Gettysburg, Pa.,
July 5, 1863

KP2025.001.061

Gettysburgh [Gettysburg] July 5th 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
I can get no chance yet to send a letter & I have not received one since June 14th. I am well and all right yet & so are all the Collins boys in our regt but this morning as we were marching into town Joseph & I saw Thomas Stolts of the 64th. We asked him where the rest of the boys were he replied they are all gone. We asked him if they were killed & he said they were. We had to march right along with the columns & could ask him no more questions. I have not heard from the 44th yet, but they were here. There has been some awful hard fighting here & we got here the 2nd inst in the forenoon but there was some fighting the 1st but the 2nd & third days of July the fighting was terrific. The afternoon of the 2nd our regt was on picket on the right of our line of battle & just before dark we were charged upon but a battery of ours threw a few shells into them which halted them. They took a few prisoners & wounded a few took one Captain in our regt. but they did not get me although I was cut off from the rest of the regt. I was out on post when the rebs charged upon us with 3 others & were a firing at some reb Cavalry about 80 rods off & the first we knew the rebs was so close upon our reserve that we had to fall back & each man look out for himself. The bullets whistled thick & fast round me but none hit me.
July 5th at noon 12 miles from Chambersburg. Our Cavalry is following the rebs & taking prisoners from their rear almost constantly. The prisoners say that all of Lee’s wagon train went this road & this morning there is a report that their whole train is captured & burned. The mule train of our brigade is here but the fighting material has gone on to Chambersburgh [Chambersburg]. Joseph has been complaining of rheumatism for several days but is better again but he is with the mule train & there is several men who go on post. Their horses have played out & they had to leave them. My cream horse is almost played out. We had a very hard rain last night before last which wet my clothes through and back again. I was on the battlefield yesterday where hundreds of our soldiers lay, not yet buried & nearly half of them had been stripped of their hats & pants by the Chivalrous Southerns. We are now going west from Gettysburgh [Gettysburg] & crossing a ridge of mountains some 4 or 5 miles this side of Gettysburgh [Gettysburg]. We come to hundreds & I don’t know but thousands of wounded rebels in barns, houses & tents. Their retreat was so sudden that their wounded are all in our hands.

KP2025.001.062

Quincy Pa (between Hagerstown & Chambersburgh [Chambersburg] July 8th [1863]
I am well this morning but wet through. We had an awful hard rain last night. We got the news of the surrender at Vicksburgh [Vicksburg] last eve & old Lee might as well surrender for we have captured his Pontoons & a wagon train of between 300 and 600 wagons and 130 pieces of Artillery besides all this he has lost nearly ½ of his Soldiers. Six days more & it will be a month since I received a letter. The reason that I write on this paper is that I have no other in my pocket & the Post Master here where I am writing has his paper locked up & can’t find his key. You can’t imagine how glad the citizens are to see the Union Soldiers.
To Brother & Sister
From Kimball