The following letter was written by Branch A. Worsham (1830-1864), a 32 year-old farmer at the time that he enlisted as a private in May 1862 to serve in Co. K, 56th North Carolina Infantry. He was wounded in the fighting at Ware Bottom Church in Virginia on 20 May 1864 and sent to a hospital in Richmond where he died on 7 June 1864. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Branch was the son of Bennet Benjamin Warsham [or Washam] (1790-1845) and Nancy B. Warsham (1803-1869) of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina. Just prior to his enlistment, Branch married Nancy A. E. Johnston (b. 1835) but it does to appear they had any children.

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Camp near Wilson, North Carolina
April 7th 1864

Dear friend,

I with pleasure seat myself to drop you a few lines to inform you that I am well at this time and I hope when these few lines come to your kind hand that they may find you well and enjoying good health.

I haven’t got no news of importance to write at this time more than we are still at Wilson yet but I cannot tell you how long we will stay here. I will inform you in the first place that most all of our company is gone to carry off more prisoners again but I did not go. I don’t know what was the reason that I did not go but I am not sorry that I did not go although I would a liked very well to went, being it was coming to or near home. I tell you, it looks like our company had gone all away. I don’t think we have got more than 30 men here now. I tell you, it looks very small here now. They took off between 30 and 40 on that detail.

Well, Mr. Mack Alexander is got back here to the company but he ain’t any better than he was when he come home. I was very glad to see him but I was sorry to see him coming while his feet is in such a fix as they are. But he is not drilling today but he is very lame yet. I am sorry to see him a doing duty in the fix he is in.

Well, dear friend, I will tell you we have saw sights since I come back here but I am afraid we will see a heap worse times than we ever have saw yet. It is the opinion of everybody that there will be some hard fighting this spring but I hope it may not be the case. But I am afraid it will be the case. They say that they are looking for a big fight at Richmond again and some says it will be here and some says it will be at Petersburg but I can not say where it will be. Some think this cruel war will end this spring or summer but it is hard to tell when it will end. They are moving troops by here everyday. They say that they are taking on seven thousand onto cars every [day]. I do hope they won’t take us away from here. Well, I must stop that subject for this time.

April 14th. Well, I am well this morning and I hope you are to. Well, I must tell you we are under marching orders this morning but I can’t tell you where we will go to but they say that we are orders to Portsmouth in Virginia, but I don’t know where it is. Well, if you see my folks, tell them that we are ordered away. I hain’t got time this morning to write to them till the mail goes out. Give your father’s folks my respects. Tell them all howdy for me. Tell them to write to me. Tell Hetty Tye that I thank her for her respects that she sent to me. Tell her I would like to read a letter from her. Tell Molly howdy for me if you see her.

I will bring my letter to a close by asking you to write to me as soon as you can. Give my respects to all inquiring friends, if there be any, and receive a portion yourself. I remain your friend till death, — B. A. Worsham

To Mrs. Sarah Alexander