June 30th 9 miles from
Richmond 6 A.M.
My Dear Father:
We camped or stayed
here last night in Yankee breast
works, having pursued McSellans’s
retreating forces so far. Should the
thing stop where it is now – we
have in effect & in fact ob-
tained a splendid victory. But
Lee seems to wish to annihilate
the Yankee army & is all around
them – The only difficulty is that
over extended lines may enable
to cut through, tho’ with heavy
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loss at some point & escape.
We pursued him slowly, intention-
ally not pushing him until Jack-
son has with Walker fixed him-
self entirely on the other side. They
fought whenever we overtook
them – & there was skirmishing
all the way. Our Brigade was
3d from the front rank. But
just before sundown the infant-
ry portion of it was hotly engaged
with the Yanks for a short time.
The country does not admit
of much use of artillery to
a pursuing force. And the ar-
[page 3]
tiller attached to the front
brigade monopolized that, & a
heavy iron casemated gun on
a car on the R. R. pushed by
an engine. We are just on the R. Rd.
& have kept close by it all the
way. The quantity of
plunder left in our lines un-
destroyed is immense, tho’ the
Doodles burned & blew up
immense stores all the way,
not having time to burn any
that was separate from the
piles of stores all this scattered
fell into our hands. As for
the soldiers apparel, big coats
oil cloths, knap sacks &c &c
of splendid quality they are
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immeasureable. Do not send
me paper. I have plenty of
Yankee paper & envelopes.
This is yankee on wh. I
write.
All the prisoners I have
seen, save one, including
even officers seem de-
lighted at being cap-
tured & I have seen several
hundred. I only wrote [or ‘write’] to
save you from any un-
easiness. I have not time to
write anything of interest. I
had saved a great many
little trinkets as prizes, had
I had an opportunity to
send them home. Poor
General Griffith! soon
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after we left camp yes-
terday had a part of his
thigh torn off by the frag-
ment of a Yankee shell.
Thus he was the first to suf-
fer in his iron brigade. I have
not heard from him since yes-
terday – his life was not then
despaired of. How sorry I am.
The movements of our lines
we can learn only by rumour.
Some one is about leaving
for camp. I must close as
I want this to reach you
as soon as possible. My dear-
[page 6]
est father farewell – may
heaven bless you & all.
Ever affly. yr. son
W. H. Perry, Jr.
P. S. Poor Genl. Griffith, he is
dead – I was about to close
when I heard it.
W. H. P.
William H. Perry, Jr;, of the Richmond Howitzers
[Brig. General Richard Griffith is wounded at the battle of Savage’s Station, June 29, 1862, and dies the next day.]
[transcript and annotation by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]
MSS 7786-d