1862 Civil War Letter, 121st Pennsylvania— Written on Fredericksburg Battlefield for Sale

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1862 Civil War Letter, 121st Pennsylvania— Written on Fredericksburg Battlefield For Sale

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1862 Civil War Letter, 121st Pennsylvania— Written on Fredericksburg Battlefield:
$500.00

“I don’t see how I escaped, for the balls flew so thick…. There was one [man] shot on each side of me. There was one Reb stood behind a big tree and come very near shooting me, but I took him and he turned round and fell over and laid there.”

This letter was written on the battlefield at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 14, 1862. The author is Private Bernard Van Leer Markward of the 121st Pennsylvania Infantry, a rookie regiment of Philadelphia men that had recently been attached to a brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves in the 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac. At the beginning of his letter, Markward writes about the regiment’s movements leading up to the fighting:

We left camp near White Oak Church on Thursday morning at 6 o’clock in the morning and encamped on the Rappahannock for the night. When we left at daylight on Friday morning when we crossed the Rappahannock on the pontoon Bridge and were drawn up in line of Battle, but the Rebels did not show us fight. We laid on the field all night without tents…

The next morning the 121st would be part of the 1st Corps attack against Confederate positions in the Prospect Hill portion of the battlefield. As part of General George G. Meade’s division, the 121st followed their comrades of the Pennsylvania Reserves into a gap in the Confederate line. While they gained some initial success, a counterattack by General Jubal Early’s rebel division drove the Pennsylvanians back beyond the embankment of the R.F.&P. Railroad. Markward describes how in the fierce fighting he shot a Confederate who was about to shoot him:

We supported the Battery until 2 o’clock PM, when we were ordered in the woods to rout the Rebels and I tell you it was hard fighting, for the woods was very thick and I don’t see how I escaped, for the balls flew so thick. There was one [man] shot on each side of me. There was one Reb stood behind a big tree and come very near shooting me, but I took him and he turned round and fell over and laid there. We expected to be in it again today. We were the first in it yesterday.

After this experience Markward writes that it is his “earnest prayer” to “be able to come out safe and get home to you.” He adds the news that Charles Duncan “was wounded in the leg, but I think not dangerously.” The 1906 History of the 121st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers confirms that Corporal Charles B. Duncan was wounded and captured in the December 13 fighting.

He closes the letter noting, “We went in with 48 men and came out with 27.”

The regimental history states that Markward would later be captured at the Battle of Peebles’ Farm in October 1864, and that he was held at Libby Prison in Richmond and Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. HDS indicates he mustered out with the regiment in June 1865.

The letter was written on two pages of a letter sheet measuring about 5” x 8”. Even toning. Some ink spills—understandable since it was written on the battlefield. Creased at the original folds. The full transcript appears below.

Camp on Battle Field on the Rappahannock
Dec 14th 1862

Dear wife and children
I send you a few lines hoping they will find you all well, which it leave me at present. We left camp near White Oak Church on Thursday morning at 6 o’clock in the morning and encamped on the Rappahannock for the night. When we left at daylight on Friday morning when we crossed the Rappahannock on the pontoon Bridge and were drawn up in line of Battle, but the Rebels did not show us fight. We laid on the field all night without tents and on Saturday morning at daylight when we supported the Battery until 2 o’clock PM, when we were ordered in the woods to rout the Rebels and I tell you it was hard fighting, for the woods was very thick and I don’t see how I escaped, for the balls flew so thick. There was one shot on each side of me. There was one Reb stood behind a big tree and come very near shooting me, but I took him and he turned round and fell over and laid there. We expected to be in it again today. We were the first in it yesterday. But I hope and trust that I may be able to come out safe and get home to you, my Dear wife and children, is my earnest prayer for I want to see you soon. If not, I hope that god may watch over you and my dear little children, and that all your days may long and happy.

I sent you $20.00 on last Wednesday and I hope that you have got it by this time. I kept $5.00. If I could it changed I would of sent you more. $25.00 is all I got, but as soon as I get more I will send it to you. Charles Duncan was wounded in the leg, but I think not dangerously. We went in with 48 men and came out with 27. No more at present. Your affectionate and true Husband now and forever
B. V. Markward