The following letter was written by John “William” Knight (1842-1903), the son of John K. Knight (1817-1897) and Mary Davison (1819-1843) of Williamsburg, Clermont county, Ohio. William was 19 when he enlisted on 27 July 1861 as a private in Co. A, 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI). He was killed in William W. Loring’s attack on Fayetteville, Virginia (now W. Va.), 10 September 1862, and was buried in Charleston, W. Va.
The 34th OVI (Piatt’s Zouaves) wore an Americanized Zouave uniform that consisted of A dark blue jacket with red trimming, a pair of sky blue baggy trousers with two stripes of red tape going down vertically, a pair of tan gaiters, and a red Ottoman styled fez with a blue tassel. The uniform lasted at least until 1863 based on photographic evidence.
Transcription
Camp Red House 1
[December 24, 1861]
Dear Sister,
I wrote you a letter a few days ago telling you that we were going to have a fight but we did not have any for they did not come. The reinforcement that we sent for landed here about eleven o’clock. We finding it all a false report, they returned to Charleston the next evening. So we are all alive and well and enjoying ourselves very well.
The weather is pretty cold here now and pretty hard on the pickets too. I will have to go on picket tomorrow and I don’t like it much for it is Christmas and I was invited to eat a Christmas dinner at one of the citizens of this place. But now I won’t get to. Ain’t that a pity? But never mind. We will make the turkeys get tomorrow night for I know of some secesh ones not far from here.
We are going to be paid off in a few days and I expect that we will get a new suit of uniform pretty soon and hen I am going to get a furlough and come home if I can. I received a letter from Irvin Heeter. He said that he wanted to borrow some money of me and would pay right percent. He said that he had heard that we were paid off and he needed some for a while and could not get a hold of it there. I guess that I will let him have it and then Father will not be troubled with it and Irv is as honest as the day is long. I had said something about telling him when I was there last and he said he’s like to have it. I had forgotten it when I wrote to you about sending it home. No more at present. Write soon. From William
To Martha
1 Camp Red House was located on the left bank of the Kanawha River near Winfield, or Putnam Court House, Virginia (now W. Va,)
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