Soldier's Letter, Civil War - July 1861 - First Battle of Bull Run

 Chenango American, Greene, NY, August 8, 1861

Letter from Franklin Spencer - 27th NY Infantry

Washington, July 23, 1861

Dear Father, It is with a feeling of the depest sadness that I seat myself to write these few lines to you.  Sunday last is a day that will long be remembered by me and thousands of others.  It was this day we had the fight at Bull Run. This place is in the hands of the rebels.  We were marched to the battle field about 10 o'clock in the morning and the battle lasted until 4 in the afternoon.  We were to have 60,000 men and had only 18,000.  the rebels had -?- men.  We fought till the order to retreat was given, then we retreated and left the field, much to our regret, to the rebels.  In the first place we were in a order to fight.  Most of our troops were tired complete out.  Some of them marched 29 miles before we got there.  Our regiment marched from 2 o'clock the night before till 10 the next day, and the last 2 miles we run.  We were very tired, but not scared.  Sufice it to say we were whipped, or drove back.

I will try to give you a list of the names of the wounded and dead in our company, for that is as far as I can go.  I fear Bud Spencer is among the lost.  William Henry Parker, is dead. Sam'l Estabrooks is dead.

The ensign of our company, his name was Parks, was shot through the heart by a minnie ball.  One Mccawley was hit by a cannon ball in the foot.  Probably he bled to death.  Our Colonel was badly wounded in the thigh.  It was broken twice.  They think he will recover.  I hope he will, for he is as fine a man as ever lived in the world.  One Charles Fairchild killed.  Nelson came very near being killed by a grape shot.  It jsut missed his arm and that is all.  All of the wounded that were left on the field the rebels come out and killed, running their bayonets through them.  Napoleon ...ott had the seat of his breeches shot off.  He turned around to load, and a cannon ball took off his breeches as clean across the right hip as it could be done with the shears.  Out of 94 men in our company, only 35 are gone.  Some companies can't count 40 men. We are those alive in Camp Anderson. After the fight they followed us most to Washington.  Just think of marching 40 miles in about 18 hours, and being chased by some four times our number. What are alive are in Washington.  I got hit in my thigh by a spent ball, not to hurt me very much, but it is very lame.

Yours, &c, Franklin Spencer