William Moore Parkinson

I do not think it will [undecipherable portion] what they will do. Our Reg may be left here or it may be garrisoned at some other point, but I know it is generally believed by our officers that we will move on with the army when they move. You know they never have left us behind, and I do not think they ever will. We are going to change guns again. I do not know what for. We are to give up the ones we have got and take the old smooth boned musket, just like the ones we first had at the point. I think it is rather getting back instead of improving. But little do the men care in our Reg what they give us, for we know one more fight will finish us. So what is the difference to us if we fight with guns or poles. A good many of our boys are not very well and not very sick. Silas, McNeil, Laslie, J. Crabtree, Reading, and others you do not know. I reported eleven on the sick list this morning in our Co. They are really not sick, but not able for duty. We have dress parade every evening, and by hard work we can get out from 100 to 120 men, officers and all. It looks like rather a small force to have to do what seven or eight hundred do. We do not have to do the duty that a large Reg have to do, such as standing guard, working, and such, but when it comes to a fight we are called a Reg. A brigade generally have four Regs of infantry in it, and the brigade is sent out to do the fighting of four Regs. Our Brigade had thirteen hundred men in the fight last Sunday morning a week ago, and the last five hundred and seventy two killed, wounded, and missing. The report says we had a few over fifteen hundred and I expect we did start out with that number, but a great many fell out, in running out there. They try to say we had two hundred and fifteen in our Reg, but I know we had not, for ten men gave out in our Co. and never smelt powder the whole fight, and I know there was as many dropped out of other Cos
Enlistment details:
Baltzell, Silas
Crabtree, Andrew
Crabtree, George
Laslie, George
McNeil, John
Reading, John

©2006 C.S. Parkinson