Camp near Point Pleasant, Missouri

Monday morning March 24^th, 1862

My Dear Wife:-

I have been anxiously expecting a letter from you for four or five days, but am still disappointed.  I mailed my last one to you on last Wednesday.  We was then ordered to strike our tents and march for this place at 7 o’clock P.M.  We accordingly packed everything, took down our tents and just as we got everything loaded, the order was for our Company to stop till morning to guard the train of waggons.   We soon had our horses unsaddled and went to roost without tents and slept very well till about two o’clock when there came a shower and rather made us bustle to get up our tents before everything got wet.  We then got a good nap before morning.  At about nine in the morning we started and about three in the evening we got to our camp ground about one and half miles back from the village.

On Friday morning Sergeant R.L. Guy and me got into one of the waggons that was going for forage and rode down to town to get to see the place.  There is a few good houses here but they have been nearly destroyed by the cannon balls passing through them.  We have about half dozen small cannon along the bank of the river and our men have rifle pits dug along the bank for about half a mile.  A rifle pit is a narrow hole dug in the ground about five or six feet long and as deep as a mans breast.  Two men get in each of these pits with good Sharps rifles and when a boat attempts to land, the pick off those that try to run out the planks.  When a cannon is fired, they just haul in their heads like terrapins and load their guns all ready for the next man that shows himself.

The Rebels have two guns on the other bank in Tennessee.  They fire at our men about three or four times each day.  The distance is one and three quarters miles.  While we was in one large store house looking how the balls had knocked things around, Bang went the gun across the river and whew, whiz came the ball.  I was in the back room and stood listening, expecting the ball to strike the building we was in, for it is the one nearest the flag pole and it is cut up the worst.  But the ball came whistling on and Crash.  It went through the next house to us in which there was several men, but it did not hurt anyone.  Our men picked up the ball.  It was around a twelve pound ball and was fired at a team that was passing, but it was a little too high and rather ahead of the team.  The gunners there said it was a good shot for the distance.

Our flag is up on the pole that the secesh flag was on when our men took possession of the town.

I did intend to write to you yesterday but at half past three yesterday morning our officers had notice to march at 7 o’clock with two days rations.  Accordingly we was ordered and your humble servant packed his haversack with the dainties of a soldiers life, namely six crackers and a hunk of beef, and at 7 o’clock we was in the saddle.  Just exactly six months from the time, even to the hour, if you recollect.  We started southwest towards where the report says Thompson, Kitchens, and Bowles are said to be encamped with eight hundred men and four pieces of artillery.  We went about twelve mile and came to a kind of a running lake called Little river, over which there is a bridge and one of the stringers was nearly chopped in two.  While some of our men was examining the bridge to see whether we could cross, there was four men jumped out of a house on the opposite side and run for the woods like the old boy was after them.  We crossed over and soon captured them.

Here begins what is called a plank road, it crosses a swamp and goes on toward Bloomfield.  It is twelve miles from this and to where there is a ridge of high ground and on this ridge is where the Rebels are encamped.  We started on the Plank road.  It is only eight or ten feet wide and the grade is no wider than the planks are.  There is about every half mile a place made with dirt for a waggon to switch off on while another passes.  At first the swamp is only wet land but gradually getting wetter, till it is all water.  Then the water gets deeper till it is a lake and the whole country as far as the eye can see is one vast lake.  The only ground visible is the road which is about three feet high and nearly the whole country is covered with cypress saplings about the size of telegraph poles and where the water is not too deep, the small bushes are covered with a kind of small vine that mats all over them like hop vines.  Along the road there is bridges to let the water pass and in some places it runs with considerable force.

We had left one company to guard the bridge and prisoners and gone about seven miles when firing commenced at the front.  The order was given for the first part to dismount and pass forward.  I gave my horse to Haley and went to the front with the rest and found that our advance guard had come upon the rebel pickets and exchanged shots with them.  The pickets had torn up a bridge and when they fired they started towards camp.  We put more planks on the bridge and passed to where they had stood.  There was here a Toll gate and house, the front end standing on the edge of the road and the back end on blocks.  There was here some canoes and great many steel traps, two bed steads and beds, a few cocking tools and a small wagon without any bed, but nary body.  The picket guard as they retreated, shoved the planks off of the bridges which we replaced with planks off of the road.  After awhile we came to a place where they had left the bridges whole.  We then let down to the work of overtaking them, but when they heard us coming they again commenced to destroy bridges, but we was there before they could finish their work and they scattered into the swamp, leaving three of their horses, blankets, overcoats, etc and one gun.  They fired at us from their cover of brush and the fire was returned by us.  They wounded four of our men, two of whom died, one died last night on the road, the other this morning just after he was brought in, after the firing was over.  Our wounded men was placed on blankets and carried by hand back to the Toll gate where they took down a door and placed it on the hind wheels of the waggon that we found there and put the worst wounded prisoners on it and pulled it by hand till we met the doctor and the ambulance.  Then the wounded men was taken into a house and their wounds dressed, but one of them died during the night and this morning the other one died in a few minutes after they was brought here.  The doctor saw that he was dying and told them to not move him till he died, so he died in the ambulance.  They was both shot in the body, the others, one was shot through the arm and the other slightly wounded in the feet.  The one that was shot in the arm was a brother to one that died.  They stood close together when they was shot.  Their names were Cockerell of Company “K”.  We got into camp exactly at midnight.

I cannot tell what will be done about them out there in the swamp.  Perhaps we will give them a fight in a few days, but I will if permitted, give you an account of them at some future time.  There was one man of this Regiment wounded in the foot while on picket duty by the accidental discharge of his carbine.  I have known several such cases and the wonder with me is that there is so few wounded or killed so.

It is two o’clock P.M. and there is a squad of soldiers starting to take those prisoners that we captured yesterday to General Popes Headquarters at New Madrid.

I am notified that I am on guard tonight so I will have to wind up this letter rather soon as I want it to go in the morning mail and I will not be in till after it is gone.

We have no news from Island No. 10.  I hope that you will be able to tell me of its capture in your next letter.  Say, what must I do if I do not get any more letters from you, or do you get any from me.

The boys are taking their turn at the mumps, Will Knight and some of the rest have already had them and William A. Arnold has them now.  I suppose it will be my turn after they are all well, if there is any left after going the rounds.

My health is as good as you could ask for me.  I hope that you are all well.  For the present you will have to excuse me.

Yours truly,

William A. Smith