KP2025.001.056

No. 37
Warrenton Junction Va June 2nd 63
Dear Brother Sister & the rest of the family
Yours mailed the 20th No. 32 was received the 29th so I see I am safe home with $20.00, would like to hear that the $30.00 was safe home too. The 30th May the jolly rebs captured & burned a train of cars that were coming down from Alexandria & got our mail so if No. 33 should not come I’ll know why. There was 2 trains coming down & about 200 cavalry with 2 pieces of Artillery made a dash upon it and a shell exploded in the smoke pipe & the guard who were wit the train ran back to the train. The rebs would not have taken it, for the 5th N.Y. Cav were about 2 miles off but they got to the cars in 15 minutes & captured 5 rebs & one piece of Artillery & the rest ran like h— (you know what.) Wm. I have seen Seth’s horses but I think 1000 a big price. I hope you will have the luck to get some good ones. Joseph has concluded to send $20.00 in this letter to his father & he says that he wrote Jonas instead of John’s about the coffee. 20 of our Co. Regt. are out on picket now. I had rather be out on picket than laying in camp. I heard yesterday by some of our Co who have been in the Hospital at Aquia Creek that Daniel Brown was very sick, not expected to live. That he had the fever & ague then the Typhoid fever. Please tell Jane Matthews and some of the families about it. Send on your Oiled Silk & I will return a Laurel. We have had a long spell of dry weather here & some dry days but I guess we can stand it. I have got to answer Hellen’s letter I suppose about their nice white Bull calf named Kim Joe or Joe Kim. May I send a flower in this letter I picked from a vine at a house yesterday to you & one to Miss Ida.
From Kimball
[upside down] 11 o clock A.M. 20 of our co. go a scouting in ½ an hour. K.P.
[envelope]
Mr. Wm H. Press
Gowanda Catt. Co.
N.Y.
[envelope reverse]
Warrenton Jct June 7 63

KP2025.001.057

No. 38
Warrenton Junction June 8th 1863
Dear Brother & Sister
We are expecting every moment an order to march. I suppose twill be across the Rappahannock & as near as I can find out the whole of the Army of the Potomac moves. some are already across. I am well, so is Joseph. I have not heard yet whether my $30.00 got home or not. Maybe I can’t have a chance to send a letter again in a week or more. We get papers now for 5 cts each. They are pretty plenty here so we get about all the war news. We are to take 3 days rations on our horses & the Baggage wagons take 4 days more for us, & we take 1 days ration of forage (15 lbs.) & 6 days are carried in the Wagons. (There has been a chance from pack Mules to Wagons) so you see we are suppled for 7 days. I think that tis time enough to go to Richmond or get whipped like the old Harry.
Yours with haste in a hurry &c & so on.
K. Pearsons
[envelope]
Wm H Press
Gowanda Catt Co
N.Y.

KP2025.001.058

No. 39
June 11th 1863 Warrenton Junction Va
Dear Brother & Sister & Girls
Last night I received a letter from you mailed June 5th No. 34 which relieved all anxiety in regard to the destination of my $30 dollars & today Joseph received one from Jane saying they had received a letter from him containing 40 dollars. Then in another of our old neighbors passed away. Little did I expect to hear of Stephens death so soon when I wrote to know how he was. He has kept around remarkable well for so old a man but it seems he went sudden at last. I am sorry to hear that L.B. Wickham is sick. If he is able I would very much like to have him write to me (please tell him). I like any kind of letters I can get. I have not seen Enos Hibbard in several weeks when I have been on picket he would be in camp & vice versa but I asked some of the boys in the regt. 4 or 5 days ago if he was with it & they said they thought he was. I’ll have to find out as soon as I can if he is with the Regt. Joseph did bring me a pair of socks. Yes I know how to make a J I make it all above the line so I do an I but a J should have more of a turn at the bottom than an I. I meant I was glad Wm was getting so good pay for this time not that I was glad he was away from home so much. I wish he & every other man that has a family could be with them all of the time. Mays letters are good ones every one has something of interest in it. Whenever you find anything to write about May just scratch it down. You must consider this a reply to yours now for what has been going on here since I last wrote. We marched at 1 P.M. the 8th & got to Kellies Ford 20 miles at Sundown, slept till one Tuesday morn the 9th when we were called up to feed our horses pack & saddle ready to start at 3 for Brandy Station but we did not start till 5. Crossed the Ford without any resistance. Greggs Division & Duffers [Duffié’s] Division (what was Averills [Averell’s] before the raid) & Gen. Russell with a battery & a few Infantry maybe 2000 the Cav. also had Batteries. & Pleasonton’s Division crossed I think at Beverly Ford & I believe that the regulars who are under Gen. Beaufort [Buford] crossed at Beverly’s Ford too which is about 10 miles above Kellies Ford and Rappahannock Ford at the R.R. bridge is 3 miles below Beverly Ford. Brandy Station is about 4 miles from Rappahannock Bridge & Ford towards Culpeper.
Our company with the exceptions 3 who were the Regimental Color Bearers was detached from the Regiment just before we crossed the river with orders to report immediately across the river to Gen Russell of the 5th Army Corps (Infantry) to support a Battery. We went on double quick pas the column & got to the river just behind the advance of the Cav had crossed, but the infantry had driven away the reb pickets & we soon found Gen. Russell who had started on the road that led up the river but here a little to the left we had not gone more than 2 ½ miles before we came upon them, they were Cavalry. Russell halted until Greggs who took another road farther to the left & came in between Culpeper & Brandy Station where the rebs lay with all their Cav force just ready for a raid into Maryland. Pleasonton attacked them first at 5 in the morn then Greggs next & soon after Russells Battery played in upon them & drove them as fast as their horses could carry them up across the R.R. Then we followed up till we got to the R.R. & Greggs Shells fell so thick that we had to halt till we sent an orderly up to him to turn his fire more to the left. We got to the R.R. about noon and the General told our Captain to ride out in the shade & dismount for we might stay quite a spell there & his Battery went on & joined Greggs. We were from ½ to 2 miles of the fighting which lasted all day long with Artillery & Cavalry. Our regiment charged several times out their way through the reb lines & back again & lost heavily. Our Regt went in with about 400 and last night there was 144 missing in killed wounded and missing. We lost our Lieut. Col. He was wounded & taken prisoner some say & some think he was killed. The Captain of Co. I was mortally wounded & a Lieut in Co. D was killed & others I know not who but the Collins boys are all right except Frank Taylor and Start [Stuart?] Enoch’s soon who was taken prisoner. Caleb Randall of Collins Center who is in the same co with him (Enos Hibbard) tells me that Enos was taken prisoner but got away again & is now on picket here all right. N. Washburn says our Regt was in the fight between 2 & 3 hours a hand to hand fight all the time. Some squadrons would be charging & others out a forming to go in as fast as they came out. Other Regts doubtless did as much as the 10th N.Y. but I did not see any of the charging myself. We weren’t allowed to leave our horses. If I could [have] gone 6 rods I could have seen some of it. Our Division left the ground about 4 oclock & passed down the R.R. by us & crossed back at Rappahannock Station & our Captain had orders to stay back the way we camp up & we did stay for 2 hours after all our forces had left but the  1st or 2nd Division was fighting yet but twas 2 or 3 miles from us up the river & about ½ an hour before we left our Capt. sent a man out a little ways to see what he could & he reported no forces to be seen except 3 or 4 sentry & those making for the Reb lines the last they say, but soon a dust began to rise down by the R.R. & another cloud coming across the R.R. Our Capt sent two men out to see who it was comin & told them to see if it was the 2nd Division but it proved to be Jolly rebs. The same time Capt sent out those two scouts he sent a man out to our pickets & told them to come in at a gallop which they did & he told all of us to mount and be ready.
Our two boys got most up to the rebs & they say to each other I guess they are our men & went on within 8 or 10 rods of them & saw twas rebs. When they wheeled to return the rebs yelled out halt, halt, halt and fired at them. One of our boys replied I can’t see you I’m in a hurry, got papers in my hat and that warnt [wasn’t] all he had a swift horse that he knew could fly right away from the Jolly reb. Our capt first thought he would charge upon them & ordered us out from behind the bushes & said give them a volley boys, hurry up & before more than ½ of us had fired our carbines as many as 2 regts had got in sight coming from 3 directions & they were right upon us too yelling & firing we’ve got them we’ve got them, & then Capt told us to skedaddle the best we knew how & so we did for 2 ½ miles with the rebs close to us firing every little while. When we got out of the woods withing ½ mile of the river the rebs were suddenly halted by a shell from our battery at Rappahannock Station & some of our cavalry crossed the river & chased them back again. Our Co. never lost a man in the skedaddle nor got wounded, but there is 3 men missing from Co. L. They were sent with a despatch [dispatch] & we don’t know their fate. The reason we were left there so long was that the orderlies failed to find us when they were sent to. The Gen. said he sent twice for us but sent for or not Co. L knew how to skedaddle but not a man started till the Capt. ordered them to & he did not order them to till he was obliged to or be overwhelmed with numbers. I unloaded my carbine at the evening for the first time. I would like to have had a chance to go back & seen where I hit, my horse acted so I did not see where I hit but I had good aim. I would send you an account of the fight in the Washington Chronicle but in the yesterdays paper was just no account at all. Perhaps I’ll send a paper yet. This was a reconnaisance [reconnaissance] to find their strength & t is thought there will be a move soon. I have no more time now for the mail leaves our regt at 8 A.M. It is now the 12th, a nice morn I am well and ready for anything.
Yours Truly
K. Pearsons
[envelope]
Mr. Wm. H. Press
Gowanda Catt. Co.
N.Y
[envelope reverse]
Warrenton Jct
Jun 11 63
#39