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Out on picket down in Georgia May 10th, 1864 Dear Father; I received your welcome letter this morning. I wrote you a letter last friday. We have been marching around a considerable amount since then, playing strategy I suppose. We left our camp, where I wrote my last letter early next morning, our Brigade marching in the rear and guarding the Corps wagon train. We had to march rather slow and didn't camp until 10 at night. Our Brigade left camp the next morning at daylight, with three regiments of Calvary under General Kilpatrick to open communications with the 15th Corps which was coming up another road. We marched about 10 miles and waited about two hours for them. After they arrived we turned around and marched back to camp. While our Brigade had been with Kilpatrick the rest of our division has been fighting. They had come on the Rebs near Babbs Gap where their road runs over the mountain to Dalton. They chased the Rebs across an open field and up the side of the mountain, but when they got near the top they came upon a whole lot of them and had to retreat. There was only one Brigade in the fight and they lost a good many killed and wounded. Our Division now lays round the foot of the mountain. The 149th was sent out on picket yesterday afternoon. We are stationed around the mountain in plain sight of the Rebs on the top. We can see them come out every once in a while and take a peek at us. The Division was making Breastworks last night. We are on picket so we didn't have a hand in it. They expected that the Rebs would come down off the hill last night and attack us so General Geary threw up a little dirt, just to rest our guns on. There were large reinforcements coming in last night, so I don't think the Rebs will make anything of it if they attack us. I don't pretend to know anything about how this battle that is about to come off is planned on our side, but I think by the looks of things the Rebel army is about surrounded. I hear that there has been a battle fought in Virginia and that the Rebs have been whipped. I don't know whether it is so or not for nearly all the news we get is rumor, and you know she tells some awful lies sometimes. If the battle has taken place there please send me a copy of the paper that may give a account of it. Oliver |
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