The following letter was written by William Turner Smith of Co. K (the Carolina Mountaineers”), 6th South Carolina Infantry. Its members were mostly recruited from the Pickens and Greenville Districts (counties) of South Carolina. I believe William was from the Greenville District. He may be the same “W. T. Smith” who later served in the 26th South Carolina Infantry which was formed from the consolidation of the the 3rd and the 9th regiments in 1862.

The 6th was engaged at Dranesville under J.E.B. Stuart, then was brigaded under Generals R.H. Anderson, M. Jenkins, and Bratton. The 6th fought with the army from Williamsburg to Fredericksburg, served with Longstreet at Suffolk, and later moved with D.H. Hill to North Carolina. Again with Longstreet, it did not arrive in time to take part in the Battle of Chickamauga but was engaged at Knoxville. Returning to Virginia, it participated in the conflicts at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches, and saw action around Appomattox. The regiment reported 18 killed and 45 wounded at Dranesville and in April, 1862, contained 550 officers and men. It lost 27 at Williamsburg and fifty-two percent of the 521 at Seven Pines, then sustained 100 casualties at Gaines’ Mill and Frayser’s Farm, 115 at Second Manassas, 58 during the Maryland Campaign, and 16 at Wauhatchie. In 1864 the unit lost 9 killed and 85 wounded during Wilderness Campaign, and from June 13 to December 31, there were 26 killed, 176 wounded, and 16 missing. On Apirl 9, 1865, it surrendered 30 officers and 328 men. The field officers were Colonels John Bratton, John M. Steedman, and Charles S. Winder; Lieutenant Colonels Andrew J. Secrest and John M. White; and Majors James L. Coker, Edward C. McLure, and Thomas W. Woodward.

William wrote his letter on 8 July 1861 from Summerville, South Carolina. The regiment was ordered to proceed by rail to Richmond, Virginia, on 15 July 1861—just one week later. After they arrived there, they were stationed at Church Hill in Richmond.

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[Summerville, South Carolina]
July the 8th day, 1861

Miss Betty Floyd,

I take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well at this time and hope when these few lines comes to hand, you will be enjoying the same health. I would like to hear from you all at this time. We are all in camp at this time at Summerville, 22 miles above Charleston. We are here and it is a sickly place. The mumps and the measles are here and I never had them. I went to Charleston on the 6th day last. I saw [ink smudged…]. I couldn’t see the town for the houses. I went down to the wharf to see the [ ] for the water there was the most for me to look at. I felt like a fool when I came back to the camp.

We have to wash and cook. I wish you would come and make up our bread. I have a fine mess—R[ansom] Foster, W[illiam] J. Foster, W. Co____, C[unningham] Pennington are all in together. I have not forgot the fun that we had together. You must write to me. You must tell Sarah Honely [?] and kiss for me and Nancy the same and all the girls the same. I have not much time to write at this time. Tell J. Frank to write and [ ] to write to me. I have not forgot them.

W[illiam] J. Foster is gone home. He has been sick a little but I hope I will have my health and return home. I have a bad chance to write to you at this time. You must look over my bad writing and spelling. We are all full of life and ready to go to Virginia where the Yankees is. We have dandy muskets, cartridge boxes, knapsacks, haversacks, and tin plates and tin cups and spoons and frying pans and tin cans and a bucket. You ought to see us cooking and a washing the dishes and washing our clothes. We have a hard time sure. We sing every night.

Nancy, you must ask me to your wedding and I will come if I can. You must not marry until I can come and if I live to come, I am coming down. We shall. have a fine [ ].

I must fetch my letter to a close. You must write to, William Turner Smith, Capt. S. D. Goodlett, Carolina Mountaineers [Co. K], 6th Regiment S. C., Summerville, S. C.