Rev. James S. Griffing received the following letter from his nephew, Corporal John B. Kelly, in the Spring of 1865. John Kelly served with Battery M, 2d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Veterans. The menu at left contains links to letters of two other men who served in the same regiment as John Kelly, although they both served in the “Provisional” brigade of this regiment between April-August 1864.
Bermuda Hundred, Virginia
[Late] March 1865Dear Uncle [James],
I received your welcome letter and I cannot half express my fealings for I was so glad to hear from you that I farely jumped up & down for joy. But I am sorry to learn that you are having so much sickness in your family. But I am in hopes by the time you receive this they will all be restored to good health.
You wanted to know how I liked soldiering. I would not like to follow it for life, but as I think the war is just and that we are fighting to put down this rebellion, I am bound to continue in the service untill we put it down, wich I think will be in a short time. I am a Volunteer for Pennsylvania Veterans and my time is out the 19th of next August & then I will go home for a short time and, if the war is not over, I think I will go again. I will admit that the army is a place where a man has poor examples & vice of every description. Anything to demorlize a man but I try my best to keep out of bad company all I can but I must admit I am sometimes led astray.
Our company is from the town of Pittston – all fine young men of good standing. Not as rough as most soldiers. We left with one hundred & forty four men & now we only have ninety two left. But then our company was on detached duty and escaped quite a number of battles that our Regt. was engaged with.
We left the fortifications [near Washington, D. C.] last May and was in the Battle of Cold Harbor & was the first troops at Petersburgh and fought all day before any other troops came up. We was at the blowing up of the reble fort the 30 of July [Battle of the Crater] and at the north side of the James River the 29 of September ¹ where we done some tall fighting.
Engraving of Federal Artillery in action at Cold Harbor from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War
Everything is in mosion tonight, troops are moving & everything seams up side down. I expect that by the time you git this you will hear of some good news from the direction of Petersburgh for we expect that will be the next place our troops will make a brake for. Reble deserters are coming into our lines by the hundred & taking the oath and coming North. They say that the South is about played out and that cannot hould out meny months longer. We expect that the rebles will evacuate Richmond before three weeks or else we will capture it from them with all of these forces for our army is surronding it as fass as possible. Gen. Sherdin [Sheridan] has cut off all of there suplys and they must ether starve or surrender to us Mud Sils ² of the North.
If our army is successful in this great final struggle that is about to come off, I think our fighting will be ended wich I hope and pray may for I am sick of seeing battlefields for it is an awfull sight to see the mangled bodys piled on top of one nother. Some dead, some wounded & others comepleatly torne to peaces. It is awfull. Did you ever see one field after a battle? If not, I cannot describe it to you for it almost makes me sick to think about it.
You said that you suposed I must be almost as large as yourself. I am sure I cannot tell for I do not know how large you are. I am five foot five inches tall & way one hundred & fifty seven pounds & one thing more I am twenty seven years old this month. Almost ready to turn the Old Batchlor’s corner. But then I live in hopes that about the time I am turning the corner, I will meet some feamale friend that will take pitty on me & take me for better or worse.
Father is still living at Williamsburg [New York]. The report is that he has married again. Married a widdow with two children and that they live verry disagreeable. She had some money. I suppose he married for that. He has rebuilt his house over. I am sorry to think it is time for I should think he had seen enough trouble marring the second time.
Sister Anna is at Wilkes-Barre [Pennsylvania] to work at her traid. Sister Julia is at Aunt Ann’s (Uncle John Griffing’s widow) teaching. Sister Mary is at Lockhaven [Pennsylvania] living with her cousin. They all are enjoying good helgth when last hurd from. [My half-brother] Fred Kelly is somewhere in the army but I cannot git his address.
I received a letter from Uncle Daniel [Griffing] last night stating that they were all well and that he was going up to Owego to see you when you came after Aunt [Augusta]. I am sorry to hear of Aunt Mary’s helgth being so poorly for she is so weakly. I am afraid she will never git well. I also hear that Grammother’s helgth is porrly. I wish I only could go and see them all but I will hafto wait untill I am discharged from the service. If I only could be there when you are there I would give most anything. When do you intend to be there?
Do you ever hear anything of Uncle Ossy [Griffing] or Uncle [Charles] Giddings family for I am ancious to hear from them. If this war comes to a close and my life is spared, I think I may come out into your part of the country, I will close this miserable scribling hoping you can glean enough out of this to induse you to answer this for you must know how much good it does a soldier to git a letter from his friends. It keeps him out of a great deal of vise and helps to pass off some of the dreary hours of camp life.
Give my best love to all the family & the same to yourself. Please write soon and oblidge your naughty nephew.
John B. Kelly
Battery M, 2nd Artillery Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers
Defenses, Bermuda Hundred, VA.
Via Fortress Monroe, VA.
This letter from Corporal John B. Kelly is very similar to another written about one month earlier by Corporal John Staley who served as Battery M’s bugler. An abbreviated version of that letter reads as follows:
Camp of 2d Pennsylvania Veteran Artillery
Defenses, Bermuda Hundred, Virginia
February 26, 1865I. B. Ikeler, ³
Sir, having a few leisure moments this evening, thought to pass away the time…I do not know what to write that would be of interest to you, but one thing that interests me is I am looking for a termination of the war. I do not care how soon it does come. I think it is not far distant. I calculate two months more will settle the difficulties between us and the Johnny Rebs. Twenty five came in last night and reported their army in a critical condition. The deserters say their armies at Richmond and Petersburg does not muster over thirty thousand men, and they also say that four deserts and goes home to one that comes within our lines; those that goes the other way takes with them a supply of ammunition and each one a gun. They defy military power to arrest them. Since the 12th one hundred and fourty- six came in on this front from the rivers, Appomattox and James, the distance being only about two miles…If they have deserted all along the lines accordingly as they do here (in that length of time) they would average from two to three thousand. (Minus about one Brigade of Johnnies.) We (when I say we I mean more than myself) are of the opinion that the Rebs will evacuate Petersburg and Richmond & fall back to Lynchburg. If all reports are true they are moving all siege pieces from their defenses here and sending off but where we are unable to say. The deserters seem to think they are taking them to Lynchburg. They have some splendid works in our front but I guess they do not deem their works impregnable for they fear the threatening hand of Grant and his ever powerful army… They are well aware that our noble Chieftain U. S. Grant can, by sacrificing the lives of many soldiers, take those works they once called impregnable…George McEwen wishes you (if not written) to direct his letters to Camp “F.”
Yours Respectfully, John Staley
¹ The military operation on September 29, 1864 is referring to the assault by Federal troops on the Richmond defenses north of the James River. For more information see, “Military Operations at Chaffin’s Farm.” John Kelly participated in the capture of Fort Harrison. His regiment, the 112th Pennsylvania, occupied the line south of Fort Harrison until the 2nd of December.
² In 1858, Senator James H. Hammond of South Carolina made a speech that denounced the laboring men of the north as the “mud sills” of society.
³ This is undoubtedly Iram Benton Ikeler, who appears in the Greenwood Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania 1860 census as the 16 year-old son of Johnson H. Ikeler, the local Justice of the Peace, and Mariah Lemon. Iram Ikeler was born 11 February 1844 in Millville, Columbia County, PA. He married Sallie Cole and had four children.
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