John A. Yeckley 28th New York Writes of the Battle of Winchester 1,200 Rebels Killed, Wounded and Taken Prisoner

3 pages, 5 x 7 1/2, in ink, written by John A. Yeckley, Company E, 28th New York Infantry, to his brother.

Camp Near Edinburg, Va., March 8th/62

Dear brother,

I received your letter last night & was glad to hear from you for I had not heard from you in some time. We have not had any pay in nearly four months & money is rather scarce with us. What I had I let to the boys. We are having pretty fair times just now, rather short rations sometimes, but we are bound not to go hungry so long as there is a porker to squeal & a cock to crow. We don’t show much mercy to the Secesh. I suppose that you have heard all the news about the battle at Winchester. The Rebels lost killed, wounded & prisoner about twelve hundred & we followed them about thirty miles, all along the road where they left their dead & wounded, nearly every horse was killed with the wounded. They burned all the bridges where they had a chance which hindered us considerably & I think it is the only thing that saved their bacon. I was detailed to work on the bridge over Stony Creek at Edensburg & the Rebels thought they would stop us & they sent some of them around us, but no one was hurt. One ball upset my coffee while I was eating dinner. That is the closest they have come to me. I suppose that we will move again as soon as everything is in order. We received a dispatch at headquarters this morning from Secretary Stanton that Island No. 10 is taken with two thousand prisoners & all their munitions of war, that Gen. Grant has met Beauregard near Corinth & completely routed him. If it is a true report the Rebellion will soon be wiped out. We expect now that we will get home by the fourth of July. We are all well & enjoying ourselves very well. Paper & stamps are rather a scarce article with the soldiers & they are more so with the citizens. Salt is worth twenty dollars per bushel & is not to be had, potatoes, coffee & writing paper in the same proportions. Write as often as you can conveniently for I am always glad to hear from home.

John A. Yeckley

Some light scattered age toning and staining. Bold and neatly written. Very fine.

John A. Yeckley, was 24 years old when he enlisted in the Union army as a private, at Canandaigua, New York, on May 14, 1861, and was mustered into Company E, 28th New York Infantry, on May 22nd. He was mustered out of the service on June 2, 1863, at Albany, New York, when the regiment’s term of service expired.