Getting our Grub and Kicking Up our Heels Around Camp: A Delayed Word from the 71st Ohio

When Jacob Runkels of the 71st Ohio penned the following letter to a friend back in Ohio in the days after Shiloh, he would have been horrified to learn that the letter would not only never reach its destination, but would be captured by the Confederates, published, and held up as an object of ridicule.

          “As the Yankees are constantly boasting that they possess all the decency, learning, and intelligence, we publish one of their letters picked up on the battlefield at Farmington as a specimen of their boasted intelligence,” the editors of the Southern Advertiser stated. “Many others were found, too disgusting to be made public. The following may therefore be considered rather above the average.”

          “The sheet of paper on which the letter was written was ornamented with a picture of Lincoln and the envelope ornamented with a likeness of General Halleck,” it continued. The original letter, loaded with misspellings, grammatical errors, and the like, first saw publication in the June 11, 1862, edition of the Southern Advertiser published in Troy, Alabama. I have taken the liberty of cleaning up the language to render the account more readable to modern eyes.

 

The volume of soldiers' correspondents to the folks back home rose to staggering proportions during the war and a frequent lament was that the boys sent vastly more letters than they received. Jacob Runkels letter never reached its destination back in Ohio, being captured by the Confederates in the aftermath of the May 9, 1862 battle of Farmington, Mississippi. 

Camp Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee

April 24, 1862

 Mr. Louis Johnson,

          It is with the greatest of pleasure that I sit down to write a few lines to you to let you know that I am well and hoping these few lines will find you well. We are drilling about six hours every day and the rest of the time we have to rest and write letters and get our grub and kick up our heels around the camp. We are expecting a fight about 25 miles from here at a town called Corinth. We will make them fight it or run. We are expecting marching orders now for a week but we do not know when we will go. We will make them fight or run or be cut all to pieces.

          Now the fight has come at hand I must tell you something about what happened. Last night, there was a heavy fire from cannons about five miles from here. The alarm was raised with our guards and the long roll was beat and there was some scratching for guns. I was eating my supper when the roll was beat, but not bragging about myself, but William Williams and I were the first of our company in ranks and our company was the second on the ground. We had to run about 100 yards before we could get in line.

          So now I must tell you something about our head officers. Colonel [Rodney] Mason and Colonel [Barton] Kyle are very good officers but Major [George W.] Andrews is the man and the soldier. Our sergeant major, I think he cuts his cloth too large for his money. We dare not say what we would like to about them so I must say no more about them. So, no more at present.

Jacob Runkels to Mr. Louis Johnson Wright.

P.S. Hand this ring to Christian Runkels.

Source:

Letter from Private Jacob William Runkels, Co. A, 71st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Southern Advertiser/Troy Messenger (Alabama), June 11, 1862, pg. 1

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