CUYAHOGA COUNTY OHIO - LORDS, Caius C. Civil War Letter *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Greg greg@eskimo.com April 8, 1999 *********************************************************************** Letter from Caius C. Lords (AKA Cains) to his father during the civil war -- transcribed Camp of the 29th Regiment Ohio Vet. Vol. Inft. Dear father, Your letter of the 8th came to hand on the 15th and I was very glad to hear from you once more. It had been so long since I had heard from you that it seems as though good times were coming once more when I receive letters from you. Mother has written to me quite often since you left home and I am very much obliged to her for doing so. Since you have been gone my regiment has been in a good many battles and have lost a good many men. My regiment has had about 200 men killed and wounded out of 400 and my company has lost about 32 men out of 56. All of my tent mates, James Walsh, Charlie Gove and William Gilbert, have been wounded on this campaign and I am left alone. My health has been so very good that I have not missed one mile of the march and I have been in every battle of the campaign. I have had two muskets shot out of my hands by rebel balls and a short time ago a 6 pound shell went through my tent within 6 inches of my head but as yet I am all right side up with care. We are now within a mile and three quarters of the centre of the city of Atlanta. We have got all the railroads cut and we are sending shot and shells into the city all the time. Every night there is some part of the city set on fire by our shells and it seems to me as though it must be a very uncomfortable place to live in. Almost two weeks they have not shot one shell at our brigade. I think they have none to spare and are saving them for the time that we will have to charge them. This will represent the position of our army. (See diagram he drew on original letter.) The numbers are the numbers of the army corp. The length of our line of battle is 13 miles, nearly half of it is held by the fourth and twentieth army corps. All of the fighting that is going on is where the 23 corps as we are trying to shove the army to the right. Almost every day the rebels try to break our lines somewhere but as yet they have made nothing, for every time they charge on our lines they lose 4 men to our 1 for we are in good breast works and they have to come across the open field to get at us. Every day a good many deserters come over to our lines from the rebel army. Night before last 100 of them started to come into the 1st division of our corps, but as they did not have a white flag, our men fired one volley into them and killed 20 of them. The rest of them (80) came in and have been sent North. We have had plenty to eat all along this march, but just at present we can't eat any pork, as they are using the cars to bring up big guns so we have no meat but fresh beef every day. However we get along first rate. They have established a bakery close by the army and we get soft bread one day in three. We think this a treat as we have not had any soft bread for three months. There is rumor around in the army that Longstreet's corps is coming down here to reinforce the rebels. If this is the case, we will have our hands full, but I should think that General Grant could keep the whole rebel army in Virginia busy so that they would not think of coming down here. General Grant don't get along so well in the east as he did in the west. The fact of the matter is, the rebels have got their biggest and best army in Virginia, and their best generals. I wish we had such an army as the army of the Potomac down here. We would eat up Hood's army before breakfast. I see by some Cleveland papers sent me by Miss Frankland that the hunderd day men think they are seeing very hard times. Why the poor sinners don't know anything about soldering and it makes me laugh every time I read there woeful complaints. If they were with Grant or Sherman, instead of behind the forts of Washington then they might grumble. The weather has been very warm during the months of July and August. This month it has been raining almost all the time, but it don't seem to cool the air any. Sometimes I think that when this summer is over I will be nearly black enough to pass for a negro. I was of the opinion that you would not like the Isle of Man very well, for I know that traveling only makes a man think more of home. I wrote to mother a short time ago for a gold pen, some writing paper and envelops and some postage stamps. If they are not sent, please send them as soon as you can for I need them very much. There is some talk of us getting paid off pretty soon and I guess that we will soon get some greenbacks. There is a good many of them now owed me from the government, but I have no more to write this time, so I will bid you a goodbye. Give my love to mother and the children and accept the same yourself. From your loving son, Caius C. Lord CO. I. 29th Regt. O.V.V.I. 1st Brig, 2nd Division 29th Army Corps Via Chattanooga, Tenns. --- He mentions a few different Army Corp. I'm 99% sure I got the numbers right. It was a very faint letter.