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INTERESTING LETTER OF WAR DAYS REVEALED

Vienna Man is in Possession of a Letter Written During the Civil War.

John C. Strickler, of Tavenner Avenue, Vienna, has in his possession a letter written by his uncle, the late John C. Strickler, in 1862, to his sister, Miss Rachel Strickler.

Mr. Strickler was wounded in a battle during the war, which resulted in his death. A copy of the letter, the original spelling being used, follows:

Camp Schoonmaker,

Washington County, Maryland,

December the 26, 1862.

Dear Sister:

I embrace this opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that I am well and hope that this may reach you the same. I will tell you how I spent Christmass. I went down to antetam whitch is 12 miles from where we ar encamped. I was over the largest part of the fighting ground. there is a place where you can see something. The first place I seen any thing like fighting thare was a cannon ball sticking in the side of the house and thare had five passed threw the barn a little beyond thare the fence was all cut to pieces on the harpers fery pike. Thare is a thick woods on both sides of the pike whitch is about four hundred yards apart. The union men was in won of the timber, the rebbles was in the other they fought back and forth for a considerable length of time when won side got back into the timber. They would stop and make the other party back into thare woods. thare is hardly a tree but what has received a shot. some of the tree tops are shot off some of sides of the trees are shot out. thare is scarcely a tree that did not receive a single ball. beyond that there is a meeting house that was shot threw till it looks as tho it was nearly all windows. and a larg brick house frame barn and the nessary buildings was burnt by shells and all of the fenses are tore down. I cannot give you a full account of the battle field. I passed on to Sharpsburg and stoped there and got my dinner had a firstrate dinner. I will tell you what I had for dinner. I had fresh sausage, fresh butter, apple butter preserves of four or five kinds green apple pie and three other kinds of pie and different kinds of cakes and as mutch sider as I could drink of the best kind all for 25 cents. and then I went out too wheer the 12 Penna cave is encamped but I did not see any person that I was aquainted with and then I took a different dyrection back too camp over another part of the battle field wher some of the men had there cattle penned thare has bin a great many shells throwed thare some of them was busted some not. I stoped at a small house to get a drink they asked me iff I could drink out of a tin they sayed that the soldiers had taken all they had I no not whether they was union or not. It was 8 o’clock that I arrived in camp. nothing more now, write soon iff not sooner.

John C. Strickler too Miss Rachel Strickler

no more time to write now.

***

Bob Enoch is president of the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society. If you have comments or questions about Look Back items, please contact him at: roberteenoch@gmail.com, or by mail at WCHPS, PO Box 565, Parkersburg, WV 26102.