This rare letter was written in pencil by Lorraine Walker Griffin (1834-1907), the son of William Lewis Griffin and Elizabeth Suttle of Forest City, Rutherford county, North Carolina. Lorraine enlisted on 1 Jun 1861 and was mustered into Capt. H. D. Lee’s Company, 6th NC Volunteers. This unit was later designated Co. D, 16th NC Infantry Regt. He was admitted to the Confederate Hospital in Winchester, VA on 1 October 1862 with a gunshot wound to his hand. He was transferred to Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, VA on 3 Octpber 1862. He was furloughed for 60 days on 19 October 1862. He apparently did not return to duty when his furlough ended and was listed as awol in December 1862. He returned to duty by Feb 1863 and was present and accounted for through July 1863. He was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital again on 13 July 1863 with pneumonia. He was transferred to Camp Winder, Richmond, VA on 15 Aug 1863. He was promoted to 4th Sgt. on 1 October 1864 held the same rank when paroled at Appomattox, Virginia, on 9 April 1865.

In his letter of 26 May 1864, Lorraine describes the recent action of the fight at North Anna, 23-26, 1864.

Transcription

In Line of Battle near Hanover Junction
May 26, [1864]

Dear Sister,

I take my pen in hand to let you know I am still alive but don’t know how long I may be alive for they are [ ] our entrenchments. We are well fortified. I have been in some hard fights and came through safe. I do pray to come through safe. Dear sister, I have never saw Mr. Green yet. He passed me one day and I looked for him but did not see him. His regiment has been in fights since then I can’t hear from him nor brother. They may both be killed.

We have lost 8 or 10 men out of our company taken prisoner—some killed. [In] the fight the other day we lost two men, one Crampton taken prisoner. Eli Gross was killed or taken one, I don’t know which. We charged the Yanks and got them to running and General [Edward L.] Thomas’ Brigade run, then our Brigade [Alfred M. Scales’ Brigade] was left alone. Then the 13th, 34th, 38th all run and left the 16th and 22nd by theirself. We fought two hours and go so near broke down we like never to got out. A heap did never get out for they was so tired to go.

The Yankees is [with]in about 1,000 yards of us. Our lines is about 35 or 40 miles long. They reach to Richmond, I expect. We will go to Richmond [illegible].

Sister, I received a letter from you the day before we started and was glad to hear from you and could not answer it but I wrote to you a few days before that. You spoke [illegible]… I have never wrote to her since I got back. Did she say for me to write to her and put it in your letter or not? I did not understand. Please tell me if she said so or not. I will never write to her till she makes her acknowledgements for not writing to me when I write to her. Miss Salley Gross has quit writing to me. We have quit forever.

Sister, this is no place to talk about the gals. I ought to be praying though I am praying every minute and hope my friends thinks of me in their prayers at home. Sister, I will close for this time—maybe the last letter ever I have the chance of writing to my beloved sister. I remain your brother till death. L. W. Griffin