Camp Ewing, November 4, 1861.
Dear Uncle: — Your letter of October 21 came to hand the day before yesterday. I am very glad you are so much better. If you will now be careful, I hope you will be able to get comfortably through the winter. You have no doubt heard that Matthews has been promoted to a colonelcy and has left us. I have been promoted to his place of lieutenant-colonel. We regret to lose him. He is a good officer. I have now been relieved from duty as judge-advocate, and will hereafter be with my regiment. The colonel of our regiment is a genial gentleman, but lacks knowledge of men and rough life, and so does not get on with the regiment as well as he might. Still, the place is not an unpleasant one.
The enemy has appeared in some force, with a few cannon, on the opposite side of New River at this point, and on the left bank of Kanawha lower down, and are, in some degree, obstructing our communications with the Ohio. To get rid of this, we are canvassing divers plans for crossing and clearing them out. The river here is rapid, the banks precipitous rocks, with only a few places where a crossing, even if not opposed, is practicable; and the few possible places can be defended successfully by a small force against a large one. We are getting skiffs and yawls from below to attempt the passage. If it is done, I shall do what I can to induce the generals to see beforehand that we are not caught in any traps.
This is Birch’s birthday — a cold, raw November morning — a dreadful day for men in tents on the wet ground. We ought to be in winter quarters. I hope we shall be soon. We are sending from this army great numbers of sick. Cincinnati and other towns will be full of them. . . .
[R. B. Hayes.]
S. Birchard.
