William A. Smith, Co. D, of the 116th Pa. Infantry (Irish) Describes the Battle of Gettysburg – “Well, we give them a hard rub at Gettysburg. Our Corps took about 2,000 prisoners their selves. It is hardest battle that has been fought yet.” “The darn bugers get in the woods and their clothes is so near like the old stumps that it is hard to tell them very far off for the stumps, and it makes it bad for us to follow them up.”
The 116th Pennsylvania was led by Major St. Clair A. Mulholland at Gettysburg. Mulholland had just received the Congressional Medal of Honor at the battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863. Our writer, William A. Smith, has his engraved on the Pennsylvania monument.
The letter is 4-pages in nice dark ink. It is headed, “Sunday morning near Williamsport, July 12, 1863”. Here are the highlights of this great letter:
Sunday Morning Near Williamsport
July 12/63
Dear Father and Mother & Sisters,
I take this opportunity to write you a few lines to let you know where I am at and how I am. I am not very well at present, but I am getting along better than I expected. I am tending to Head Quarters’ Horses, Major Hancock’s horses. It is better than being with the Regt. I can ride sometimes, that helps me along a good bit, and then I am at the rear of the battle field.
Well, I have been in Old Pennsylvania once more. Anyhow, as far as Gettysburg. In that fight and give the Johnny Rebs fits and after them hot foot, we have catch them again here and we expect another big battle here. We threw some shell into them last night and moved them out of the woods here. The darn bugers get in the woods and their clothes is so near like the old stumps that it is hard to tell them very far off for the stumps, and it makes it bad for us to follow them up. Well, we give them a hard rub at Gettysburg. Our Corps took about 2,000 prisoners their selves. It is hardest bathe that has been fought yet. I think in the Army of the Potomac it has knocked our Regt. all to pieces. There is only 9 in my Company now in the Regt. except that there is 2 or 3 on Provo Guard. There is 60 of our Regt. on that duty, and after the battle counted 48 men with the Lieut. and all of them makes but 108 in all in our Regt. with 1 Major, 1 Adjt. and 2 Captains in all of them that come out so that has knocked the Regt. to pieces pretty fast. Out of 900 when we left Phila. and this fight I think it will finish them off and then there will be no more of the 116 Regt. for I think it will about wind it up.
Well, I must tell a little about the march. It has been a very hard one. I come over the battle field of Bull Run and Antietam and seen the bones of the dead on the field that was not half buried and 2 or 3 more battle fields that I don’t know their names now I come through. They marked that Genl. Siegel had a brush and burnt the town, all of the secesh houses that was in it, so it was a hard looking place. Well, we have been in a great many towns since we have been on this march, and the people has used us very well. We can easily tell the secesh. They will come for a guard as soon as we stop to guard their house. Such as them have to lookout for the boys will go down on him and take his chickens, if they can get them outside of the guards, and if the old fellow is not looking, the guards will drive them outside of his post, some places they send the guard. They use them first rate and give them all they can eat. They are taken care for such persons as that some of the people go in for making money off us. Some places we can buy a loaf of bread for 25 cents and others again have to give 50 cents for it, and some will give it to you and others will make them mad if you offer them money for it, so you can see the difference in traveling along the road in different states. We come through Frederick City. It was a nice place and the people use us first rate. Their every house had a flag hung out of the window as we come through it, and as we come on the other side of the town there, we seen a spy hung on a tree, over in (the town) they left him hang for 3 days before they took him down. They skinned the tree of all of the bark was on it. The officer got some of it. There was not much chance for me to get a piece for I had to hold the horses for them. Well, it was hard to get along on this march. Sometimes I would not have anything to eat for 2 or 3 days, so I had to buy all that I could eat so it has bled me out of money. Now I guess they will pay us off pretty soon again, and I would not care how soon they would. Well, I must stop writing for this is all of the paper I have got here, so good bye for a while and give my love to all of my friends around there and excuse the bad writing for I have to do it on my knee so good bye.
From your son
Wm. A. Smith
Direct to
1st Division 2nd Corps
The Army of Potomac
Washington, D. C.
In care of Major Hancock
I received your letter with them stamps in, and I would have wrote sooner if I had a chance, so write soon.
And love to you all
so good by
Wasn’t it interesting that the soldiers after witnessing the hanging of the spy, skinned the tree of all its bark to have a souvenir!
#L7-12-63 PA- Price $1,395
