In Their Own Words
December 23, 1862
Civil War Soldier Wrote of Fredericksburg and Being Homesick
A Georgia soldier writing home to his wife gloried in the victory at Fredericksburg, yet still expressed his homesickness.
“…That was the grandest sight I ever saw in my life. You’ve seen pictures of armies but no artist could do that sight justice. Our army had the position on the sides of the hills in ditches. The Federal army [was] in the valley below, where we could see all of them. It was a grand sight after the fight to see the two armies within 1000 yards of each other dead and wounded, Yankees and horses lying over the field and those dead and wounded all Federals. Such sights as those are grand to those who are used to seeing dead men. Oh, that this war could end and allow us to return to our homes in peace, to enjoy the blessings of home and quiet, peaceful life. …”
Source: Mills Lane (ed.), “Dear Mother: Don’t grieve about me. If I get killed, I’ll only be dead.”: Letters from Georgia Soldiers in the Civil War (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1990), p. 203.
