April 15th, 1853


Dear Megan,

The blood soaked earth where the bodies of men that have
fallen that stains the ground with their silent tears that weep
no more. As they stack on the piles of their friends. Brothers
that have fallen with them, as the cries of the men thought
still haunt the few who remain and for me my love. Is that
I am scared to mention that after spending a few long days
on a long march across the fields of battle heading towards
the great city of Vicksburg. Our intellgance officers tell us about
a family storing some blacks down in the basement of their
house and few of the confiderate soldiers are holding the family
captive. Because they aren't going any where until their calavry
clears and cleans out every single inch of the area until every
single slave is found - and killed by their owners. As the news
like that got around in our camp we had to act fast and so today
though my beloved, we make camp and Lt. General Byrce he sent
word for me he told me to go and meet the General himself Grant
to get some orders to intervene if possible. And I was just sitting
by my favorite tree in a field reading a book that I had with me in
my knapsack. And the Lt. General came up to me from behind.
And he stands there before me and he kicks my boots to get me
up and I Look at him and he looks down upon me "Come lets go
the general wants to see you?" I nod and get up and follow in
from behind him and he takes me to the officers tent as we walk
through the camp, with men cooking some beans, and some
vegatables - their blue coats next to them Some men look at me
as I was the only one with the whereabouts of the run away
slaves. And Will came up from behind me and he caught up to
me and the Lt. General as we reach the officers tent, and
Will stands in from behind me. Just standing there made my
white skin that peels back over on top of my high musiclian
cheek structures in my face. As the three of us stand before the
general Grant, and then he takes a look at me and Will then he
didn't have anything but some information for us to take note
but it seemed he was recieving his word from his associates in his
employement that work for the general and he alone. And they are
from the C company of our forty fifth regiment of Missouri and
he stood there with his gray mustache and he had few stains
in his white beard of brown tobacco juice. And he he looked at me
and then takes a look at Will, and the Lt. General Bryce steps to
the side and stands in attention my love I was so nervous I
didn't know what to do. As the general Grant muffed his throat
and to clear it, and then he started to speak to give me and Will
some orders that he recieved from his intellegance officers. Then
he gives me a piece of a partched paper that had the mission written
on it for me and I read it said "Two grays, and four civilians held up in
a farm house that is about ten miles south from the location of the
encountment of the forty fifth regiment. And the reports show that
the family is storing run away blacks in their basement no more further
information." The general sits down in his chair and then the rubs his
fingers together as if he read it and sat there before me and Will who
still standing in from behind me and I didn't understand the message.
"Sir I don't get it" - "What you don't get?" "Is that how can this
information is accurate be the truth it could be false information that
was given as decoy to give the grays a chance to attack us when our guard
is down" Then Genral Grant then chitters his teeth and grinds them in
his mouth and he understood where I was coming from, and he sat there
didn't say anything for a little while. "That's why I want you, and one
other to take on this job to see if it is really a deploy to trap us and kill
us and win this war" "But sir we can't go storming into enemy territory
if this information was put into the wrong hands then we would be
in trouble sorry sir but if that is false information and there is no
evidence to back it then we are walking into a trap. Set by the grays
and I am sorry sir to have a bit of a concern for this mission sir
but if it is true then I am willing to do it sir?" "Good that's what
I want to hear but you could be right?" "That's why we need another
set of eyes to keep an watch on this to see if it is the truth or a farse
so are you in or are you out" The general left me with a good thought
as I stood before the general and his Lieutentant and Will who was
standing behind me. I nod to general Grant and then he gets up. And
pushes the chair back out from under him and it falls down onto
the ground; and then he leans over and shakes my hand I grab
it and shake it and then I clip my heels of my boots and salute
him. The fresh day turns into a perfect quiet night. As me and Will
head out from the camp and walk from there into the open terrian
of the enemy we feel like two lost soldiers drowning in self sorrow
of the non perettment of the feeling of love is lost as we walk with
torches in our hands and our muskets around our shoulders. We set up
camp near the old farm field Near the town of Mordean that was just
bombard by the confedarate gun fire and almost destoryed by the
on slaught of gun battle between the confiderates and the blues. That
was early in the war, and so we sit up all night sharing stories we
even started to sing old songs to past the time in the night. And so
we listen to the fresh air of the spring as we fell asleep so I say to
you my love is that I miss with each passing day, and please give my
love to ma and pa for me.

Sincerely with Love,

Sgrt. Major of the forty fifth regiment of
Missouri second class unit.

Jacob Peters.




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