ADRIAN FAY 1863 LETTERS
September 1863
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Rappahanack Station
Sept. 12th / 63
Father
I sent a letter yesterday to Mary with 10 dollars in it. I sent it because I did not know when I could get a chance to send any by Express. But I gave the Lieut. 100 dollars this morning. He said he would get it expressed for me for I am on guard to day & could not go to the express offace & I did not want to keep so much money around a great while for fear I might get relieved of it. I did not pay the Expressing of it. But if you get
get the money I sent in Marys letter you can pay for that. I want you to pay it on the place & then find out how much more it will take to pay for it & tell me when you write. I want you to write & tell me how you are geting a long.
A. Fay
Rappahanock Station Va
Sept 13th / 63
“My Dear Sarah”
You will think now that I have forgot your name I guess. I have been so long in answering your letter But it has not been my fault. I would have answered it before if I could have had the chance. I was on Picket when I got your letter a week ago yesterday and we have had so much duty to do ever since that it has been impossible to get any time to think of what I wanted to write. We have been cleaning up & polecing our camp Ground & we have got it all don now & it looks first rate too. We worked all last week at it & now I shouldnt wonder if we
had to leave it before long. There was a lot of Cavelry & Intfantry crossed the [Rappahannock] river last night & this morning & we have orders to be ready to move at a moments notace. There has been some heavy canonading over there this morning. Some six or seven miles from hear. I guess our Boys have found some of the “Johnys” over there. Sadie you must not think that I have forgot you because I did not answer your letter as soon as I had ought to. You must think I am verry forgetfull. It would be impossible for me to forget you or forget to love you. But as you say, I am a fraid I think too much of you (or have sometimes thought so you must not think that you are the only one that is interested in this matter. There is an other party as strong as yours. Sadie I
would like to write you a good long letter & tell you lots. But I cant this time. If I could only see you I could tell you more than I could write in a week. But we cant tell when that will be or wheather it ever will be or not. But I guess the time will come after a while. Sadie I hope you are not afraid of me. I dont get mad verry easy. If you have heard any thing that you want to tell me or that you want I should know, when you write tell what it is. You need not be a fraid to write to me just what you please. It will all be right. I have the greatest confidance in you & consider you as the Dearst Friend I have. Sadie please write as soon as you get this. Dont wate as long as I have. You must pardon me Dear
for being so neglectful. I will try & do better for the future. But you will readily see how inconvenient it is for me to write some times when we have so much to do. It is diferent from what it was when I was in Philida [Philadelphia]. Well Dear it is geting late & I shall have to Close. Please excuse this short letter & dont think that “Add” will ever forget his Dear loving Sadie.
ever your Adrian
Sadie
Near Cullpepper Va
Sept. 17th [1863]
Dear Mother
We have left our Camp at the Rappahanack and are on the move again. We started yesterday morning and came to where we are now about two miles from Cullpepper. I suppose we shall move again to day or to morrow. We shant stay here long not if the whole Armey is a moving and I think it is. There was a good many troops on the road yesterday. Old “Kill Cavelry” [Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, Union cavalry officer] is over beyond Cull pepper. He is a
hamering a way at the Rebs, or was last night. We could hear Canonading verry plain last night. I guess the old fellow will kick up a fuss with the “Johneys” and we shall have to go over there to settle it for him. I am well and stand the marching first rate better than I thought I would. But it was a rather of a tire some job after all to shoalder a knapsack and “dadle” along through the Va dust. I guess it will soon be mud for looks as though it was a going to be wet now for a day or two. I am anxious to get a letter from home to hear how Mary is. The
last letter I got was mailed the 5th. I got it the 8th. It dont take a letter but a little while to come. I dont see why it need be so long before I can get a letter from any of you. I write 4 letters when I get one. (all most). I sent a letter to Mati the other day with 10 doll [dollars] in it. I want to know if you have ever got that & I sent 100 by express. I suppose you have got that by this time. I guess I will send the receipt that I got home in this letter for fear I will loose it. I have no place to keep any such a thing with me. But this recept is dood [good] for nothing if you have
got the money. But I dont know wheather you have or not so I will send it & be sure & have it safe if the money should not come. I cant think of any thing more this time. Write quick.
A. Fay
P. S. One year ago to day was the Battle of Antetum. I shall remember that day a good while. Wonder if John Reed remembers it?
Camp between Brandy Station &
Cullpepper (“that is all the
name I know for it.)
Sept 22d / 63
Dear Mother
I received your letter last night & one the night be fore from Mati. I was glad to hear that Mati is geting better. She must be cairfull & not whail a round & get wors a gain. “Tell her to mind that.” I am glad that money went all safe. I was a little a fraid that the 10 I sent inthat letter would not get through But
I thought I would risk it & Mati being sick so I thought you might need some. I thought I would keep a good quantity for my self this pay day for we may not get any more untill after we go into winter quarters. & if we shouldnt I should need a considerable for I want to get me a pair of Boots by & by after it gets to be wet & muddy weather. “then fall in for drill. I shall have to stop. Drill is over & I will try & finish writing now if I dont have to fall in for some thing els. & we dont get orders to march. We have gust drawn 8 days rations. I guess we are a going on a “Burnside” experdition or a “mud march” or somthing
of that discription, although there is no mud now. But there may be by the time we get orders to move & we expect marching orders evry hour. We have got to have a fight with old “Lee” this fall. We have got only two months more to fight in & we must drive him out of existance in that time or els fight him an other year. Our Armey is in fine condision now & I suppose his is But his has been reduced some as Long Street [Confederate General James Longstreet] has been sent South. I think that if we do make an advance on Lee that we shall drive him “perhaps” out of Va. or cut his Armey up so that it wont be able to fight us a gain not this fall at any rate. I expect old “Rosey” [Union General William Rosecrans] is having a hard Battle before this time.
A dispatch came last night that they had comenced fighting & that the Victory was undisided. [Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia] We shall get the pitulars [particulars] probly to day or to morrow. I am a fraid it is going to make “Montrose” unstidy [unsteady] by leaving Cooks. He will be runing around from one place to an other untill he will want to go into the armey after a little while. But if he would be steady & work I think he will earn more than he would there. If he should not have any bad luck he might easily earn eneough between now & spring to by a yoke of stears that would be able to do what farming Pa would want to do. I shall have to write to him as soon as I can get time to & give him some Advice. May be he wont thank me for it. Perhaps he thinks he knows best. Well this sheet has run out. I shall have to get an other.
[undated letter, probably 22 Sept 1863]
Well it has got to be evning & raining a little. But we have got a good tent so I dont think we shall get wet any. I was down to the Spring after a Canteen of watter a little while a go & I could see the Rebs signal fires on the top of the mountain gust a cross the [Rapidan] River very plain. It isnt over 3 miles from here. If they have got any large Guns on that mountain they could shell our Camp from there gust as easy as snuff. They did shell one of our forage wagons last Sunday that went down near the River after corn but I guess there was no one hurt. A lot of our Boys was on Picket down there the other day
& Dave Southwick Ed. Mercer & Wm Mulligan went down near the River to a garden after some Beens. They wer clost to the Reb pickets & Mulligan hollard out to them & asked them if they wanted any Yankee Beens. The Reb Picket apeard to be out of umor [humor] & says go to hell you Yankee Son of a Bitch & holled up his gun & snaped 2 caps at him But his old gun would no go. Mulligan gave him a polite invitation to kiss his ass & left with what Beens he had. Some of their Pickets are sosiable & cleaner & others are sour & grity as Bull dogs & had as leaves shoot a fellow as not. Well Dad, I had much
rather be at home to night a Chating with the folks than to be where I am, although I am contented here. I have learned to be satisfied with what ever turns up. There is no other way. But I tell you I have had a much easier time this summer than I had last. I have no reason to complain at all. It will be only a bout two months more & then we will go into winter quarters. We may see some pretty hard times this fall yet we cant tell. What do you think of our lay ing here & Old Mosby [Confederate cavalry commander John Singleton Mosby] cuting up his capers in our rear taking prisoners sutlers &c. I should think that old rascle might be caught some way & stop his ...
Well I have writen a long letter but nothing interesting after all so I wont write any more now. I want you to write if you can get time & tell me how you get a long with evry thing.
from Adrian
to Alcander
Camp of the 94th
near the Rapidann River Va
Sept 27th / 63
My Dearst Sarah
I recd. your letter last night but I was so sick that I could read but a little of it untill this morning. I have got a terable hard cold & have had the head ache for two days so that I have not done any duty at all. I am excused from duty to day. So I have a plenty of time to write to you although my head aches pretty bad & dont feel much as though I could write. I expect I shall make more than a hundred mistakes & blunders. But you must over look them for realy I feel as though I had got a Pumpkin on my
shoalders in the stead of a head, “perhaps you will say I have.” To say I was glad to get your letter would not half express the feelings in once more hearing from my dear Sadie. I wonder if Sadie is ever as glad to get a letter from me as I am to get one from her. If you are I dont wonder that you want me to answer yours sooner. Did you think that I had got out of Patiance with you because I did not answer your letter sooner? That was not the reson Dearest. I answered it as soon as I could convenientaly. I did not think of being out of patiants with you nor did I think your letter was a bit silley (as you call it). When you write I want you to write just as you think & feel. & I will do the same. Do you realy wish it was me that was coming home instead of Nelson [Kingsley]? Dont you wish that he could come home. & me too? Would that not be a better wish? I am glad that Nelson can have the privlage of
going home to see his Friends once more. But the Idia that Orville [Flint, Sarah’s brother] has got [of enlisting in the Army] I could not fancy verry well. & I think too that Sadie would not fancy such and Idia verry much eather. But there is some that it would please greatly “forinstance” Orville & Herminia & Mr Rusts people too. But your folks Sarah will come around all right in duetime. You need not be alarmed about them. I believe what Agg [Agnes Flint, Sarah’s sister] said is true. & they will believe it after a little if they dont now. Of cours they would not do or say any thing but what they thought it would be for your benafit but after all Folks can not all ways tell what is for the best. I have no hard feelings to wards your Folks in the least. I always thought a good deal of your Folks & shall unless somthing of more importance transpires than their present feelings to wards me. After all I dont think they hate me.
When this “Cruel War” is over it will make a diferance in the feelings of some People Perhaps. Didnt Mati Willoughby let you read that letter She sent in yours? If she did not I wish you could see it. What an odd thing she is. I have to laugh evry time I think of her. Well Sadie I cant write much more untill I lay down & take a rest. My head is aching like split. We are expecting orders evry hour to move. Our Wagons are all ordered to Centerville (“so the report is”). If that is true it looks “like” as though we should get orders pretty soon to Skedadle back for Washington. I hope we are not a going to have an other Pope Skedadle [like after Second Bull Run]. I think if we have to fall back it will be a “Meed”-Skedadle. But I dont want to see eather. You wanted to know in your other letter if I was a Mc [General George McClellan] man. I am not as much of a Mc as I used to was. Remember I was a strong one when I was at home last winter. I have got most over that now.
Add
Monday Morning 28th [Sept. 1863]
My own Sadie
I will try and finish this letter this morning. We had to pack up & move yesterday or I would have finished it yesterday. We did not Skedadle eather as the report was that we wer a going to. We moved down nearer the [Rapidan] River. I should not wonder if we moved a gain to day. I dont know wheather they intend to cross the river or not. But we cant go much farther this way without crossing. Sarah I cant write but a little to day for I am so sick. My head aches terably to day & I feel awful weak. My hand trembles so I dont believe you can read this. I was not able to walk yesterday & carry my knapsack
so I rode down here in a Ambilance. If we have to march to day I dont think I shall walk for I dont feel hardly able to. If we had not moved yesterday I would have finished this & wrote you as good a letter as I could. But to day I cant half write nor I cant think of what I want to write so you must excuse me untill I get better. I just recd a letter from Mary Fay this morning. Well my Dear I shall have to close. Please dont think this cut short for I think here is as much if not more than you can read so please write to me soon will you Dear for you dont know how glad I am to get a letter from Sadie.
I am your ever true & loving Add
Sadie
Adrian Fay Civil War Letters – Transcribed by Phil Palen
Pages in PINK are transcriptions of Xerox copies of letters sent to Phil Palen by the late Hollis Harvey Reed of Philadelphia, great-granddaughter of Adrian Fay through his daughter, Hollis Fay Fellows.
Pages in GREEN are transcriptions of originals owned by Phil Palen donated to St. Bonaventure University.
Pages in BLACK are transcriptions of originals owned by Patrick Gallagher donated to St. Bonaventure University.
Phil Palen added periods and initial capitals in these transcriptions, but did not change spellings.