6 October 1862: “as fair as I no our side has nothing to brag of our men is out of hart”

Item description: Letter, 6 October 1862, from Confederate soldier Eli Fogleman to his wife, Lucy B. Staley. Fogleman enlisted in Company K, 5th Regiment North Carolina Cavalry, C.S.A., in Guilford County, N.C. On 4 May 1863, Fogleman was taken prisoner in Carteret County, N.C., taken to Virginia, and confined at Fort Monroe until he was paroled by exchange at City Point, Va., on 28 May 1863. He remained in the Confederate army until his final parole at Greensboro, N.C., on 5 May 1865.

Item citation: In the Eli Fogleman Letters #05279-z, Southern Historical Collection, the Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Item transcription:

Near Petersburg, VA Oct the 6th
Dear Wife
I seat my self to answer your [letter] … which came to hand the 4th inst it found … and I was very glad to hear from you and [to] hear that you and anna and all was well you stated that you had not had any letter from me yet I rote you one on the 26th you said I should rite as soon as I got your letter I did not have timedthen but you will get this by thursday if it gos rite. me and Leanard is here to gether a [writing] now we have had some very hard times since we … home but we are at what we call a good place here we was detaled to come here 4 miles from camt to a farm to cut tops and pull corn and lead the wagons for our regiment and if nothing turns up we may get to stay here 2 or three weeks we have a horse a pease to attend to tha are run down we are 10 ms.. from stoney Creek station between petersburg and weldon 20 ms from Petersburg i was sorrow to hear that Riley is wounded but if he is only in good hands it will do
I am allso glag to hear that the hunters is gone home you said John Brewer wanted a horse you can let him have him on these tirms if he will not work him too hard and feed him rite good him or anyone can have him until I call for him I dont no
// sʇuɐd puɐ ʇɹıɥs ʇɐoɔ ɐ ʍǝɹp ı //
// ǝɯoɥ ʇɐ ǝuop ƃuıʍoɯ ɹno sı llǝʍ sı ˙ɔ˙ɹ //
whether I will get to come after him or not and if I do I can’t tell when it will be the Capt has horses and [I don’t] cear if he does or not for the horses is starving to death here I had rather go to artilery or infantry than to stay with him there was orders read out here that a man should not be transferred with out the propper authority and the consent of us and that being the case perhaps we will be sent home after horse or sent  to … places as this to attend to horces and C and it suits me very well this is all the plase that I have been at since I left home that I got pleanty to eat there is pease plenty here and we eat as many as we want but I fear it will not be this way long. you said you was helping to make molasses I wish I was there with you to eat some and to help you and hear mi little Anna jabber you said you heard that they useed us so bad  it was bad of course, but what is good in the war we was guarded to Raleigh and there turned loose and then guarded to Petersburg and then a man with out a gun went with us to the regt there was rite smart fighting here last week but all is quiet now as fair as I no our side has nothing to brag of our men is out of hart I hear them say this winter wild and there time in the … I must close for this time rite soon and tell me a bout things at home this from Husband E.L.Fogleman

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