Camp Wilkins, Pittsburgh, Penn.,
Friday, May 10, 1861.
Dear Sister L.:—
I hardly know where to begin or what to write. My mind is, perhaps, in the same condition as yours–a good deal confused. It is a damp, rainy morning, so rainy that no companies will be out for drill until the weather is more favorable, so I have leisure to write. My health is tolerably good. I have been sick with a severe cold one day so I could not drill, but a wet towel cured that and I have had a turn of sick headache; beyond that I have been very well. I feel very well this morning. I had a good breakfast, had milk in my coffee, and last night we had butter.
The day I had the sick headache, I got nothing for breakfast but a piece of dry bread, and at noon we had a rice soup that was burnt so as to be nauseous. I ate a good quantity, however, and, consequently, unate it and ate no more till the next night.
We have fixed up our quarters first-rate. Four of us occupy a shed about ten feet by five feet. Plenty of lumber was furnished and we partitioned off a cabin, about half our room, and covered it all over except a little hole to crawl into. Inside we have a berth or bunk for one, and straw in the bottom for the rest, a first-rate camp. The front room we use for sitting room, parlor, reception room, reading room, writing room, etc., a place about five feet square.
We have lots of papers–New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh dailies, four or five every day. I have sent some home. In the Dispatch you can see an account of our proceedings last Sunday.
I got a pass and went out into the city yesterday. I took the morning’s mail down to the office. We had about one hundred papers and forty-eight letters. Our company has more letters and papers sent and received than any other three companies in the regiment. Our company has been selected to bear the regimental flag, as ours is the best flag in the regiment. In fact, I haven’t seen a nicer flag anywhere than ours. Being about medium height, my place is very near the flag.
But I am digressing–I was going to tell you what I saw in the city. I walked through a good share of the trading part of the city, seeing the lions and big black buildings, then I went down to the river and followed that up some distance. I then jumped on one of the cars of the horse railroad and went up to the United States arsenal. I had full liberty to walk about the grounds, but I could not enter any building. It is the most beautiful I have seen this long time. The grass is about six inches high and beautiful gravel walks run through it in all directions. Shade trees in full leaf are set all around, and lilacs, which are in full bloom, are set round in tasty places. I was just picking some of them to send to you when a couple of sentinels charged bayonets on me and I let ’em alone. They said no one was allowed to pick flowers or go on the grass. All well enough, I suppose, but I wanted some. I counted two hundred and forty-four cannon lying round in the yard, about sixty ten-inch Columbiads, and the rest from twelve to sixty-four-pounders, and I should think twenty-five or thirty cords of cannon balls and bomb shells. I saw eight guns and a lot of balls that were taken in the Revolution. One of the guns was marked W. Bowen, fecit, 1747, two others ditto 1755, one 1776 and two made in Paris. I should think as many as two hundred cannon are set round about the grounds as posts. The small arms I could not see, as they are all in the buildings. They are making a gun nineteen feet long and four feet across the muzzle, to carry a fifteen-inch ball.
One of the boys who went down to old Ft. Duquesne brought up a piece of bark from a log in the old fort built more than one hundred years ago. I got a piece, which just for a curiosity I send to you.
H. B.’s enlisting is just about what I expected to hear. D. T. too, is in. Well, success to them! I have seen C. R.’s father two or three times; had an introduction. He came to my door yesterday. He said our quarters looked about as comfortable as any.
I heard yesterday that we were ordered to march on Harper’s Ferry within ten days, but as nothing has been said about it publicly in camp, I don’t much believe it. So many false rumors are about that no one knows what to believe. I think, however, that we shall leave for somewhere soon. Government is making active preparations for war. One piece of news that we received from Girard caused a good laugh in our company, viz.: that the young ladies of Girard had presented ex-Lieutenant S. with a wooden sword.