Headquarters 56th Mass. Vols.,
Near Petersburg, Va., July 21, ’64.
Dear Father, — General Bartlett arrived here today, and takes command, I believe, of our brigade. I should not be surprised if he received the command of the division, in case General Ledlie’s resignation is accepted, which, by the way, we hear nothing of. I hope that we shall have General Bartlett, as he is a good soldier and a pleasant fellow.
We are now on the front line again, in a pretty fair position. The men have to keep well under cover, however, in order to avoid the fire of the sharpshooters. The shells from the enemy’s mortars go over us, almost entirely. The second line is much more dangerous in this respect than the first. Colonel Jarves reached here day before yesterday. He is probably going on some court-martial, until he gets stronger.
There was a rumor that I was appointed Provost Marshal of Alexandria or of some other place. I don’t suppose there was the slightest truth in the story.
The Nineteenth Corps have arrived at Bermuda Hundred. They are to go into position on the north bank of the James, and I hear are to make a strong demonstration there. We hear good news from the Sixth Corps, that they have whipped the enemy severely at Snicker’s Gap, and taken some prisoners.
Things remain unchanged here. I hear nothing said about attacking, and see no indications of it in our front. On the contrary, everything looks like remaining here quietly some time. All the regiments whose time is out on or before the 25th of August are to be sent to Washington to perform garrison duty. I don’t think that anything of the kind would be done if we intended to resume active operations immediately.
Under this new call for 500,000 men, I hope to get some men for my regiment. Please send me any that you can lay hands on.
I went over to General Meade’s headquarters yesterday, and saw all my friends there. It is real pleasant to meet some of my old friends out here. In the Ninth Corps I have but few, most of my acquaintances being merely those whom I have met on this campaign.
I am busy every morning on court-martial. We meet about 10 A.M. and adjourn at 1 P.M. The remainder of the time I am with the regiment, attending to business there, or reading and writing.
Please tell Thomas’s father that we have received no information in regard to his son. He probably, to tell the truth, went to sleep on the picket line, and when the men fell back during the night, did not wake up, and was taken prisoner. He is not much of a loss to the regiment, although I am sorry for his parents. Has John Meagher’s son reached home? I suppose he will be furloughed from the hospital. . . .
As usual, I am enjoying perfectly good health. The regiment is in a pretty fair sanitary condition, consider ing the exposure they have to undergo. I lost one man named Swan yesterday, killed on picket. . . .
We have had two rainy, foggy days in the trenches, and unpleasant enough they were. They are the first we have had for the last six weeks. To-day, we have a nice cool breeze, and a pleasant sky overhead. The trenches are drying up, and will soon be inhabitable again. . . .
