Tweet
FB_IMG_1692009989043.jpg
From the desk of Capt. Greg Swank
Co. D, 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Monday Aug. 14th, 1863
Camp Nelson, KY
Dearest wife,
I am writing this in reference to our movements since Friday of last in our approach to our new post. After leaving Mt. Sterling, we marched at a leisurely pace, yet still with a purpose. Covering several miles we stopped in recently cut hay field near the Danville road, the men bivouacking under a grove of trees large enough to provide shade for several companies. The wagon found us, providing a meager supply of salt pork, crackers, and coffee which was quickly set to boil. My rations having been exhausted, I subsisted off about 2 ounces of pork and two crackers I had found in my knapsack. Our camp cook was kind enough to offer me a cup of coffee which was a blessing.
We awoke the following day and set to work breaking camp and preparing ourselves as best as possible for the arrival to our new camp, and to see our old 9th Corps mates. The weather was cool and overcast, perfect for the last leg of our journey to what we assume will be a more permanent stop. As we approached the gates we found a large contingent of civilians ready to welcome us, a collection of interested locals, escaped slaves and freedmen, and a surprising number of loyal Tennesseans from the eastern parts of that state.
We quickly made camp, and the men set forth to cooking the ample rations supplied by the quartermaster. I know I can speak for the officers when I say that the Cheshire pie and soft bread prepared by the commissary was a welcomed treat.
Towards the late afternoon, a one private Fulford was detained by a guard detail after accusations of theft were leveled by a triumvirate of ladies of questionable intentions. Their belongings were found in the private’s tent, however, multiple witnesses swore by written affidavit that not only had the items been planted in the tent by the women, but that Fulford never once visited the civilians after our arrival in the camp. His subsequent release was welcomed, but I believe this incident will be an important lesson to the men about the presence of unaccompanied women within this camp. I must also take this time to state that we were visited by other civilians who offered food and refreshments while their men folk enlisted at the camp headquarters. I would decline to comment on the character of anyone who would be derisive toward a refugee woman willing to see her husband offer his service to the army while displaced from her home and awash in a sea of men accustomed to hard living and difficult times.
Sunday was quite uneventful, as I suspect the men and civilians took time to rest after the events of the previous day. I few of us ventured, in the early afternoon, to the recently created “cemetery no. 2”, as it offered not only a look into the suffering this war has created, but also an incredible view of this massive complex with its storehouses, shops, factories, bakeries, hospitals, and fortifications.
Truly, how can our southern adversaries hope to sustain against a machine capable of creating this from the wild of Kentucky? I hope not long. I must take my leave as my duties require it.
From the desk of Capt. Greg Swank
Co. D, 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Monday Aug. 14th, 1863
Camp Nelson, KY
Dearest wife,
I am writing this in reference to our movements since Friday of last in our approach to our new post. After leaving Mt. Sterling, we marched at a leisurely pace, yet still with a purpose. Covering several miles we stopped in recently cut hay field near the Danville road, the men bivouacking under a grove of trees large enough to provide shade for several companies. The wagon found us, providing a meager supply of salt pork, crackers, and coffee which was quickly set to boil. My rations having been exhausted, I subsisted off about 2 ounces of pork and two crackers I had found in my knapsack. Our camp cook was kind enough to offer me a cup of coffee which was a blessing.
We awoke the following day and set to work breaking camp and preparing ourselves as best as possible for the arrival to our new camp, and to see our old 9th Corps mates. The weather was cool and overcast, perfect for the last leg of our journey to what we assume will be a more permanent stop. As we approached the gates we found a large contingent of civilians ready to welcome us, a collection of interested locals, escaped slaves and freedmen, and a surprising number of loyal Tennesseans from the eastern parts of that state.
We quickly made camp, and the men set forth to cooking the ample rations supplied by the quartermaster. I know I can speak for the officers when I say that the Cheshire pie and soft bread prepared by the commissary was a welcomed treat.
Towards the late afternoon, a one private Fulford was detained by a guard detail after accusations of theft were leveled by a triumvirate of ladies of questionable intentions. Their belongings were found in the private’s tent, however, multiple witnesses swore by written affidavit that not only had the items been planted in the tent by the women, but that Fulford never once visited the civilians after our arrival in the camp. His subsequent release was welcomed, but I believe this incident will be an important lesson to the men about the presence of unaccompanied women within this camp. I must also take this time to state that we were visited by other civilians who offered food and refreshments while their men folk enlisted at the camp headquarters. I would decline to comment on the character of anyone who would be derisive toward a refugee woman willing to see her husband offer his service to the army while displaced from her home and awash in a sea of men accustomed to hard living and difficult times.
Sunday was quite uneventful, as I suspect the men and civilians took time to rest after the events of the previous day. I few of us ventured, in the early afternoon, to the recently created “cemetery no. 2”, as it offered not only a look into the suffering this war has created, but also an incredible view of this massive complex with its storehouses, shops, factories, bakeries, hospitals, and fortifications.
Truly, how can our southern adversaries hope to sustain against a machine capable of creating this from the wild of Kentucky? I hope not long. I must take my leave as my duties require it.