening & this morning we were called up at 3 to feed & get our breakfasts & be ready to move at daylight, but when the sun was an hour high we got orders to unsaddle so we are here yet. I am well & unhurt but had my horse shot in the foot which makes him very lame. I want you to go to Bagdad & let Daniel Warners wife, Hellen, who lives at Hawkinses there know that he is shot & the surgeon calls it a mortal wound & that he was sent to Washington. I did not see him after he was shot. I was helping Caleb Randel [Randall] back across the river. Joseph is all right. I don’t know when I can send this but will do it as soon as I can & when I get time write more about our fighting.
From your Brother
Kimball
T. Wm. & Harriet
[upside down middle pages] At 4 different times I have been where the bullets flew like hail this week & the greatest wonder to me is that every man in our regt was not shot.
[envelope]
Mr. Wm H. Press
Gowanda, Catt. Co.
N.Y.
Wm. H. Press H. Press
Wm. H. Press H. Press
E Elmira
Elmira Press
E Elmira Elmira Press
[envelope reverse]
#55
Oct 17 1863
Fairfax Sta