32nd Pennsylvania Infantry | Spared & Shared 23

These letters were written by Adam Scholl Brey (1833-1916) who was a 27 year-old bricklayer from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania when he enlisted in Co. H, 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves (32nd Pennsylvania Infantry) on 18 June 1861. Adam was discharged from the regiment on 28 July 1864 after three years service. When Adam enlisted, he was described as standing 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with grey eyes and black hair. He was hospitalized on 4 September 1862 at Bedloes Island in New York but I have not learned why.

Letter 1

Camp near Hunter’s Mill, Virginia
March 14, 1862

Dear Brother,

Your letter came duly to hand on the 14th of March and was glad to hear that you have received the money and that you’re all well at present. I am in good state of health and hope this may find you all the same. I must also inform you that we are moved. I suppose you have seen it already in the paper. We left Camp Pierpont [near Langley, Va.] March the 10th afternoon at one o’clock and arrived at Hunter’s Mill the same day at ten o’clock in the evening. That day we marched about 18 miles. Our camp is 7 miles on this side Centreville as near as I know. We are encamped neat the Leesburg Railroad, just about one hundred yards on this side.

I will now inform you a little about our camp life in this part of the country. We did not take our tents along—nothing but what we could carry in our knapsacks. Some of our company had small tents to carry in their knapsack but we did not get any yet. We went to work and built ourselves tents with little brushes as good as we could to sleep under. I must also inform you that we have marching orders again to leave tomorrow morning at three o’clock.

And about the war, I suppose you know more than I do at present. Dear brother, I have one likeness yet that I left at Camp Pierpont which I will send to your wife. I had three. One I sent to father and one to Matilda Smith’s sister’s daughter but this here is not quite as good as the others. I kept it on purpose to send it to you but it did not suit me well enough to send it to you. I thought I would get it better but I got no chance to get it better. It looks like a robber but it is to protect ourselves. She says that she would pay the cost to send the likeness but I don’t want her to pay anything.

Dear Brother, I will do so as a favor to send you $15 dollars more if we get our pay soon enough. But I don’t know how soon that we will get it. With this, I will come to a close. Excuse my bad writing for I have no ink at present and I was in a hurry. As soon as you receive this likeness, please let me know soon. I will give you the direction to your letter.

Mr. Adam S. Brey, Co. H, 3rd Regiment Penn. Reserve Vol. Corps., Care of Col. Horatio G. Sickel, Washington D. C.

Then it don’t make no different where we are. The letters will be forwarded to us. Your brother Adam

Letter 2

Camp near Fredericksburg
May 28th 1862

Dear Brother,

Your welcome letter of 22nd inst. came duly to hand which pleased me very much to hear that you are all well at present. I enjoy good health at present and hope this may find you all the same. Again, it gives me great pleasure to receive letters from you. I feel when I am reading them almost as if I was talking to you and I hope the time may come soon again that I can have the pleasure to speak with you all. So God’s Will that I shall return to Old Pennsylvania with life again which I hope the time will come soon again.

I must also inform you that we left camp near Falmouth. We are encamped about a miles on this side Fredericksburg and on this side of the Rappahannock River yet. We lay alongside at the railroad which runs to Fredericksburg. The railroad bridge is finished again so that the cars can run to the town of Fredericksburg.

I must also inform you how the Rebels treat our men. An old gray-headed man which was a Rebel, he passed one of our men who was lying nearby a well. He was wounded [and] he asked this old man for a drink of water which he give him. In one hand he has the cup and in the other hand a revolver which he shot him instantly dead. And on the march from [ ] Station to Falmouth, five men of the 12th Regiment belonging to our Division which were so tired that they could not march along no more with the regiment so they had to stay behind and a party of Rebels took them and tied their legs at the limbs of the trees with their heads hanging downwards with their throat cut off. That is the way our cavalry found them when they went out scouting a few days after the march.

And I would tell more such work which the Rebels done but I must hurry to close my letter for the drum beats for drill.

N. B. I will send this little locket as a present to William and with this I will come to a close hoping you will not forget me in writing. Write soon again. Yours truly, your brother, — Adam

Excuse my mistakes and bad writing. I was in a hurry. My best respects to you and all enquiring friends. Your brother, — Adam

The following letter was written by 19 year-old Owen Jones (1842-1921), the son of Isaiah Jones (1812-1888) and Matilda Darrah (1812-1888) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Owen enlisted in Co. K, 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves (32nd Volunteers). This regiment was organized at Philadelphia and moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, on 20 May 1861. They remained in “Camp Washington” at Easton until 22 July when they moved to Harrisburg where they were mustered into the US Service on 28 July. Owen was promoted to corporal on 1 March 1862 and then discharged on a surgeon’s certificate on 2 December 1862. After the war, Owen was employed as a police officer in Philadelphia.

Owen’s letter was written on 1 May 1863 from Falmouth during Gen. Irvin McDowell’s advance on Fredericksburg with 30,000 men. Their objective was to gain control of the town and potentially cross the Rappahannock River to continue their march on Richmond. Stonewall Jackson’s maneuvers in the Shenandoah Valley, however, disrupted this advance and forced McDowell to withdraw.

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Camp near Falmouth
May 1, 1862

Dear Mother,

I received thy kind and welcome letter on the first and was glad to hear from thee and to hear that thee got the money and my [ ]. Thee said thee thought I would get tired of reading thy letters. The more thee writes, the better I like to read them. The more the merrier.

We have made another move. We are only 60 miles from Richmond. We are only 3 miles from Fredericksburg. We are along side of the Rappahannock river. It is a nice place. We expect to cross the river as soon as the bridge gets done. They are making a bridge. We can see the rebels on the other side of the river. We have had a hard march these two weeks.

Thee wanted to know if I dressed any different to the rest. Not a bit of it. Just the same. I have to go on picket but don’t stand post. We have to do the same as the rest of the men—only we have two [corporal] stripes on our arm; that’s all big thing. Can’t see it.

It looks like rain today. Things is very dear here. We have to pay 15 cents for a three-cent loaf of bread. That is awful. We have to pay three prices for anything we want big thing and we see it. I was very sorry when I heard such bad news about Bill Rook. I hope Pap will try and do the best he can. I think I will have to stop for I don’t know what to say. It is one thing all the time. We are under General McDowell. He is over McColl. We expect to cross the river very soon.

Give my love to grandmother and all the rest of the folks. Write soon. I think thee will see something in the papers about us soon. I hope so for we have done nothing yet but tain’t our fault. The men was always ready to go in. You will bet they was just so. Give my love to all, Pap, Em and thyself the most.

Direct thy letters to me, 3rd Regiment, Company K, Capt. [William] Brian, Col. Sykes commanding, Washington D. C., McCall’s Division. and then they will come all right. Write soon. This is from thy dear son, — Owen Jones