GDG- 14th Vermont

[James Cameron]

It's been interesting reading the excepts from "Life in Camp", on the 14th 
VT's part in the campaign and battle.

By way of a change of pace, here's a letter to his sister written by Royal 
D. King, of Company D of the 14th VT.
When Stannard's brigade and most of the rest of the Army of the Potomac left 
Gettysburg in pursuit of Lee's army, King's company was detached and left 
behind to guard the 1st Corps' 3rd Division hospital.  The shoals referred 
to in the beginning of the letter is Wolf Run Shoals, on the Occoquan River 
in VA, where the brigade had been posted as part of the defenses of 
Washington prior to being assigned to the AOP.




Near Gettysburg Pennsylvania

July 9, 1863.  Thursday



Dear Sister -



I don't hear anything from you or any one else but I am a going to keep 
writing just the same - I have not received a letter from any source since 
about the middle of June.  I tho't it strange that I did not hear anything 
from home, for some time before we left the

shoals.  I have written twice since we left there.  Perhaps you have rec'd 
the letters.  I don't expect to receive any more mail matter till we rejoin 
our regiment.  Our company is left here as guard for the Division Hospital. 
We left the Reg't the 5th & have heard nothing from it.  I suppose it is at 
Frederick M.D.  Frederick is about 30 miles from here Our mail I presume is 
being sent there, but we shall not get it till we start for home.  11 days 
after tomorrow will bring the 21st of July.  The 13th's time is out 
tomorrow.  There was a co of that Reg't sent here at the same time we were - 
They have started to rejoin their Reg't to day.  I presume we shall be 
ordered back next week - I have not told you yet where we are.  We are 
between 3 & 4 miles south east from the Battle Field - on the Baltimore 
Turnpike.  The whole country for 10 miles is one vast hospital.  Every barn 
& almost every house has been appropriated for hospital purposes.  The 
wounded suffer greatly from want of proper care.  Many die, who if they had 
been properly cared would have recovered.  Ours is only a Division Hospital 
& there are 500 in it.  Dr. Woodward is the principal surgeon.  He does all 
he can & as well as he can, but that is but little compared with the care 
that most would get at home.  They are sending the wounded off to Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, & Washington as fast as possible.  We have to stand guard six 
hours of the 24.  That is light duty compared with anything we have had 
before since we left the shoals.  It is hard work tho for us to do that.  No 
one except ourselves can form any idea of how tired we were when we got 
here.  The truth is we were completely fagged out.  After marching seven 
days, from 20 to 25 miles each day, & lying one whole day exposed to the 
heat of a broiling sun, & the most terriffic cannonading ever known, it 
wonder that so many are alive & as well as we are.  The Rebs supposed they 
had annhiliated the 2nd Vt brigade - for they didn't suppose

that men could possibly live exposed to the fire that we were.  They call us 
"fighting devils."  Some of the old Reg'ts say they never saw men stand fire 
as we did, & old Reg'ts could never have been made to do it.  We did 
something toward gaining the victory at

Gettysburg.  I glad that I was there, & would willingly go thro all I have 
again if it would be the means of ending this inhuman war.  I am proud of 
the "Flying Brigade," & I never before was so pround of being a Vermonter. 
We have not disgraced the Green Mountain

State, & tho others may have done as well, I know of none who have done 
better.  It is true that we are weary & exhausted, but what of that, if we 
have been the means of crushing rebellion & treason.  Those of us who get 
home will come with different looks

feelings from those we left.  Our experiences will have taught us many 
things that we never would have learned without.  No money could buy mine - 
I would not part with them on any account.



After putting the letter aside for a couple of days, King continued:



Saturday July 11th 1863 - You see it takes some time to write a letter here. 
I commenced this two or three days ago & have not had a chance to finish it 
yet.  We are still at the Division Hospital but shall probably be sent away 
somewhere by the middle of next week.  We have heard nothing from our Reg't 
since we left it & don't know where it is or what it has been doing.  We 
have rec'd no mail since leaving the shoals, & probably shall not now 'till 
we back to the Reg't.  I expect that when we leave here we shall go to 
Baltimore & from there home.  We can't get so much as a newspaper here, & 
know no more about what the Army has done since it left here, than the man 
in the moon.  Theyare sending off the wounded as fast as possible.  The 
greater part of them are gone & as soon as the rest are sent, we shall leave 
here.  They send them to Baltimore first & from scatter them about among the 
different hospitals.  Sam left yesterday with the other cripples.  He is 
doing well & will be able to go home when the rest of us go.  He lost his 
knapsack & blankets - so I went on the battlefield yesterday & got a wollen 
& rubber & knapsack for him & a woollen & a knapsack for myself.  I threw 
away my knapsack the day before the big fight.  My wool Blanket I left at 
union mills.  I am fitted up again for another march.  The battlefield still 
shows the traces of the fierce strife waged upon it.  The dead were not all 
buried, yesterday, they said, & hundreds of dead horses lie about producing 
an intolerable stench.  I went into the town or city of Gettysburg.  It is 
quite a pleasant place, larger than Castleton & not so large as Rutland. 
About every hous I saw had bullet marks on it.  We heard here last night 
that Lee had

surrendered his whole army - I don't credit the story.  You at home know 
more about it than we do.  If you have got a paper that has an account of 
the Battle of Gettysburg in it, I wish you wo'd keep it till I get home as I 
have not seen anything of the kind.  Mr. Smart

has gone with the Reg't.  He was well when he left here   Proctor & Steve 
are with the Reg't. neither of them went into the fight  -  I was weighted 
yesterday & bro't down 128 lbs.  I am well as usual.  I write any more now. 
It will probably not be of any use to write

to me as I probably shall not get it if you do.
Yours
R D King




Jim Cameron