Grace Church  Caroline Co Va
                       Dec 19th 1862

My dear Sarah [Nicholas Randolph]

                   I wrote to mother
about ten days ago giving her
an account of my trip into King
George & asking her to write to
Charles Mason to tell him that
the family at Alto was well &
none of their negroes had been
taken. They had only lost about 60
bls of flour & about 400 bus of corn
I suppose you know almost as
much about the fight at Frederick-
-burg as we do from the papers
It came off so quietly that about
four fifths of the army thought
it was just about to commence
when it was all over.  I was all
along the lines on yesterday & saw
the field of battle from one end
to the other.  There has been no
bloodier field in the war
The disproportion between their loss
and ours is greater than I could
have imagined.  I saw 1490 dead
bodies lying in one lot that
did not seem to contain more
than four acres.  According to
the most authentic official reports
they left 3400 dead on the field
after having occupied it for two
days after the fight.  Their dead

[page 2]
outnumbered our killed, wounded,
& missing by four hundred
The whole battle field was the most
dramatic & imposing tableau I have
ever witnessed.  The whole spectacle seem
-ed gotten up for our special
amusement.  The low-grounds of the
Rap-k below F.burg spreads out into
a plain of some miles in width bounded
by a range of low wooded hills which terminate
on the lower side in the Massapomax
low grounds & on the upper in a series
of rather high & abrupt bluffs-
                   & above the town
next to the river.  At one point
in this line of hills a wooded marsh
projects far into the plain.  Below the
Massaponax the hills again come down
to the river & the low grounds are on
the other side of the river which above
the hills on the Stafford side come
boldly down to the river.  Imagine now
this long line wooded hills peopled
with men who have inducement, physical
or mental, to fight desperately, every
little promontory bristling with artillery
the whole line of the rail way which
runs at the foot of the hills & every
hedge-row & ditch gleaming with bayonets
& you have what what[sic] must have
been the impressions of the Yankees
of our position.  Again, stand with men
upon one of the same little promontories
& look out upon the Yankee lines

[page 3]
& see what we saw. Far upon the left
the smoke from the smouldering ruins of
the town & Longstreets campfires seem
to blend togather[sic], while in front and almost
as far as the eye can reach to the right &
left you see the blue coated Yankee
lines extended; well armed, well equipt
& seemingly assured of success  Behind them
the hills seem crowded with artillery
which can hurl its missiles to the very
foot of the hills upon which we stand
The word is given to advance.  How gallantly
they come come on Not a sound is heard
from our side except the sharp cracking
of our skirmishers as they fall back
slowly before the over whelming advance
The air seems alive with the whistling
shot & shell which the enemy seem send
as precursor to their infantry charge
Suddenly a battery of thirty guns from
just where we are standing open upon
the column of attack They falter & reel
& stagger, they rally & break but & rally
again but it is no use flesh & blood
can’t stand it.  They retire routed & confused
At that moment an officer gallops
wildly up to Gen Jackson, & exclaims
in almost breathless haste “General, the”
“the enemy have broken through Archers”
left & Gen Gregg says he must have
help or he & Archer will both loose
their positions”  the Gen. turned as quietly
round & order Early’s Div. up to support

[page 4]
the centre as if nothing extraordinary had
happened.  Yet every body said after wards that
this was the turning point of the day
In about an hour the footing which the
enemy had gained in the wood was recovered
from them by Trimble & Thomas & they
pursued far into the plain. This was
all I saw of the fight.  From our relative
positions, we could do nothing but beat
back their attacks & this we did to our
entire satisfaction.  I send this letter by
our John who is to bring my  horse back
if John has bought him. Tell him I
will send the money for him at Xmas
I want to get my coat & pants.  I wish
you would send them down by him
                             Yours Truly
                                   M L Randolph

Meriwether Lewis Randolph, 1837-1871, a great grandson of Thomas Jefferson

MSS 8937

[from transcripts made at a later date]

                                                 Camp Near Fredericksburg
                                                 December 19th  1862
Dear Pa
I deem it proper to write you that I have passed safely through
the danger of another battle.  The 45h Ala. Regiment was not generally
engaged losing in killed and wounded less than 20 men and these mostly
from the bursting of shells.  Two in our company were slightly wounded
but returned to duty in a few days after the engagement.  No one from
our town was hurt, tho, as usual, Summefield had her full quota present.
General Hood’s division, to which we belong, occupied the centre which,
on this battlefield, is by far the strongest position.  Desperate efforts
were made to penetrate our lines on the right and left but the enemy
was everywhere repulsed and on Monday night acknowledge a defeat by
recrossing the river leaving behind him a large number of small arms,
about 100,00 rounds or cartridges and a battlefield strewn with his un-
buried dead.  The city of Fredericksburg will never recover from the
effects of this bombardment, as it was an old town of not much commer-
cial importance and I should judge from its looks rather on the decline
any how.  A good part of it is bomd and burnt and there is hardly a house
left which is not riddled by balls or fragments of shells.  There was a
false report this morning that they were recrossing the river and every-
thing was put in readiness to receive them.  I am well.  The rest ditto.
With the best wishes for you and yours.
  I received letter from Maggie this morning dated Nov. 23rd.  I  have
heard from my boy John.  He went north, where perhaps he is now travel-
ling for his health.
 I remain your affectionly son,
                                                   T. Vaughan

Paul Turner Vaughan,  4th Alabama

MSS 5586

[from the diary of Frank C. Fitzhugh, Cutshaw’s Battery]

                                  Friday 19
Went on picket   passed P. Royal
and turned to the right about a
mile where we took up
camp.  Oscar came over to
see me just as we were
starting

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 4448

                       U. S. Steamer Currituck

                Near Port Royall Dec 19th 1862
Dear Aunt  [Mrs. Mary Jane Lee]
                    This will be  handed you by Archer
who visit home to spend the Christmas and get on a
general bust-I send my Boots Pants &c by him
please have them taken care of-I suppose you
ere this had full particulars of the fight
I did not get in part of our Co was under
fire for two days, but did not open.  I am very
glad to see such favourable mentions made
of John L. & his Co Our boys had a other
talk with the Yankees Picket to day, they
admit a great defeat and say their
loss is near 20,000  I do not think there
will be any fighting near for some
time No Yankes nor Gun Boats visi
=ble they have all skedaddled

[page 2]
I wish to have Archie for the next year
& send him home for that purpose
I am in very comfortable quarters now gut
expect to move to some other point tomorrow
I suppose further down the river
     Will write again a day or two
more fully, have just finished a long
letter to Miss W. who has been scolding me
for not writing.  Must have peace in the
family.  Yours received by Nunalle
for which I am obliged I am now
writing by the light of a stick & Archer
leaves before daybreak so please excuse
writing  Love to all
                                 Yours truly
                                                  Dick

Charles Richard Phelps, Beauregard Rifles

MSS 2920

[letter of Robert Mansfield, begun on the 17th, continues]

                           Friday eve Dec 19th
I have been waiting all this time for

[page 3]
a letter from you, I have not
received any from you, since yours
of Dec 7th.  this afternoon I have
received yours of Dec 17th containing
the Bill for my box. I have not
been expecting to have it for some
time to come, it wont come amiss
however,  There is not real need of
sending the bill, for the box You
could Keep the bill, and if there
was any trouble, I could send
for it. It took me quite by surprise
when I read that Ada Augusta
was better, by not receiving your
last letter, I did’nt know that
she had been sick, I am glad
now that I did’nt know of it
before, I shall probably get the box
to-morrow (Saturday) night, if I do
I will write Sunday,  Mrs Chandler
and Mrs Pecker, have left camp for

[page 4]
Washington, today they start for
home on Monday next, One of
my mess has just come in with
the news that Secratary [sic] Seward
and Burnside, have resigned,
if such is the case, I think there
will be a great commotion some
where, I am not going to put my
postage stamp on this letter
for the good reason that I have
not got one, so I dont know
whether you will get it or not
I dont think of anything more to
write tonight, only to repeat, Please
send me some Stamps, and give
my love to all of our friends, Kiss
our darlings again for me, and
ever believe me the same in
love for you my dear and much
loved wife, through distance and time.
                        Robert
Robert P. Mansfield, Co. M., 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery

MSS 1242

                   Camp opposite Fredericksburg
                                                      Dec 19th [1862]
My Dear Father
                          Having a little
spare time this morning I will spend
it in writing home although there is
nothing especial to communicate or
write about   every thing is quiet now
on the Rappahannock, except now
and then a gun is fired – I heard
2 this morning but the Union troops
are being drawn away from this point
and I don’t believe there will be
another attempt made at present
to carry the works     The rebels are
throwing up earth works and strength-
-ening themselves all the time and

occupy the city and some fears are
expressed that they will try to cross
and bag us here but we have very
heavy guns in position this side
and could easily drive them out
again so that I am not afraid
of their coming this side – but I
don’t believe that we can ever
drive them out of their position
back of the city.  they have rifle
pits and batteries for 5 miles back
of the City and very heavy guns planted
all along.  We have had very pleasant
weather all along with no rain or
snow except once when on the
march down here and the weather
is not cold except at night when
water freezes   I suppose you are
having a good sleighing cold
winter weather in Meriden   how
does the furnace work this winter
can you manage to keep warm,

     I am getting along first rate
with the Col, but he has had
a pretty hard time of it since
we left Fairfax for he was
hurt only 3 days before we
marched  and with all his injuries
and rheumatism he could but
just keep along with his Regiment
he rode down here in an ambulance,
(myself with him) but he could not
follow the troops from here on wheels,
and he is unable to sit on a horse,
so that he had to foot it all the
way but he was with the Regt. all
the time and stuck by them till the
last and I stuck by him all the
time and stay with him through
all that dreadful fire from the rebels
Saturday when his Orderly left him
and went around behind the hill
the Col. said that I was a “brick”,
and that I could stand fire

     But our loss here in this battle
is awful.  I guess it is the worst
fight yet   Our killed & wounded is
reported at 13 000 & the rebels say
theirs is 2500.  2 Companies of our Regt.
went over to the battle field yester-
day to help bury the dead and they
buried 400 and say that they had
all been stripped to the skin by the
rebels and not a thing left on them
      Oh it is awful to think of the loss
of life and limbs   the hospitals are
all full of wounded and I have
seen heaps of arms – legs & feet that
had been taken off and thrown out
side.   I am thankful that I was
permitted to come out all safe and
am glad I was in the battle but I
don’t want to go through another one
and hope I shall live to reach home
in time then I will tell you all

[The following part of this letter continues in the margin on page one.]
about it.  I got a letter
from you day before yestur-
day also one from cousin
Hattie that Lieut. Merriam
had carried in his
pocket 2 weeks.
     Tell Chal. that he
must write to me.
I should not believe
I had such a brother
if I had not left
one when I came away
About that pipe and
the habit of smoking
don’t fear that I am
coming back a confermed [sic]
smoker-chewer-and
drunkard.. but I do
enjoy a smoke once in
a while when I feel “blue”
and tired and I hope
shan’t lose those [-]
altogether but guess I shall get them soon..
     Your obed. Son – Jim

[The following was added in the top margin on page four.]
     Tell Chas..to send me one of his latest Photographs.
     Lieut. Merriam received a pair of boots by mail  don’t know the expense,
               Yours, Jim
     Will write Geo soon!

James Howard, 15th Connecticut

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 12668

       5th N.J.V.  Near Fredericksburg Va
                         Friday Dec 19th 1862
To my wife & children.   I pen a few lines
Saying that your letter of the 14th has come
to hand, and as usual, I am pleased to
hear from you.  And am glad to hear
of the children enjoying good health
Yet am Sorry to hear of your ill health
for my part.  I am very well for an
Old Man. My phisical health is good
I expect that you, with many others are
desirous to hear from the Seat of War.
and anxious to hear from the late
Battle of Fredericksburg.  Well I will
tell you, as near the truth as I can
tell for a fact.  On thursday morning
December the 11th at about 5 Oclock in
the morning, while lying in my bed
I heard Cannonadeing and Soon followed
heavy Volleys of Musketry in our front
which was from our troops and those
of the Rebels.  While Our people were
throwing Pontoon Bridges across the

[page 2]
Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg
And after nine different attempts our
people Succeeded in getting a Bridge
across the River but with heavy Loss
but finally Kept on until they got
Seven of these Pontoon Bridges
across the River when Our troops
Crossed Over and drove the Rebels
Into their Forts and Rifle pits.  Where
and when the Slaughter began
the fight Lasted all day, and was
very heavy, and on the following
Saturday, the fight was again
resumed, with great havoc on our
Side. Our forces held the Rebels
but Could Not drive them further
Sunday Everything was quiet except
Some Slight Cannonading and Some
Picket fireing.  When Each Army
would Meet upon the Battle field
and on friendly terms, gather the
dead and wounded, and in fact
got so friendly as to converse, and

[page 3]
trade News Papers, and Tobacco
and Coffee. As our troops had
plenty of Coffee and the Rebels had
plenty of Tobacco.  So you See it was
very handy.  Our Soldiers were
talking with the Rebel Soldiers, and
they both Said that if the war was
Left to them they could Soon Settle it
without fireing a gun.  And So I
believer It would be done quicker
Our Loss is Estimated from 10 to
15000 while the Rebels are Said to
be only about 10 to 1500. So you see
we got the worst of it.  Our troops
have all come back to this Side
Of the River and Reinforcements
are daily Coming.  Another fight
will Soon come off.  Our Regiment
was Not in this Last fight, and I
was not with the Regiment.  I was
with the Wagon train and Kept
about 2 miles from the fight in
a Safe Position.

[page 4]
I have no gun. Neither do I want
any. as I dont admire gunnings
We have not Received our Pay yet
and Look Every day when we want
be Paid.  I must t hank you for
the Paper Envelope and Stamps
if we had Money we Could not buy
anything here as there is nothing to
Sell  Some of the New Jersey
Regiments was in the fight and
Saw the Elephant.  I should not
wonder.  I am looking for the 12th
Regt to come this way.  We must
have some 200,000 troops here
now.  I would Like to be  home
to help at Hog Killing, but So
it is.. My chances are doubtful
the Regiment is now out of camp while
I am writing. please remember
me Kindly to Christian and family
With My Love and well wishes
to You and the Children
And hope Ever to remain your
truly affectionate Husband
       James T. Odem

Sgt. James T. Odem, Co. F., 5th New Jersey

MSS 7093-m

Falmouth near Fredericksburg
                Dec. 19, 1862
                   Dear Phebe
                    I take this
opportunity to drop you
a line although I do
not know as it will
get to you owning tot he
confused state of affairs
There has been a great
battle which resulted
in the capture of the
citty not however until
it was nearly destroyed
the rebels fell back to
a position 3 miles back to
of the citty where another
battle took place after
fighting all day our troops
finding the positions too
strong fell back on the
citty and there the thing

[page 2]
stands at present the
reserve was sent for
and we are here n full
force what is coming
next is more than I can
tell but we shall know
in a few days I cannot
write any more now
              Josiah

Josiah Perry, Co. K, 33rd Massachusetts

MSS 2215

[from the diary of the Rev. Francis E. Butler, Chaplain of the 25th New Jersey]

Fri. Dec.19 – Buried abt. 230 yesterday they sd.  heard two heavy guns
on left this morg – letter fr. Mr. H[ornblower].  Wrote letters &c    our returns
show 8 killed – 50 wounded – 18 missg. = 85. Wrote to friends of the
killed, etc.

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 12935