March 6th, 1865.—The battle is on and since daylight we have been listening to the booming of cannon. Natural Bridge, where the two armies met, is only eighteen miles (as the crow flies) from Tallahassee and these big guns can be heard plainly. This is our first experience in warfare at first hand and I do not feel quite as bad as I expected. I am so hot with anger, I would like to take part in the fighting myself. Now, while I am scribbling this, we are waiting at the depot, for there are no telegraph lines, no way to hear from the battle except by courier or by train.
Mother has been sending the nicest lunches to us to be sent down to Natural Bridge, for distribution among the soldiers; others are doing this same thing and I hope none will go hungry. Dick Long rode in a few minutes ago with a dispatch for the Governor. Of course we do not know what it is but we will waylay the messenger on the return and, if possible, stop him long enough to hear the news. There he comes now. It was impossible to get anything out of Dick. He positively would not tell us one thing, except how well “Yannie” behaved in the fight. Then he and Yannie were off like a flash. Well, I suppose that is the way for a courier to do his part.
It is night, the battle is over and we have some news at last. God has been good to us and the enemy was completely routed, though we were outnumbered four to one. All the troops were negroes but the officers were white, if we had not been reinforced at the critical moment, things might have been different but a Regiment of Georgians rushed in and the enemy fled, not knowing how many more might be coming. We lost two men, Captain Simmons and a private whose name I have not yet ascertained. Poor Mrs. Simmons, she has a little two weeks’ old baby and has been very ill. After the terrible excitement of the last forty-eight hours Tallahassee should sleep well tonight.
We have a ten-mile ride before us but it would not be right to stay in town when Father and Mother will be anxious to hear the full account of the battle, before they sleep.
