The following letter was written by Alonzo S. Cushman (1843-1864), the son of Lemuel Cushman (1800-1866) and Polly Sisson (1802-1886) of New London county, Connecticut.

Alonzo enlisted as a private in Co. H, 11th Connecticut Infantry in December 1861 and by the time this letter was written in April 1864 he was a veteran of many battles and campaigns. Little could he have realized as he penned this letter on 21 April and fancied himself home “rolling lemons” with his friends Betsy and Mary that he would be dead a little more than two weeks—killed on the battlefield of Swift Creek in Powhatan county, Virginia, in what would be Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s last attempt to isolate Petersburg from Richmond on 9 May 1864. Union casualties that day were estimated at 128 killed, wounded or missing.

I believe the Mary J. McNeely to whom Alonzo addressed his letter was 18 year-old Irish-born daughter of the widow Nellie McNeely. Mary worked as a housekeeper and later in the woolen mills at Lisbon.

Transcription

Camp 11th Regt. Connecticut Volunteers
Williamsburg, Virginia
April 21st 1864

Friend Mary,

I received your letter of April 11th last Friday and am sorry that I could not answer it before. I am on picket or camp guard every other day and I don’t have much time to write. But I think in a few days it will be easier for us. Our recruits are learning to drill fast. We have got about 1100 men in our regiment now. That is more than we had when we left the state first. We have had 7 [?] desert and go over to the rebs since we have been here.

A week ago last Friday there was 50 of us old vets went out on a scout and was gone two nights and 1 day. We left camp about 9 in the evening and marched until 3 in the morning. Then we went and camped in the woods until 10 Saturday morning [when] it began to rain and we had to find shelter in a nigger shanty until that evening. Then we started on again. We marched until 12 Saturday night. It began to rain in good earnest about 10 and we all got so wet that we could not fire them off.

Sunday morning we cleaned them [and] then started for camp. We was out hunting after a guerrilla captain but we did not get him. It was reported that there was one on the road with a small squad of his men but I guess it wasn’t so.

I hear that there is 40,000 troops landed at Yorktown lately. The 6th, 7th, and 8th Conn. Vol. with them. If it true, we may get marching orders in a few days but I hope not for we have got a very pleasant camp here.

I can’t think of any more news to write. I am getting awful lonesome here of late. I don’t go out of the company street, only when I am on duty.

Give my respects to Betsy and tell her that I have not rolled any lemons since that night but I should like to be in the same place and roll some more if you two could be there and I out of the army altogether. But I guess this will do for this time. Give my love to all the folks and kiss that baby of Fanny’s for me.

This from your friend, — A. S. Cushman