Decatur, Alabama

Monday morning, August 25^th, 1862

My Dear Wife:-

I am again permitted to address you.  You will no doubt hear of a fight that we was engaged in before this reaches you, as I think John Bell and Albert have both wrote home since.  I will however, try to give you some of the particulars.  On last Friday morning our Company was ordered to go towards the mountains to look for forage.  We went down the Moulten road five miles, then turned towards Trinity.  When we was about one mile and half from Trinity, we found that we was almost completely surrounded by guerrillas, but they did not know we was near them.  They had been to the railroad and town up the track and fell back to wait for the train. They then divided and three companies of them went towards Decatur and six companies fell back to the mountains.  It was where they divided that we first found that they was in that neighborhood.  We was then so close to them that we could hear the six companies talking.  We fell back about two hundred yards and got into the road they was in and moved up cautiously till we came to the hills.  We then formed in the woods and Lieutenant Lee went of the hill to look around.  At the nearest house he discovered three horses hitched.  Him and Sergeant Vaughn went to the house and captured two men and the three horses and saw the pickets of the six companies.  We then hurried off to Trinity where one Company of the 51^st infantry was quartered.  There we learned that the train was off of the track about half mile from there in a curve.  We went there and found that the rebels had torn up the inside rail in short curve in a deep cut and the locomotive, tender and one car was off of the track.  Two cars still on the track loaded with Suttlers goods and a few army supplies.  Lieut. Breeze and John Wall was on the train.  They had been to Courtland.  The prisoners was the surgeons of the rebel army.  They told us about the number of the rebels and that they intended to attack the train.  We sent to Fox creek for reinforcements, hoping that they would get there in time to assist us, but it was not long before we saw the clouds of dust begin to rise above the tree tops, they was then about a mile off.  Then pretty soon we could begin to see the dust from those three companies that had gone towards Decatur.  There is a large field between where we was and the mountains.  Those that came from the hills came down on the west side of this field.  On a high piece of ground in the field is a house and a man was in one of the upper windows with a turkey wing, giving the rebels signals which way to go.  We dismounted behind the bank thrown out of the cut, and prepared to give them the best we had.  It was not long till those on the west came up and opened fire upon us at about sixty yards from the edge of the woods.  We kept up our fire till those on the left had crossed the railroad to surround us.  Up to this time none of us was hurt, but Lieut. Breeze was slightly wounded in the left hand.  We then fell back across the field.  In crossing the field, Sergeant Guy was wounded in the head and Allen Clow was wounded in the right leg.  As soon as I got into the timber I turned square to the left and went to Trinity.  My horse was shot through the girth just through the edge of the left saddle skirt.  I managed to get him to Trinity, but he soon died.

Four Companies of the 27^th Illinois soon came up and started in pursuit of the rebels.  They came up with them and fired upon them and dispersed them.  The enemy burned the cars and took eleven of our men prisoners, killed four of our horses, wounded another one and took seven more of our horses.  We killed six and wounded two and took two prisoners in the last fight.  Amoar Moon had a ball into his leg, but his boot stopped the ball.

Part of Company “M” was on patrol and was passing near at the time of the fight and started to our assistance, but they was met by the enemy flankers and had one man mortally wounded.  John M. Hamiltons mare was shot.  William Knight and John Knights horses was taken by the enemy.

Lieut. Breeze had bought his uniform at Courtland for $45.00 and the enemy got that.  They also got eight hundred dollars in silver belonging to one of the Suttlers.  The paymaster was on the cars but had got off back at Fox creek, two miles from Trinity.

About the time I got to Trinity there was some Negroes came along and I sent one of them into his masters farm to get me a mare that I knew ran in the pasture, but the horses had all gone out at a gap at the back side, so I took the mule that he had caught to ride after the mare, and now I ride a mule.  I was very sorry to lose my horse, he was such a good conditioned horse and suited me well.  He was in excellent order.  I never expect to get another that will suit me as well as he did.  I was in hopes that I could keep him through the service and bring him home, but you will not see him again.  I will try to get another one as soon as I can.

While we was on patrol yesterday, Company “E” was ordered to move and are now gone back to Courtland.  The whole of the 51^st, Illinois and two pieces of artillery is here now.

There is no telling how long we will stay here now.  If we stay here without cavalry, it will go quite hard with us.  It will keep us in our saddles every day; before Co. “E” went away we could rest every third day, but now will have to go on patrol one day and forage the next.

Mrs. Upton has just came into my tent to see Allen Clow.  She keeps quite hearty, sends her respects to you, invites me to go and take dinner with her.  Think I will go in a day or two and see how womans cooking tastes.  I think the mail will be in today and I hope to get a letter from you.  Our mail was on the cars at the time of the fight but Sergt, Charlie Hall of Co. “E” put the letters in his boots and run off with them and got safe into camp.  Hurrah for Charlie Hall.  He had been to Tuscumbia on the train and was entirely unarmed.

William A. Smith

To Mrs. Mary Smith

P.S. Tuesday morning.  We are off on a patrol.  My health is good, 17 men came from the mountains yesterday to join the Alabama Regiment.