| Camp at Port Hudson, La. Dec. 1st, 1863 My Dear Wife, This first day of December, and more particularly the 30th ult.1, will always be remembered as among the saddest of our experience as soldiers. Again had the wires been cut, and a force of thirty men, under the command of Lieutenant Twitchell, had been sent to repair the difficulty. On the day of their return, the detail of fifty men, under command of Capatain Muzzey and Lieutenants W.A. Gove and Geo.W. Howland, to proceed toward Baton Rouge, to meet them. About two miles from the fortifications, an ambuscade had been carefully planned for the Baton Rouge squad; but as luck would have it, the relieving force fell into it. Now, see how nicely they had planned it. They had cut the wires, a few miles below, knowing that the force from Baton Rouge would be delayed till nearly dark in repairing it. The force sent out at 1 o'clock, P.M., had divided into three squads. Lieutenant Gove had the advance; Captain Muzzey the main force, and Lieutenant Howland the rear guard. The latter was sent around by the right-following a Cut-off. The others proceeded along the Baton Rouge road, and, when about half a mile below Plains Store, the advane guard received a volley from a force of 150 rebels in ambush. The volley was accompanied by unearthly yells, which frightened the horses, rendering them quite unmanageable. This occured in a bend of the road, and the advance at the time was concealed from the rest of the force. Hearing the volley, the main body galloped forward, but saw neither the advance (who had scattered to the woods), nor the rebels; and the first intimation they had of a concealed force was another volley. Captain Muzzey tried to rally his men; but as the rebs now rushed out of the woods in overwhelming numbers, and endeavored to surround them (who numbered scarcely thirty men), they took to the woods, when the corps fell in with Lieutenant Howland, who was coming to its assistance with all haste. He had but seven men. We lost two killed, and three mortally wounded; (and these latter have since died;) one Lieutenant wounded and taken prisoner, together with four privates. Several were wounded, but not seriously. I lost two from my company-Private Charles R. Booth and Charles B. Douglass. Company C also lost two killed, one of whom was a New Bedford boy-Franklyn Nye-enlisted by J.F. Vinal. I am pained to inform you of the death of Chas. A. Lucas, formerly a
Sergeant in Company A. I had forwarded his discharge papers, but he died
before they could avail him. It is a sad day for me; but such is War. God
grant a speedy termination of the strife! Poor Gove, a prisoner! He was
shot, and his horse, stumbling, threw him and stunned him, and he was
easily captured.
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| 1. ult. means "last month" |
to America |
to Soldier |
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the Mississippi |
Port Hudson |
Prison |