Headquarters 5th Army Corps, Aug. 26,1862.
Camp five miles from Bealeton.
Dear Mother, — . . . We are continually on the go now, and are guarding several of the fords through the Rappahannock. Griffin’s brigade is at Barrett’s Ford some eleven miles from here. Butterfield and Martindale are at Kelly’s Ford six miles from here, and Sykes’s division is with us on the way to Rappahannock Station, where the Orange and Alexandria R.R. crosses the Rappahannock River. The first three brigades (Griffin’s, Butterfield’s, and Martindale’s) compose More11’s (Porter’s old) division. The corps has quite a long line to guard. Sumner, however, is landing his corps to-day at Aquia Creek and will soon join us. Heinzelman went to Alexandria and part of his force is 5 miles from us. Franklin lands at Alexandria and marches up to join Pope. Keyes stops to guard the Peninsula. You now know where McClellan’s army is. Burnside came to Aquia Creek with 7000 men; 5000 of them are with Pope and the remainder with General Burnside at Falmouth. To-day I was in the saddle at seven o’clock A.M. and out at 4 o’clock P.M., having ridden all over the country with the general. As a general thing the country is barren, stony, and unproductive. There arc some five or six gold mines round here, which were worked by New York companies but which do not amount to much.
I am remarkably well, and grow stronger every day. . . .
