Morris, Wilmor W., fl. 1861-1862 to: Mr. & Mrs. John Morris.
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06451.044 Author/Creator: Morris, Wilmor W., fl. 1861-1862 Place Written: Head Quarters Camp Hamilton Type: Autograph letter Date: March 24, 1862 Pagination: 4 p + env. Order a Copy
Wilmor describes leaving Camp Johnston on 17 March and arriving at Fortress Monroe the next day. They are "encamped at the mouth of James River [with]in about 200 yards of ex President Tyler['s] mansion." Fourteen vessels brought the men up the bay and the scenery along the river was "the pritest [prettiest] sight I ever saw." He saw the Monitor, which at first glance looked "about sunk it is all under water only a steel tur[r]et [is not]," and describes how it defeated the Confederate gunboat Merrimac. It was pouring when they arrived and they "would have drowned" if the 16th Massachusetts regiment had taken several men into each of their tents. Their cooks made coffee all night long for the division, their generosity proving to Wilmor that they were "best soldiers that I ever saw."
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