(Photo Sleuth)
These letters were written by Charles William Dill (1842-1885), the son of Enoch Dill (1813-1864) and Mary Jane Marson, of Gardiner, Kennebec county, Maine. In his letters, Charles frequently mentions his brother Orrin Dill —three years his senior.
During the Civil War, Charles served in two different regiments. He first enlisted in Co. I, 24th Maine Infantry—a 9-month’s organization, serving from September 1862 to June 1863. He then served in Co. C, 31st Maine Infantry from February 1864 to July 1865.
Charles’ letters are relatively mundane until he joins his regiment before Petersburg in July 1864. By this time, after fighting through the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Topotomy, Cold Harbor, and Bethesda Church, there were very few of the regiment left. Charles claimed there were only 160 fit for duty in the entire regiment. The letters written before Petersburg datelined just before and after the Battle of the Crater where “we blowed them higher than the Northern Lights,” are pretty interesting.
Letter 1
[The 24th Maine was mustered into the service on 16 October 1862 and left the state for New York City on 29 October. There were on duty at East New York till 12 January 1863 when they moved to Fortress Monroe and then on to New Orleans where they were attached to the Department of the Gulf until July 1863.]
East New York
November 26, 1862
Dear Mother,
I take my pen in hand to write a few lines to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines will find you the same. I have wrote you two letters and have not received any from you and this makes three. I want you to write and let me know what is the matter. If you are sick, I want to know it.
There is a good many of the boys sick but I am tough yet. The Jews Agent has run away but Old Cate Mister Garry is with us yet. Albert said that quilt that you carried down for him you keep and give the blanket to Bill Tailor. The blanket was Bill’s but the quilt was Albert’s and I want you to send it home.
I had a letter from Wiley. He was well. He is to Fort Schuyler. Give my love to Father and Orrin and tell them I should like to see them. Mother, I see you every day.
We are going to have a Thanksgiving dinner for we are going to steal a goose. We can have one as well as not because all they raise here is geese and goats. Well send you a ring and if it don’t suit, you can give it to Orrin if you are a mind to. This is all the soldiers have to do when it rains.
Joseph Hooker has been pretty sick but is better now. This is all at present. So I will close. Write as soon as you get this. From your son, — C. W. Dill
We have not been paid off yet. I don’t know when we shall leave here.
Letter 2
Camp near Alexandria [Virginia]
April 25, 1864
Dear Mother,
It is with pleasure that I sit down to let you know that I am well and I hope these few lines will find you the same. We got into camp last Friday night and we had a good time coming on. We expect to go on a march soon but I don’t know where. I should like it pretty well if we had any kind of place to sleep. Worring J. Hooker was over to see us last night and he is fat as a pig. This ain’t much like New Orleans here.
Give my love to Father and to Ormy. So I must close my letter by bidding you good day. I wrote to Lucinda last night. I have got rid of standing guard and drilling and dress parade. I was detailed as pioneer and that is for building roads and bridges for army wagons.
This is from your son, — Charles W. Dill
Letter 3
Fairfax St Hospital
May 27th 1864
Dear Mother,
I got your kind letter this morning. It was dated the 24th of May. I was very glad to get it. You said my letter was very civil. I thought it wasn’t very civil according to the way that Lucinda wrote. I think she is doing great business now.
I have got some pretty hard letters from her lately. It don’t make any great difference to me. I like for her to behave herself.
You wanted to know if she sent my letters back. She did and it is alright if she has got with Liza Reed. She will got it right smart. Tell Lucinda she hain’t paid much doing as she has. Tell her this world is as wide as it ever was and as good fish in it as there ever was and I can catch them. That money to Augusta—you ought now to have got the rest of it. It is the next building to the bridge. You go and see about it when you get the money. You get my discharge with it. The doctor wants me to stay here and help take care of the wounded but I guess I shall go to the regiment as soon as I get a little smarter.
Mrs. Dill, if you see Caroline, tell her that we ain’t left here yet and she can write once more and when we leave, we will write. Expected to go right off but we ain’t gone yet. S, here is my respects to you and your family. I cut Charley’s hair this morning. He looks like a white headed Devil. So goodbye. — David Page
Mother, I hain’t got any more to write this time. So goodbye.
I have used her goods better than she has me. I hope God will bless her for it. Tell Father I hope I shall get home to see him once more. Tell him to take good care of himself as he can. I would like to see you all very well. My health is pretty good at present. Trouble is war then sickness to me. It is nobody’s blame, only my own. So, it is all right. I will be to home one of these days and make things straight then.
We had a lot more wounded come in last night—45 of them—some pretty hard cases. two of them died last night. The doctor took a pint of maggots out of one man’s leg where it was cut off. He died last night.
Tell the postmaster to not let anybody have your letters. I have got smart enough to help take care of the wounded you spoke about. Write soon. From yours, — C. W. Dill
Letter 4
Near Petersburg, Virginia
July 2, 1864
Dear Mother,
Tis with pleasure that I seat myself down to write you a few lines to let you know how my health is which is very good at present and I hope these few lines will reach you and find you the same.
I got to my regiment all right. We are on duty now in rifle pits. You can see the devil’s heads. We had one boy wounded today. The shots came buzzing over our heads. There is no danger if we keep in behind the works. There is only about a hundred and sixty in the whole regiment. Part is dead and wounded and sick.
I have wrote to Lucinda to day but didn’t know whether she can read it or not. Tell her when I write again I will try to write better. Give my love to her. Tell her that I think we will be paid off soon.
I think we will have hot work the Fourth. Grant will do the thing this time, but he has lost a good many men. But you had ought to see the Rebel works that the boys has taken/ It looks as if they could not take them.
Tell Miss Weber that Charley is well. He is the fattest in the company. Give my love to Aaron and tell him to be a good boy and never be a soldier unless he wants to hear bees fly over his head. There was a shell come close by. We had to lay down and it gets my paper all dirty.
Dear Father, I thought I would write you a few lines when I hear from you. I hope you are well. Be well. I am as tough as a pile of tough leather. We all lay on the ground. Our captain and Lieutenant Tibbets is dead. They was both good men.
Father, keep ip good courage and I will. The boys don’t mind what cannons are going all the time. I want you to tell Bill Taylor that I am much obliged for his wiset [?] that he made me the last day I was down to see him. Uncle Ben is wounded and gone to the hospital. I must close. Take good care of my little wife.
Good day, — C. W. Dill
Letter 5
Co. C, 31st Maine
5th day of July, 1864
Dear Mother,
Tis with pleasure that I seat myself down to write to you a few lines to let you know how my health is which is very good at present and I hope these will lines will find you the same. I have got to my regiment. I feel very well and i like it better than I did in the hospital. But they haven’t any of the Gardiner [boys] with the regiment. They are all gone to the hospital sick call—all but Thomas Page and Aaron Dudley, C___ Taylor, and Charley Weber. Them is all the Gardiner boys with the regiment and the rest is played out and they have seen hard fighting enough too.
We are going to have another fight soon. We are getting ready for it now. We are going on picket tonight. The Rebs picket line and ours is almost close [enough] together so we can talk together and we are going on picket tonight. We have got to stay two days and then we will be relieved and go to the rear.
I would write to Father but I am too busy. But he can hear from me. Tell him to keep good heart and i will too.
We haven’t had any fights lately but the pickets are firing all the time. They wounded a Bath man of our company. I think they will have another fight soon.
Give my love to Arel and tell him to be a good boy and tell him to not work for Nathan this summer for they can’t get money for nothing. They will have to pay for their work this year. Give my love to my little wife and tell her that I would like to see her. I have wrote her two letters and this makes two that I have wrote to you. I can’t think of anything more now. From — C. W. Dill
Letter 6
On picket near Petersburg, Va.
July 24, 1864
Dear Mother,
I thought I would write you a few lines. I was not very busy today and I thought you would like to hear from me.
Everything is lovely here—for war. We fire at them and they fire back. They shoot two or three [soldiers] every day. I suppose we kill some of them. I hope we do. But we can’t see them—only when they show their heads and fire through sand bags. They have the same chance at us but think we make some of them sick. They throw shells but they don’t do much hurt. We can shell them much as they can us.
We are building some forts and getting ready to give them some. The Rebs opened at us and we opened at them and it sounded like snapping ginger cakes.
I will try to finish it now. I have been two days writing this. I guess I will try to finish it. We have got off from picket. We are back to the rear now. Write soon. From — C. W. Dill
Letter 7
Camp of the 31st Maine Volunteers
Near Petersburg, Va.
August 8, 1864
Dear Mother,
Tis with pleasure that I seat myself down to pen you a few lines to let you know how my health is which is very good at present and I hope these few lines will reach you and find you the same.
We have not been in any more fights since we blowed them up. They tried to blow up one of our forts at the right but they did not dig further nor enough. I was very near it but we had all the guns manned, out and in order in it when they blowed. They blowed up the ground. They charged out of their pits. They thought they had the Yankees. Then the guns that they thought they blowed up in the air was throwing grape shot onto them. They had to go back. I think that was played well on the Greybacks.
I got your letter that you sent to me with 50 cents postage stamps. That is the last letter I have got from home.
There is three in the company, four with me. Our sergeant was hit with a ball yesterday. It just cut blood a the top of his head. Tis Billy Ware from Augusta. He is some relation to George Ware.
Tell Miss Webber that Charley is all right. He is a good soldier. Tom Page is all right. Ike Baker is all right.
I had nothing to do and I thought I would write. Give my love to father and tell him that I am all right and I hope he and all is the same. Tell Aaron to piss up his back and call it a sweat. I am tough and dirty, lousy.
Good day. Write all the good things in your next to Lucinda in our next. — C. W. Dill
Send me a pen…
Letter 8
[Before Petersburg, Va.]
August 18th 1864
Dear Mother,
Tis with pleasure that I seat myself down to answer your kind letter that I received this morning. I got 5 pens in it. They write very well. I am all right now. I got a letter yesterday. It had a dollar in it. I got one from Lucinda the same day and I answered it. There was some postage stamps in it. I forgot to tell here that there was any postage stamps in it/
Father, you must excuse me for not writing to you. I will write a few lines this time. Father, we have good times now. We have moved about a mile down to the right. We don’t have any firing now. One of the men fired at a Johnny Reb and they tied a rail on his back and made him lug it all day. That is the way the Johnnies do to their men when they fire at us. It seems like home to talk with them. Their pickets and ours can’t be more than 3 rods apart.
Tom Page is all right and sends his love to you all. Charley Weber sends his love to you all and says that we are all coming home this fall. He says he wants you to have a good lot of that special beer at hand. Isaac Croker has got to the hospital. He was pretty sick.
Don’t go hungry as long as there is a cent left. Tell Lucinda that I am sorry that her letters did not come right. Tell her to direct just as you do and they will come all right. Aaron, I will write you a few lines. I suppose I had ought to write you all a letter. Aaron, I guess you are getting to be a good boy. I hear that you are to work. That is good news for me. Aaron, do the best you can and I will try to do the same.
Tell ‘Gusta Black to rub her nose into her ass. I have not forgot Daniel yet.
This is all that I can think of now, only I think Lucinda is good as the Adley’s. Don’t let Lucinda read this. From your son, – C. H. Dill
[In front of Petersburg, Va.]
4th day of September 1864
Dear Mother,
I am well and I wish you all was. I get enough to eat. We have not been in any fights since we blowed up the fort. All the boys is well that is here. There is no Gariner boys left but me. We draw rations for 11 men in our company and we have had two come the other day. Charley Weber and Tom Page is sick and gone to the hospital.
Tell Bill Taylor that if he is coming back to come soon for I want to see him. Tell him that if he will come, I will learn him how to fight. Tell him we have got where we can hear the bulldogs and if he don’t believe it, to come and try with us. Tell Bill that John Asten has got back. That done me good to see him.
…Give my love to Martin Taylor and ask him how his huff gets. Tell him that we played a trick on the Johnnies that the Devil never thought to play on anybody. We blowed them higher than the Northern Lights and then we charged on them but they drove us back about as soon as we got in. They threw rotten in by the peck. That was the place where the Johnnies gives us “Root Hog or Die.”
Ike Coker has gone to the hospital. He is on the Peninsula. That was where I was when I was sick. I can’t think of anything now so I must close by bidding you good day for this time. From your son, — C. W. Dill
Give my love to Lucinda and tell her that I got a letter from her.
Spared & Shared 23 