 Envelope from Forrest to his parents | The Civil War Letters of Forrest Little |
Oct 3rd 1861 Dear Parents I will now set down and write a few lines to let you know where I am and how I feel when I went away from home I went over to Middlebury & enlisted in the 5th Reg Vermont Volunteers Col. Smalley there is 11 Companies in this Regiment 100 men in Each Company the name of my Captain is E S Stowell he says that he knew Father when he lived in Orwell he is a tip top Captain I tell you Our Company is called the Cornwall Company Letter F when Our Company was Full we took the Cars and went down to St Albans the place of Rendezvous we stayed there a little over a week we got our Uniforms & Guns & left for Washington
 Chain Bridge battery (Harper's Weekly 8/24/1861) |
Oct 6th 1861 I will now Continue my letter When we arrived in Washington we were placed in a long big building which is Called the Soldiers home now I will Tell you what we had for our first supper in the State of Maryland we were formed in Company and marched into another Big house and set down to a long table we had a slice of bread about 2 inches Thick and a cup of Coffee without being sweetened it came Rather hard I Tell you but I have got ahead of my story when we started from St Albans we went over the VT Central we started in the morning The next morning we was in New Haven CT The next night we was in Jersey City well it took us 3 days & 2 nights a going to Washington a long Journey I Tell you I was about Tired out when I got there we are now encamped under The guns of Fort Marcy a little ways south of Chain bridge we live well now we have Coffee Three Times a day we [have] Pork & Beans, Rice, Beef, Mush Bread & Molasses and Soup I have to be on guard 2 nights in a week it aint much fun I Tell you our guns are as heavy as the Old Rifle But I cant Think of any more at present. Forrest Little Kiss the Children for me
From yor Son Forrest to his Parents Direct your letters to Washington Citty D C
Company F 5th Regiment Vt Volunteers Capt E S Stowell Camp Advance -- Next Letter: October 16, 1861
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