Silas Stepp to Eleanor Stepp
May 7 day 18.64
my dear wife and children i rite you aline to let
you now i am yiet alive and is well i hope these
fiew lines will come To hand and find you all well
and dooing well i have bin on arade [= a raid] i have Just got
back to camps i was out 5 days i will give you asketch of
my trip the first nite wee campt next morning wee
left at day lite we marcht all day and nite tel
about 2 oclock Just after dark wee Struck a swamp
about 2 oclock wee Start to rest Some place the
mud was belly deep wee rested tel day light wee
march again about 10 oclock wee got acros the
Swamp and struck the railroad wee tore it up
and burnt it cut the telegraph wire down there
was 2 or 3 ridgements of us all cavelry wee struck
afort on the road there we had afite wee scirmished
some time they sheld us heavy S[e]veral Shells struck
close to mee the nearest about 8 or 10 feat one bal
about 20 steps it bonce and come rite towards
mee i spurd my horse out of the way of it wee
flank round dis mountid and fired occasonly wee
got the fort surrounded our company and gashes com[pany]
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advance on them wee fit some time and our men
demanded surrender they surrender on condition
that was if wee cold let them keap there money and
close they had 2 negroes to cook they wanted them not
abuse if wee wood doo that they wood give up wee did it
wee got 51 prisoners there now body hurt on either
side one horse kild on each side wee tuck one block house
5 or 6 mile above there there was 3 or 4 kild ther iwas
not in that fite it was all about the same time
this was done below newbern we expected to fite
at newbern we was redy to fite there wee had
22 thousand men around here the nite before wee
was to fite 3 dispatches come to the gineral to go to
rich mon and wee all retreated back i expect wee
will go to va before long but i dont now wee
made a sucesesful rade and all come out Safe
i tel you the shels and bauls flue thick over us
close by wee was protected by the ruler of all things
i am thankful it is as well with us as it is i
have Just receive 2 letters from you and one from
F Fortune one of 24 and one of 29 and <for?>tune of 27
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i was truly glad to here from you all and
here you was all well and getting along the best
you can i wood bea sow glad if i could See you
all one more time i expect wee would of tuck
newbern if orders had not come to left when orders
come wee had to leave i was close enough to here the
drums wee had 60 or 70 battries along i am
glad to escape all Such fites my horse looks
tolerable well Fidoren hee dont looks as well as [Fidoren = his horse]
hee did when i left home i am that tired and
Sleepy i cant hardly rite my health is
good and has bin all the time what agreat
blesing it is our men whipt the enemy
at deap gully above new bern afiew miles afiew
kild there i am sow glad to here from home
i was oneasy about home it [has been] longer this time between
letters then common they come in to gether
the time appears to me long to bea away from home
i wood bea glad if i had some little things to
eat from home but it is now use to
talk about it if i could see you i could tel you
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more then i can rite i will rite to F Fortune
before long when i have the chance the officers here
ses our ridge[ment] has done twice the duty sence wee
hav bin here that any other has done wee
have a hard time of it if i could bea at home
in the morning to take breckfast with you
i wood give my horse i tel you i am tired
of the war and country the water is sow bad
i am tired of living this way i must close
as it is late and i am tired and sleepy
i hope to here from you so[o]n giv all the
news i have rote this to you as it is i cold
say more about it this is the substance of all
the scrape <?>if i could strik hands with
you one more time i wood bea sow glad i must
close S. H. Stepp to my dear wife Eleanor Stepp
houdy to you all ihope the good beaing
will restore mee back to you one more time