Corporal Allen Noyes Sill

Allen Noyes Sill's Letters Home

Like many other soldiers in the Civil War, Allen Noyes Sill kept a steady correspondance with family and friends back home. (As steady correspondance as fighting in a major war would allow) Three of his letters to his sister Josephine Sill in upstate New York still survive. They date from the winter of 1862-3, when Allen's 107th New York Volunteers were stationed in Northern Virginia. These letters describe everyday life in the Army of the Potomac; they're about picketing and snowball fights and marching and more marching and preparing in the event of a Rebel raid. In short, what the Union Army was doing when it wasn't being shot at. If you're looking for poignant prose and reflection on war, you won't find it here.

Letter of November 28, 1862 "...a compound of everything vile, vulgar & senseless to an extreme seldom met with elsewhere..."
Letter of December 22, 1862 "Harpers Ferry...is now but a heap of ruins."
Letter of February 18, 1863 "You can hardly imagine a more dreary scene than that I looked out upon..."

Nov. 28th, 1862
On Picket, near Antietam ford, Mary'd.

Dear Sister Josephine -
��I do not recollect whether I owe you a letter or not, but I do not think I have written since receiving a letter from you. It does not make any difference with me however as I have an hour I can spare while resting from a visit up and down my line. I am "Officer" in charge of the picket today which is composed of about 120 men from the 107 N.Y.V. & the 3rd Wisconsin Vol. and we are engaged in guarding the Ohio & Chesapeake Canal and the ford of the Potomac here. The Canal runs close to the river here for quite a distance and is used almost exclusively by Government for transportation of supplies for the Army.
�� I will presume you know about what "Picketing" is like but I will give you a few words on the subject at a venture - To begin at the beginning: at 8 1/2 a.m. we have "Grand Guard Mounting" where the pickets from each company (7) with their non-commissioned Officers form in a line "2 deep" in front of the "Field Officer of the Day" - under the charge of a Captain & 2 Lieutenants; are inspected as to the condition of their arms, accouterments, etc., marched in review etc. etc. with music and considerable ceremony; & are then marched to the "Outposts" some 2 miles distant where they are divided into five different companies & each of these posted in some convenient & secluded place a fourth of a mile from the picket line perhaps. They are divided again into 3 "reliefs" & one third or the "first relief" goes at once & relieves the old guard on the picket line, who with those of the old guard not on duty return to camp. The new guard remains on their "post" or "beat" two hours, when they are relieved by the "second relief", each having two hours duty & four hours rest.
�� The duty of the picket is to keep close watch of the opposite side of the River that there is no enemy in force there or no attempt at crossing the ford or the river anywhere. It is rather pleasant to leave camp about once a week & come out here, when the weather is warm and fair, but when it is cold and rainy, or when it blows a gale from the West & North as it does about half the time here, there is not much pleasure about it. It is especially disagreeable in a cold rainy night; to stand for two hours in the storm and then come in to sit or lay down in the dirt near a smoking fire with the added evil that you know that the ground is full of "body guards", as the soldiers call them - a certain nameless vermin that infests nearly every old Regiment in the service & which once in the clothing or blanket it is almost impossible to get rid of. The Officers do not have to stand guard - but it is supposed that they will visit the different outposts quite often especially as under such circumstances it is a supposeable case that a faithless soldier may leave his post for shelter or under other circumstances may fall asleep. It is disagreeable enough to have to sit up watching the others, listening to the talk of the men, a compound of everything vile, vulgar & senselass to an extreme seldom met elsewhere - But more than enough of this.
�� I think I have written before that I obtained an additional ten days on my "leave of absence" from our surgeon at Elmira & enjoyed it very much at Mt. Pleasant with wife & friends there. My health improved very greatly during the last week or so I was there & on my return I find that I have gained from my weight of 144 lbs. to 176, or nearly these figures. I am now hearty & can hardly eat enough to last from one meal to another. We have nearly completed our huts for winter quarters & if we are permitted to remain shall be tolerably well quartered. Of this there is great uncertainty however. If Burnside takes Richmond; if the Rebels are driven altogether from the Shenandoah Valley, there will be but little need for us here. Yesterday's papers thought the Shenandoah Valley entirely free from the rebels but today there is firing at Dam No. 4 12 miles below here & report says that Jackson is there with 20 thousand men. If so a little fun is not out of the question here. I do not think the report reliable however.
�� Had a letter from Father yesterday. He is now better & using a prescription from Dr. Yale of Corning whom Cyrus sent a couple of weeks ago to see him. I hope it will prove permanent. I also had a letter the same day from Cyrus; he is well & wrote quite a long letter for him. I expect to send him a relic from Antietam in a few days viz. a gun picked up on the battlefield etc. etc. There is a lot of visitors there daily & nearly everything in the shape of mementos of the fight has been carried off by them. It is a pleasant fall day here; warmer I judge than at home by a considerable.
�� I wish you could see my "headquaters". A log house of one of the better sort of "poor whites", consisting of one room rather large & with a genuine old fashioned fire place behind me as I write. It contains a bed, table, cupboard, half dozen chairs mostly without backs, a cradle, chest, three women, one crying 3 year old nursing boy (fact) & last if not least a man & myself. I sometimes eat here (but generally bring my meals along) & get a very passable plain meal at .25. Jane is at Mt. P. Will probably winter at Honesdale with her Sister Phebe. They are well as are Mrs. Tuttle & family & other friends in Honnersville. Russell & Goodrich are here & well.

�� Love to all friends,

�� Ever Yours,

�� Allen

Father says that he had a letter from Lambert a short time ago in which he expressed much sorrow that I had enlisted & did not appear to approve of the war, etc. etc. I fully believe in his sincerity but think he is one of those "non beligerants" who ought to dwell in Utopia, at least this is no land for them now. For my part I think this is the best land to live in for a common man & am willing to fight for it first as it is. Of course, I think the doctrine of any peaceable separation a fallacy.

�� A.

Please excuse this poor letter. It is written in haste & amidst much interruption.

We have not receved a dollar of pay yet & it is rather hard living. I never saw so many moneyslips here together before.

Dec. 22d 1862
Camp near Fairfax Station
Fairfax Co., Vir.

Dear Sister -
�� I have written since receiving a letter from you, but having nothing to prevent I presume you will not object to my writing again? We were at Antietam ford when I wrote last & I then thought it possible that we might make it our winter quarters & accordingly built huts etc. to pass the winter in. On Tuesday the 8th Dec. we received word that we were to prepare to leave at a moments notice. It was a bitter disappointment for the soldiers for they had once before built themselves hust expecting to use them to winter in, but soldier-like they put a godd face on it & went to work packing knapsacks etc. & on Wednesday morning we were ready to leave. The order did not come so soon as we expected & before noon the right & left wings were having an old fashioned "snowball", as it was at the softening down of a three or four days wind and snow storm. I think I never saw a lot of school boys enjoy one better. At 2 p.m. the word came & we broke camp - marching towards Harpers Ferry about 4 miles where we camped for the night in a fine wood & where rails were plenty for fire wood. The next day (Thursday) we went through the ferry, once a U.S. manufactory for fire arms having a Bank, Railroad Depot & any number of shops, stores, etc. It is now but a heap of ruins. Once through the ferry we went up the fertile London Valley towards the Gap on the Kitocan Mts., at Hillsboro. We made 10 or 12 miles this day & camped in an old meadow near the roadside after dark. Friday we went through Hillsboro - a rocky old town of 6 or 800 inhabitants strongly secessh - & where the rocks were in the roads, yards & fields in any quantity. A couple miles beyond it we retook a settler & team who with 4 men had been taken prisoners by the rebels - a half mile in advance of our column. We marched today 22 miles - & within 2 miles of Leeburgh when about two hours after dark we turned into a field on a wet side hill & passed the night uneasily & cold by the side of a fire of fence rails. Saturday we went through the secessh city of Leesburgh where we recieved never a welcome. Near here is Balls Bluff, the scene of Gen. Stone's treachery. Forts built by the rebels are on the high hills on each side & numerous rifle pits are on every side. We made 12 miles & camped 2 miles beyond Gum Springs in a very plesant oak grove. I was just about worn out & so foot sore that I could hardly walk & Russell worse than myself. We had rails & hard wood logs for the cutting & so by a blazing fire, after a scant supper of Hardtack & tea we were soon sound asleep. Sunday we went towards the scene of many a strife - Centreville - Bull Run etc. but diverged a little & went through Fairfax Courthouse to Fairfax Station 12 miles & camped in a fallen pine wood where the rubbish was so thick that one could hardly find a place to build a fire & lay down. monday we marched 9 miles towards Dumfries & camped 2 miles beyond the Occoquan Creek in a fine wood. Here we had the first rain of the march, about 4 a.m. & which awakened us by falling in our faces. We turned out hastily & pitch our shelter tent on two crotches & a pole cut on short notice & lay again until 6 when "Reveille" called us up again to march 3 miles through the worst kind of Virginia mud when we camped again as the teams could go no further & we must keep with them.
�� Wednesday, 17 Dec. at 3 1/2 o'clock a.m. (about the time we generally get up on this march) we were called up to take the back track - caused by Burnside's repulse at Fredricksburgh. We reached Fairfax Station by 1 o'clock p.m. 11 miles as the roads were frozen & we could get along faster than before. We are there now, not knowing how long we are to stay, without tents & the ground frozen hard enough to bear the heavy army wagons. We, Lieut. Howard, Russell Tuttle & myself occupy a shelter tent made with two wood pieces of light canvas off square & like an upside down letter V with a thrid piece buttoned on one end - 3 can sleep quite well in it by lying close with our feet toward the open end where we have a good fire of green pine logs & which needs building over two or three times during the night. You may think it strange that there should be so much wood in an old state like this? Let me attempt an explination. I suppose that 50 or 100 years ago this was a fine rolling farm but that like so many others it was abandoned as worn out. Near us is a Garden cherry tree 12 or 14 in dia & by lookign through the pines I can see 12 or 15 more in rows like an orchard. All around are pines from 4 to 10 or 11 inches through with occasional patches of hard wood. In some places the woods are nearly all oaks - in others & rocky hillsides all chestnut.
�� Between Fairfax Courthouse & Leesburgh is a beautiful country with many fine estates. One 3 or 4 miles from Fairfax the former residence of Gen. Stuart, the Rebel Commissary General, must have been a lovely place three or four years ago. The house some 20 rods from the road with a circular carriage road in front is shaded by a fine lot of Locust & Red Cedars as well as the road for quite a distance on either side, the latter cut down for fire wood by our men. Only the stone gate posts remain of what was once a fine fence. It would amuse you & at the same time sadden you to see our army of five or six thousand men march into a field by the roadside - form in a line - stack arms & as soon as dismissed start on a run for rails, unusued log outbuildings or anything else that will burn. They will clear the fences for half a mile on either side. Then the hay & straw for the horses & mules & for beds for the men if they can get it is no small item. The waste of war is astonishing. For instance, we left at Antietam ford 6 bbls pork, all our tents, company clothing etc. & which were "appropriated" as soon as we left by the farmers etc. near I have been told. Our men thinking we were to stay the winter had drawn extra blankets, clothing etc. & they found themselves too heavily loaded when they came to march. The road was strewn about the third day with blankets, overcoats, shirts, drawers, socks & many little conveniences withc in camp were valuable, but as having weight must be cast away. Ball cartrages are cast away whenever the men think they can do it with safety. Horse & Mule flesh suffer on a forced march & worn out or dead animals are on every side. But there is no end to items of waste.
�� I am very well since my visit home. When I left Maryland I weighed 144 lbs. Now 198 - 8 lbs. more than ever before. Russell gains correspondingly. He desires to be remembered. Love to Julia, Lambert, Ann & Mr. Knox & other friends.
�� Jane is at Honesdale, Pa. with Phebe Spencer. All well there as far as I know. We have received no pay as yet & I am out of funds entirely. It makes rather a close thing of living with us for no rations are given out to the officers & when the men are short it is none for us. We have not suffered thus far however.
�� Christmas is at hand & yet it is hard to believe it - no snow hardly & living out of doors. We - R & I have an invitation to "eat turkey" at Alexandria then, but do not think we can get an excuse to leave - too bad, isn't it?

�� With much love,