The following letter was written by Andrew George Buell (1842-1925), the son of Charles Buell (1792-1863) and Charlotte Carver (1805-1890) of Franklin, Delaware county, New York.

Andrew enlisted on 1 October 1861 to serve as a private in Co. A, 101st New York Infantry. In September 1862, near Chantilly, Va., he became deaf in one ear when a comrade discharged his gun nearby. He was transferred to Co. B, 37th New York Infantry on 24 December 1862 and was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, the same day his brother Arthur was wounded. He was later wounded at Spotsylvania as well. He was discharged from the service on 2 October 1864.

In his letter, Andrew writes his parents of the dead soldiers yet unburied on the battlefield of Fair Oaks (or Seven Pines) in Henrico county, Virginia, that was fought on May 31st-June 1st, 1862. The battlefield was approximately six miles east of Richmond at the intersection of the Williamsburg and Nine Mile Roads.

Transcription

101st New York Volunteers
[Henrico county] Virginia
June 12th, 1862

Dear father & mother,

I take this opportunity to write a few lines to you to let you know that we are well and hope that these few lines will find you the same. We are now near the enemy. We are in fives miles of the rebel Capitol where we can see the traitors from our camp. We are encamped on the battlefield where the battle was fought last Saturday and Sunday [May 31-June1 1862]. There is woods all around here. The enemy was all in the woods and the woods are strewed [with] dead rebels—some of them with their legs shot off and some of them with their heads off, and some of them are not buried and in some places they are pitched into a hole 25 in a place and a little dirt thrown over them. But our men are buried very good. They expect to attack Richmond every day. They will be a big fight, I think.

I saw lots of boys here yesterday that I know—Bis. Loudon and Hi Flint and Bob Johnson of Delhi [Delaware county, New York]. ¹ When we left Fort Lyon we went on board Odyssey a steamer and we did not step on land in five days. I was pretty sea sick before we got on land. Then we had to march twenty miles right through the woods. It is most all woods here. We were encamped right in the woods. There is nothing but pine trees here. We have been a chopping down the trees to keep the enemy from coming through with their cavalry and artillery.

I have been most two weeks a writing this letter. I don’t have time to write or anything else. All of you write as soon as you get this. From Andrew Buell

to Mother

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¹ Believe these Delhi residents were in the 72nd New York Infantry.