Excerpt from a letter by John Wheeler, a soldier stationed at Camp Washington in Portsmouth Village during the Civil War, written on 23 June 1861. Taken from the Kate Wheeler Cooper Papers in the East Carolina University Collection. KP "It is now pretty well a settled fact that our port is blockaded. (Last) night in consequence thereof was my first experience as a soldier. On Friday it (was) learned that a ship had sounded the inlet. All that day we had heard cannonading (in the) direction of Hatteras inlet. Yesterday we saw large steamships hovering over our coast and as the sun went dow [sic] through the pale moonlight we discovered (one standing) directly for the inlet. For the first time we were summoned to (discharge a) soldiers duty. But, alas, for human expectation, we were doomed to disappointment. We had that (evening) received our muskets and were (unskilled) in the manual besides having but one cartridge a piece \ But I scarcely ever saw men more enthusiastics [sic]. We all (companies) marched to Capt. (Sparrows) barracks and (?) sent out to (?) coast. An interval of two hours was employed in singing, jesting and (shelling). Next, two companies departed on a march (over) the beach. Then (w) the (three) companies remaining (th) command “ground arms” (?) followed by the (invitation or imitation) to (re-) (on) arms” and there beneath the (un-) (clouded) light of a full southern moon we slept on the cold bare earth our right arm grasping a musket while on the left sweetly murmured (grey) old ocean’s never ceasing songs."
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:02:53 +0000
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