This letter was written by George W. Reifsnyder (1848-1908), the son of George Reifsnyder (1805-1856) and Harriet Sharpless (1814-1878) of Catawissa, Columbia county, Pennsylvania. George was married in 1871 to Anna Margaret Kostenbauder (1849-1906).
George enlisted as a private on 9 February 1864 in Co. D, 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (152nd Penn. Regt.), and mustered out with the battery on 9 November 1865. This letter was written from Redoubt Converse which was a battery emplacement on Spring Hill near the Appomattox River at Bermuda Hundred before Petersburg.
George wrote the letter to O. Yetter, the son of Lewis Yetter (1811-1880) and Sarah Sharpless (1817-1847) of Catawissa, Columbia County Pennsylvania.
[Note: To read a letter written by another member of Battery D from Redoubt Converse just a couple of weeks later, go to 1864: Benjamin Franklin Cox to Amos and Hannah (Zaner) Cox]
Transcription
Redoubt Converse
Spring Hill, Virginia
October 11th 1864
Dear Cousin,
As I have a few spare moments I will try to devote it by writing to you & letting you know that you are entirely mistaken in regard to our writing. You say that I never answered your letter but I say I did. Tom & I both wrote to you soon after you had answered our letters & we have not received no answer yet. It’s likely you did not receive them but we wrote & Tom says you must write to him.
Today is election day & everybody is very anxious to see how the thing is settled.
Yetter, you ought to be here & hear the roaring cannon. Oh, it awful! I believe I have heard cannonading every day for 5 months & it still appears to increase instead of decrease & I expect if Old Butler does the thing right, we will be home for Christmas.
How is all the girls getting along? Do you ever get any grouse? Plenty of it here but it is black strap. It won’t split. I had a gay old fuck the other day of the ugliest nigger wench ever lived but it was bully. There was a party out stealing sweet potatoes last night & we had a bully breakfast but other days we have nothing but a little stinking sow belly or salt horse. Oh we live bully. I only wish I was there to beat you [in] a game of billiards. France & Sammy are both crazy after a table. You better send one down in a box. Al, I haven’t time to write a sensible letter for I have to go to work on fatigue duty. Now please answer immediately & also write to Tom.
Love to everybody. How is that dear friend of mine getting along that lives in the Hotel?
Address Co. D, 3rd Pa. [Heavy] Artillery, Redoubt Converse, Spring Hill, Va., Bermuda Hundred, Care of Capt. [Edwin] Evans
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