Letters from the Front - Nathaniel Caverly Jr.

Saturday, October 25, 1862

Nathaniel Caverly Jr. wrote his first letter home to his father from Camp Chase, letting him know that he was well and that he enjoyed camp life. Nathaniel mentioned that he had suffered from dysentary but was fighting the ill effects by eating vegetables. He asked his father to send him a lead pencil and pencil holder to write letters, as the steel pen he had did not work. Nathaniel asked for all the news from home, stating "I want you to write me if it rains there write if it is cold there and if it is fair write how you are getting along with your harvesting how your crops are coming in and what you are going to sell and keep this winter and so forth."¹

References:
¹Alan C. Phillips, Soldiers in My Family: Caverlys and Murrays 1754-1865. (DePere, Wisconsin: A.C. Phillips, 1993.), 77-79.

Assistant Surgeon John Sullivan Joins the Regiment

Thursday, October 23, 1862

As the Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment prepares for another move, Assistant Surgeon John Sullivan, who has served with the Second New Hampshire Regiment, joins the Thirteenth.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 16.

Passing the Test

Tuesday, October 21, 1862

The Thirteenth New Hampshire regiment is tested to see how quickly they can assemble, pack gear, and be ready for march. The Thirteenth completes the test in less than fifteen minutes.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 15.

Return from Picket Duty

Sunday, October 19, 1862

After two days of picket duty the men of the Thirteenth New Hampshire gather at Upton Hill for inspection, drills, and religious services. They receive orders to return to camp, leaving Upton Hill at 6:00 P.M. and returning to Camp Chase by 8:00 P.M. Exhausted and without tents, the men camp on the open ground in the freezing rain. Exposure to the elements begin to take their toll, as nearly one-hundred men report sick the next morning.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 14.

Adjusting to Camp Life

Thursday, October 16, 1862

The men of the Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment, accommodating to camp life, end their first week at Camp Chase. A regimen of company and batallion drills, dress parades, and roll calls fills their day from sunrise to sunset. In addition to adjusting to the physical demands of their schedule they need to adjust to meager rations and the changeable Virginia autumn weather, with its warm days and cold evenings.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 11-13.

Camp Chase

Thursday, October 9, 1862

The men of the Thirteenth marched through the streets of Washington D.C. and made camp on open ground at Camp Chase, located one mile from Robert E. Lee's former home at Arlington House. Reporting to their commanding officer, General Silas Casey, and settling into their new camp the regiment prepared for a daily schedule of discipline and drills.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 10.