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[Document 1]

                             Camp Sedgwick, Virginia,
                                March 16, 1862

Dear Mary,
      On Thursday night I wrote to you a
telegraphic dispatch (I can't call it a
letter) informing you that we had re-
ceived marching orders, & expected to start
the next morning. Well, so we did, but here
we are on Sunday night, & the hum of
preparation still continues. The goods were
all packed, except the tents, rations were
cooked, and the boys began, with their usu-
al wastefulness, to knock up their
floors, stoves, beds, & "everything." On Friday
morning, all was ready for striking tents
& a start, & we all expected soon to be
"shanking it" towards Manassas Junction.
But it has since turned out that we will
have but little shanking to do for it is a
naval expedition which we are going on,
destination secret.
       A fleet of 32 steamers, & enough
transports to make up nearly 70 sail is
now coaling at Alexandria & Washington
& getting ready to receive us.
The destination of the expedition is easily guessed
at. Norfolk is taken - Charleston & Savannah
are threatened by a force amply large
enough to take them - Pensacola is com-
paratively unimportant, so I think that
we will land at Ship Island, & endeavor
to take New Orleans in the rear by a
movement along the Gulf Coast of Mis
sissippi, and across the bayou which connects
Lake Ponchartrain with Lake Borque. Lake
Borque will afford abundant water to float
our gun-boats & small transports, so we may
be saved the toilsome land journey from oppo-
site Ship Island by a sudden swoop along
the route once partly travelled by the
British. Lake Ponchartrain is shallow, but
it may be possible to take us into that, &
land us near Kenner, which is only 10 or 12
miles from New Orleans. But be that as it may,
I think we are going to take New Orleans
somehow.

                  Old Point Comfort, Va.
                      Near Fortress Monroe, March 22

Dear Mary,
      I had got thus far when I had to stop, &
pack up the Adjutant's books & papers, since
which time I have had no chance to write.
We started on the 17th & marched on board,
laid at the wharf all night, started on the
morning of the 18th, arrived off Fortress Monroe
on the night of the 19th. We lay in the harbor
all night, were landed and marched up here
on the 20th.  We are in little shelter tents -
"tentes d'abri," made of two strips of oil
cloth, about 3 1/2 by 6 feet, fastened together
by eyelets & a piece of string - two men to a "tent."
Many of the men sleep on the bare ground, with
both ends of their tents open; but although I was
laughted at a great deal for loading myself so heavily
yet I persisted in carrying a large oil-cloth blanket
in addition to my half of my tent. I have a big
double blanket (woollen) which I and my tent
mate sleep under, (& with his woollen blanket, which
is old & flimsy, we stop up the back end, sleeping
on my big oil cloth & covering ourselves with my
woollen one.  We sleep "spoon-fashion", & do tolerably
well but it is very damp ground, & the air is quite
keen from 3 o'clock until about 7 A.M.
       We are just as "hard up" for money & comfort
as you can imagine. The boys who use tobacco are nearly
crazy, & I've just run my face for a plug for my tent
mate. They give you a piece about 3/4 inch square by
3 inches long for 5 cents. I borrowed a piece of soap
of our company cooks this morning & washed my face
& hands for the first time in 6 days, owing to the scarc
-ity of soap and fresh water.  We only get about a pint in 24
hours to drink, but we have got used to that.
         You must not feel bad if my letters, hereafter,
are few & far between, for we have to pre-pay them,
& stamps are scarcer than soap. I ran my face
for the one which I intend to put on this letter. As
I write it, I am entirely uncertain whether it
will go or not, as our postal communications are
not yet established.
    Day before yesterday, we went over to Hampton
(my tent-mate, John S. Betts, & myself)in a little
dug-out, with two sticks for paddles. The water
was very rough, & we shipped a great deal, but
were bent on going, & got there. We walked all
through the village, & it was enough to sicken one.
Every house was burnt down, & the bricks were ly-
ing in heaps in the streets, yards, & gardens. The
church was burnt down, & the tombs broken open
& rifled of the bodies.  Three fire-proof safes, broken
open, were lying among the ruins of a fine old
house, & tomb stones & everything were completely
destroyed. We came back in a short time, having
a rougher passage than when we started, it was blow-
ing a young gale, in fact. When we got back, we
found that the standing orders of the sentries along shore
were to shoot anybody who started from the shore, so
we made a narrow escape.
     We've been muscle hunting to day, & Betts is "pitch-
ing into" a large supply, but I don't like them.
    You pay my letters a high compliment, & it
is a fact that I invariably try to make my letters in-
structive, no matter to whom they are written, whether to
old or young. Many a man in my case would fill his
paper with nothing but protestations of undying af-
fection, his longing to be with her, the sleepless
nights spent in thinking of her, &c, &c; & the only
thing arrived at would be making them both
miserable. It is my opinion that too profuse a use of
words to such effect, argues insincerity, so although I
am anxious (no one knows how much so) to see you
again, and enjoy your company, I must be content
with thought and remembrances, until we
meet each other face to face. May that time soon
come.
      Our destination is uncertain.  Whether we
remain here, start for the Gulf, or go up the banks
of James River, McClellan & Heintzelman only know.
McClellan leads us in person. We are in the 3rd
Corps d'armee.
  My address is Care of Capt. F.A. Johnson,
Co. A., 40th (Mozart) Reg't., N.Y.V., Heintzelman's
Division, Fortress Monroe, Virginia. While we
are in the field, the Adjutant may be separated
from me, & my letters miscarry entirely.
         Give my love to all, & believe me,
                   Ever yours,
                               J.H.B. Jenkings

Miss Mary A. Benjamin,
    Care of John Lewis Jenkins, Esq.
             Smyrna,
                     Del.



[Document 2]

                                   Camp at Fair Oaks,
                                      June 5, 1862

Dear Mary,
      I seize the opportunity and sta-
tionery, to inform you of the safe
arrival of your last letter, and to tell
you some of the particulars of our part
of the fandango at Fair Oaks on May
31st & June 1st & 2nd.
    On the morning of May 31st, we heard
heavy firing at the advance, and almost
immediately a vast crowd of stragglers,
with many wounded, came piling
along the road in Bull Run style. Our
division was under arms and in line in
a hurry; the "slow-coach" Brigade being
as quick as any. We took our way out in
quick time, and soon arrived at a union
battery and rifle-pit, two miles in
rear of our advance camps. Casey's
division had been surprised, Pittsburgh
Landing style, and driven like sheep
that distance.
   Two companies, "C" and "K" of our reg't had
been before detailed to guard the
stores at Heintzelman's Headquarters,
and now two more, "F" and "H", were
detailed to support this battery, leav-
ing but six, about 270 in number, to
fight. Our brigade was kept in re-
serve all that day, and at night
we bivouacked in the open field.
At 4 A.M. next day, heavy firing was heard
on our left, my brother's brigade (How-
ard's) being hotly engaged, as he told
me that night.  They suffered terribly,
Col. Miller, of my brother's regiment, being
killed, Gen. Howard wounded, (arm off)
and several field, staff, and line offi-
cers killed and wounded. The 81st Penn.
(my brother's) and 61st N.Y. were in
line opposite a rebel regiment about 20
paces distant, and had aim on them,
where an aid rode up and said
"Col. Miller, don't fire, they are our
men." Col. M. brought his men to "ord-
ered arms," when at once the rebels,
concealed by thick brush and bushes,
poured in a terrific fire, tumbling our
poor boys in every direction, & killing
Col. Miller at the first volley. Those
unhurt dropped on their faces and
poured their fire into the scoundrels,
three times, when the order "fall back"
was given. the right wing of the 81st
and the whole 61st obeyed, but the left
wing of the 81st did not hear, and poured in
their fire for some time. Finally two
companies broke and ran, being unable
to stand the concentrated fire of so heavy
a force, and three companies opposed
the enemy alone for a great while, but
were finally forced to follow their com-
rades. These two regiments, formed again
in good order at the right of our brigade
and behaved gallantly all through.
The 63rd N.Y. was also terribly cut up,
and the 2d N.Hampshire, the 4th
regiment of that brigade, was caught
on a high rail road embankment, be-
tween two rebel regiments, and fairly
butchered, the rebels lining the bushes
and woods on each side.
   Now came the turn of the reserves.
Our brigade was taken up in line thro' the
woods, and soon came upon the enemy.
Our regiment having the left, & Co. "A"
the left flank of the regiment, we
were deployed as skirmishers, and
advanced thro' the woods to an open
space, where we found the lead
market extremely active, but had but one
man wounded. We then returned in obedience
to orders, until we formed a right-angle
with the brigade's left, thus
[sketch of brigade line and Co. A. line of deployment]
We remained there but a few
minutes when the fight
began, and our boys were opposed

June 7th

to two full rebel regiments. The
whole brigade being opposed to similar
odds. Our boys poured in their volleys, and
advanced on them, but a staff officer told
the Lt. Col. & Col. Ward ([?] brigade) that
they were "our men" and we stopped firing
for a good while. Commencing again, we
charged bayonets, and advanced double
quick, chasing the tatterdemalions a mile
and a half, they not waiting to find how
our bayonets tasted. They tried to rally,
but it couldn't be did. They finally broke
and skedaddled thro' the swamps diagonally,
striking the rail-road where the 4th
Maine and 7th Mass. were stationed.
The rebs were going it by the flank, i.e.
in four ranks, utterly disordered, and
our two regiments had some fine shooting
at them, as you may suppose. The regiments
opposed to our regiment were the 2d & 8th
Alabama, and we "chawed" them entirely
up, their prisoners and wounded all
agreeing that out of one company of
the 8th there were but 6, and out of
another but 8 men left alive, whom
they knew anything of. We captured the
roll books of those two companies, & they
showed an aggregate of over 160 men & 8
officers. At this rate our 231 (Co.
"A" not being in the line) were against
about 1600 men. Out of these 231, we
lost 96, killed, wounded, & missing. That
was our number of fighting men by actual
count. The missing all turned up wounded.
The brigade numbered about 800 fighting
men, & has lost at least 300.
      Our color guard was all killed or
wounded, poor Conroy, the color sergeant,
falling mortally wounded just as we charged
over a rail fence. The flag is stained
with his blood, and being tarnished and
ragged, it looks far different from what
it did at Yonkers. It is full of bullet
holes. Poor Joe Conroy was one of the hand-
somest men in the regiment, with black
hair & whiskers, & large blue eyes. He
died before they got him to the hospital.
He has a worthy successor in Corporal
Grieves, who was wounded in the shoulder,
but carried the "Stars & Stripes" through
all the rest of the fight.
      Our company is now color company,
and I come only the fourth or fifth
from it, I hope God will help me to do
my duty, but if I don't I ought to be
shot, & left for the buzzards.
    We had three officers wounded,
out of the 11 who went in. They were
Lieutenants Mallon, Fitzgerald, &
Gesner.
     Col. Riley got drunk before he
started & tumbled from his horse twice
on the 31st June. He was sent back t
to camp in disgrace, resigned, & has
been dismissed. He flunked completely.
Lt. Col. Egan, who is as plucky as an
acre of bull dogs, led us through the
fight. 96 out of 231, more than 1 in 2 1/2
shows how the boys stood by him. We had
13 killed, 56 severely wounded, 27 slightly,
the 3 missing all being found wounded.
Several of my friends got killed besides
Conroy. Corporal Currier, Color Corp'l
Bisbing, & Sergeant Hollis R. Smith being
among them.
       Your bundle of papers came to day,
and I am much obliged. Can you send
me a few more stamps? They cannot be
had here, & my folks don't send them,
although I have asked.
Give my love to all, & write im-
mediately.
     With a thousand kisses,
                 John
Miss Mary A. Benjamin
    care John Lewis Jenkins Esq.
                Smyrna
                   Del.
P.S. The whole U.S. loss is about 5000.
Our brigade took over 60 prisoners,
including a general, a Colonel, and lots of lower
officers.