Antietam National Battlefield
Sharpsburg, Maryland
September 19-20, 1998 Sharpsburg, Md,
Sept 20, 1863

Dear Folks,

I take this short opportunity to write you so that you may know my fate. As you have heard by now, there has been a great battle fought here. By the grace of the Lord, I have been spared. I am now in the General Hospital for the wounded at Smoketown. I will recount to you the goings on that lead to my stay here, but not that of the battle. I believe I have wrote enough of that for now.

As I had to find my own way to this place, I was obligated to travel on foot, and I was passing by headquarters, where the story of the lost orders from Lee that divided his army were being recounted for the press. But the press was asking all the hard questions, such as what did McClellan do with the orders, and when. All hard answers.

As I continued, I was in the camp, as it were, of some press people trying the get the story to the closest telegraph station, on to Washington, and New York to break the story. Time was of the essence, and be it known that President Lincoln read of the battle in the paper before receiving Gen. McClellan's personal reports.

As night was falling on the day after the battle, I passed by the Dunker Church on my way to Smoketown, and I must tell you the ground was alive with the dead, dying, wounded, and crawling, and the sick of both armies. There were many kind citizens there from the US Christian Commission, doing what they could to relieve the suffering, as the soldiers waited to see the surgeons.

Inside the church was a sight from another world. The surgeons were cutting and chopping, and limbs were being tossed out the doors and windows into heaps. The smell of blood filled the air, as did the screams of pain, anguish, and suffering. I was able to keep on walking, and was glad for the slightness of my wound compared to those compelled to stay there.

After a time, I did arrive at the Smoketown Hospital, and marveled at the size of the place, and the number of sick and wounded being cared for there. It was a quieter place compared to the scene at the church, and I was glad for that. And here, the US Sanitary Commission was busy with obtaining supplies, looking after the men, and helping in several ways. The surgeons were there, along with stewards, and the volunteer nurses. All in all, most of the residents were to make it, but one boy with a foot wound turned bad, and was sent back to the surgeons to remove it after all. He was lamenting since he was a farmer, and would do no more chores on it. A young drummer died here earlier this evening, and was unceremoniously borne away on a stretcher by the burial detail.

A woman from the north was here looking for her husband, and after visiting all the hospitals, found that he died here that day, and that he was with the burial detail now. So, she want to the detail, only to find that she could not see the body, it had been buried, but she was so desperate to have the satisfaction of one last look that she scratched the dirt from the shallow grave, exposed his face, and then collapsed.

The provost office is near here, and there the local farmers are doing their best to make claims to the government of their losses. But the government does not make it easy for them , requiring counts, and values, and certifiable losses. In addition, they pay at government rates, not market prices. They insist that they are here from Washington to help the public. The farmers are further humiliated by having their allegience questioned as a prerequisite to filing. It takes a long time to be reimbursed, and some get frustrated, and give it all up.

And the burial details are off gathering up scores of bodies from the meadows and woods of a large area, and digging and burying, digging and burying, until they simply cannot stand it anymore, and the air is rent with their oaths and laments.

On Sunday morning last, the men and color guard of the 8th, 14th, and 27th Conn. Vols. assembled at the Sharpsburg Reform Church, and made a dedication to the men of the 16th Conn. Vols. who suffered so badly here during the battle, and to all the men from Connecticut who considered it their duty to come here and fight for the nation. It was a moving moment when the spiritual bonds between the citizens of these two great states, Maryland and Connecticut, were so strongly felt.

I will write as I can, and I hope to be strong enough to return to the regiment before they leave this area. There are no indications as yet, but since the reels are not here, I assume that we will move to find them elsewhere before long.

Your obedient servant,
Kim