KP2025.001.066

No. 45
Amissville, Va. Aug 3d 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
This is hot weather. Our regt is ready now at 8 A.M. to go on picket. We are to relieve the 1st Me. regt at Gaineses [Gaines] Cross Roads when there I think I will try to write you a little. My health continues good. Joseph has not returned from dismounted camp yet. We get newspapers every day now.
Its now the 5th, just sundown, we’ve returned from picket had quite an exciting time. Our regt here sent scouting parties out each day we’ve been out. The first one run into a squadron of rebs, charged upon them & took 4 prisoners. The second one found no rebs, the 3d one was attacked by the rebs while returning to camp. They tore up a bridge across a small stream after our fellows had crossed & when they returned the rebs fired into them, but hit no one, then our men fired and charged upon them & drove them into the woods & onto the mountain. We lost 2 men, supposed to have been taken prisoners, one was from Co. L, a Buffalo boy. The last that was seen of him he was running his horse close after a reb & close to the woods. The 4th scouting party I was with (while the others were out I was on post) we rode about 5 miles came upon a picket post of rebs & then fell back a little & posted our pickets. The object of this scout was to ascertain where the rebs were & to advance our pickets on the Culpepper [Culpeper] Road. We are south of the Rappahannock & where we picketed and scouted was close to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lots of contrabands are leaving. Male & female, old & young. I guess you would call them a sight, what they take with them they carry on their heads. Some of them have budgets as large as feather beds. They most of them had to pass the reb pickets & they said they had a mighty hard time indeed getting away. I guess I’ll tell you what I had for dinner yesterday and to day. Twas new potatoes, string beans & chickens. Yesterday for supper last night & breakfast this morn twas smoked ham & new potatoes & hard tacks of course. & for dinner today chickens & new potatoes. all confiscated rations. as long as there is anything in the country where we stay we will have a share of it if not more. Would not you? We have had two mails since I have had any letter & I’ve made up my mind that you must both be drafted. I guess Joseph will come up tomorrow for some of our regt are coming from dismounted camp. They are about 10 miles from here at Warrenton stopping to get their horses shod up, so I hear. We get a thunder shower about every day and very hot weather between them. Does Bela Dexter live in Gowanda & will you find out where Clark Dexter is & let me know. At the commencement of this letter I said I would write when on picket but I could not. I had a cold, caught one last night but got most over it now. I have heard the Colored people (as they call themselves) talk so much & I talked with them that I am quite niggery myself. Its getting dark I’ll try & finish this in the morning so good night little ones and all.
Well good folks here is morning come again, the 6th, I suppose. Last evening our regt got mail but none for me, I’ll get a heap on by & by, I reckon. There is no news this morn. All is quiet here between the mountains. Write often. Write often. I wish I had some news to write you this morning. I have an item that I came near forgetting. The 30th the day we crossed the Rappahannock & came here I saw John McMillen. He was well and feeling well. I only saw him a few minutes. His company was on picket & he could not stop them, but he said he would come in an hour or two, but that hour or two brought an awful hard rain & the next morning they left before I knew it.
From your Brother Kimball
To Wm. & family
[envelope]
Wm Press

KP2025.001.067

No. 46
Sulphur Springs Va. Aug. 9th 1863
Dear Brother & Family
Yours No. 46 was received last night. Its been 12 days since I had had a letter from you & I was very glad to get one & hear that you are well & enjoying the comforts of Civil life now but those who have been deprived of those comforts know how to prize them. Many times you’ve written to me of the departure of friends & acquaintances & this letter brings intelligence of the departure of a Sister of Betsies (as well as of two others) which naturally causes me to feel sad. Notwithstanding I think she is better off than she would be lingering along with the disease she had stood so long whose turn twill be next I can’t know. All we can do is to be ready at all times. I am well Joseph is not with me now but I expect him everyday. The last I heard from him he was in Washington with our Captain who is some out of health.
Harriet you want to know what to do with my half of the apples; use them up or do just what you please with them. Wm. you ask me what you had better do if drafted. I won’t advise you, but I will tell you what I think I should do if I were in your boots. I think I should try and hire a substitute & have the payment yearly or part down & a part in 6 months or a year & so on. This would be easier for you than paying it all at once & if I could not hire a Substitute I should pay $300.00 if I could get it. As I understand the law a man that pays $300.00 is clear from the draft or from paying any more until the time he was drafted expires & I have seen it so in the papers lately but after all it’s a question for yourself to settle. If you come here your chance to get home safe & sound again will be small, we see some hard times & some that are not so hard. If you should come I wish you could get into a cavalry regiment. It’s a great deal easier than Infantry. There has 6 men gone back from this regiment to Elmire NY after conscripts for this regiment. I hear that we are to have 600 in this regt. Our Division is south of the Rappahannock & doing picket duty from the Blue Ridge to the river & fronting Culpeper. It will come our turn to go out in a few days. Each Brigade has so far to picket, & only one regt. in a Brigade at a time is on duty on the picket line but a second regt. has generally to keep saddled ready for any emergency. I want this letter to go this morning & I haven’t time to finish this sheet. I return my love to Aunt Lydia & Abel & family. Enos Hibbard was all right a few days ago. I guess he is now. Why don’t Brother Philemon write to me.
Yours with resp.
Kimball Pearsons
To Wm. & family
[envelope]
Mr. Wm. H. Press
Gowanda Catt. Co
N.Y.

KP2025.001.068

No. 47
Sulphur Springs Va Aug 11th 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
I have a little leisure to day & will write a little. I am well, hope you are the same. Its pretty hot weather here now but when we are not marching or on duty we are in the shade. Wm. you spoke about our having to wear woolen clothes. Such hot weather we go in our shirt sleeves a great deal & now when we are in camp nearly ½ of the men are barefooted. I don’t think our woolen clothes are much warmer than cotton ones would be. Most of us have drawed blouses to wear this summer instead of Jackets. My hat that Joseph brought me has worn out & I want another and I don’t know of a better way than to have one sent by mail. I want a black one and a little taller crown than Joseph got. One that will fit you Wm. or ½ size smaller will fit me.
This is my last sheet of paper. I thought I would buy my paper & envelopes of the sutlers, but none are allowed this side of the river & I don’t know how long we will stay here so I think I’ll have another supply sent from home; twice when I’ve received envelopes I’ve been huffy, once they were too short for the paper you sent & the last time they were great long coarse ungain things and all of an inch longer than my paper is; now when you buy paper get envelopes to match it such as you send your letters lately in are a very good kind. I will not be particular about the color but would like as light or lighter color than this small piece that I enclose in this. Now when you send paper or hat get tough paper to wrap it in for I have seen lots of packages with the wrappers all torn out & another thing I want a silk handkerchief. You can send one in an envelope with a letter. I’ve seen them come in letters & iron it down flat & put it in a stiff envelope & I’ll risk it. Joe has not come back to the regt. yet. Please tell Jane, Joe’s sister that I have a letter for Joe that I think she sent I can’t send it to him for I don’t know just where he is. Wm. this is just about as warm a day as it was when you and I unloaded hay up to the Havlin place last summer when some girls went by & there is lots of boys here in the same fix that we were in, some of them writing letters, some reading & lots of them playing cards. I have had some notion of learning to play cards hard I better? I see by papers that the draft commenced in Buffalo the 7th so I suppose you were drafted before this if you are going to be at all. I hope you may be skipped but if you do come just make up your mind not to be homesick & to take things as they come & you will be all right. After one has been here a while & got the hang of things they are generally contented. Soldiers have more sport in camp than I ever saw any where before. They are raising the very old Nick now in our company so I have to go off by myself to write under an oak tree. Last night when we went to water our horses I & some others skedaddled out of the ranks & went in swimming. Yesterday we drawed rations Coffee, sugar, pork, soft bread dried apples beans salt & pepper. We don’t get soft bread enough for all but have to use hardtack part of the time. I believe this is the 2nd time we’ve drawed pepper I hope we will get it all the time. I should like to be home a day or two I could tell you of wars & rumors of wars. It don’t seem as though I was going to get hit & not home. There is one thing sure the rebs will have to fight better than they have done if they hit dis chile.
Your Brother
Kimball
Wm. & Harriett
[sideways first page] Will you look my Diary through and see how many miles as near as you can I travelled after I had a horse & let me know. Please send what I have sent for forthwith so I can get them before I move]
[sidways middle pages] I am going to send home by & by for a pair of boots.
[envelope]
Mr. Wm H. Press
Gowanda Catt. Co.
N.Y.
[envelope reverse]
Sulphur Spr.
Aug 11 1863
#47