This letter [transcript at end] was written 22 December 1864 by William Darius Burdick (1826-1897) of Walworth Co., WI to his brother Ethan Burdick of Adams Co., WI. They were two of the sons of Peleg Clarke Burdick Sr. and his wife Thankful (Hall), formerly of Otsego Co., NY.
Transcript, William Darius Burdick letter 22 December 1864
[Verbatim, sentence breaks/punctuation added for clarity]
Dear Brother
I receved your letter vary gladly and thankfully. I am well as comon, probably I never will have the use of my right leg again but the lords will must be dun. I am vary glad to hear that your famely is well. I have not hurd from my famely sense the 9 of this month, then my wife was up around the house. Ines was braking out with the small pox. You wanted to know whare my famely lived. They liv whare they did when Marget was down thare. I bought 40 acers more thare. It mks me a good home now.
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I will giv you a little nolage of my soldering. I enlisted the forth day of last […?] I staid hear in madison two weeks and then went down to Nashville and staid thare three weeks and dun gard duty in Nashville and then we started to go [frunt?] We Mached 15 days. I ws on scurmish line five days. We Marched 25 mills one day and bilt two brest works and the last one we bilt was about ten o’clock at night and thar is whare I got hurt by a log and after I got hurt we was orderd to lay down under the brest works. We wernt aloud to have our tents up and it raind aful hard
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and I tookt cold in my hip. This was on tailars ridg in gorgy. The next morning we had orders to marck and the doctor came and told me I must go back. He told me to lay thare on the ground untill the ambelane came up and then git in and go to the Hospital but when the regment started I took my gun and started, used it for cruck and when we got about half a mile the rebs took pesesion of our brest works and thay wold took me to if I had staid thare. I went that day with them and then went to the Hospital in ringold the 13 of last may.
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I hav ben in the Hospital ever sence. I was transfrd hear the 2nd day of last August. They hav mde out my dischrge and sent it to milwake to hav it sind. I enliste[d] in the 22 regment co D. Right as soon as you get this from your Brother W D Burdick
[To]
Ethan Burdick
Springville