Monday, May 2, 2011

Blog in Real Time - May 2, 1861 - Post #10

May 2, 1861

Letter of James F. Ramsey
James F. Ramsey was serving with the 2nd Battalion at Fort Warren. 


Fort Warren  May 2d 1861

Dear Mother   I received your letter and was glad to hear from you and I hope you will write often  I will write every day if I have the materials.  Please send father's bag with my rubber coat, two towels, a pair of stockings, a comb, a lead pencil, and a revolver case.  Carry my things to the Eastern rail road wharf the boat leaves at 10 O'clock AM and 2 1/4 PM the name of the steam tug is the May Queen.  mark the things Fort Warren  2d Battallion V I company C.   J.F. Ramsey.  send some Apples and Maple Sugar some times  I like here very much and I think it agrees with me  I never felt better when we arrived the fort we stacked our arms and went to work  a carrying our beds up to the barracks  most of hte soldiers sleep in one long room directly over our dining hall  there are three long tables one for each company  we have as much coffee as we can drink  we have cold corn beef & cold bacon hot bisquit and bread for dinner  rost beef and soup.  6 O'clock is Reveille signal for the men to rise, all the lights are put out at 10PM  we parade 3 times a day 2 hours at each parade all the rest of the time to ourselves  they mount a guard at 8 Oclock AM each man is relieved every 2 hours  there are three relief guards each man has 16  hours to him self out of 24 hours and all of the next day except 1 hour.  Give my love to all  I served on guard last night.  it was very cold there is nothing to break the wind  be sure and send me some maple sugar   good buy
     your son James.

p.s  Walter Hinds sends his love to the Harts  he would like to have one of the boys come down they are enlisting new recruits every day for another company at the armory.

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