From: Sonny Heath (sonny@defuniak.com)
Date: Sat Aug 28 2004 - 19:58:45 PDT
You may want to contact john kerry about that ankle wound as he is an expert
on war time injuries.
Sonny
----- Original Message -----
From: m35products <m35prod@optonline.net>
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 7:23 PM
Subject: [MV] OT DELETE. A 16-year-old soldier's letter home.
> Here is a story about my GGGF, edited for clarity. Please delete if
stories
> about war trouble you.
>
> Henry Howard Preston, son of Medina and Glorianne (Cartwright) Preston,
> joined the 6th New York Cavalry when he was 16 years old. He followed
> General Sheridan on his famous 20 mile ride from Winchester to Cedar
Creek.
> At Appomattox he received a wound to the ankle which never healed. He was
> born in 1845 and died in 1919. He was Assessor, Superintendent of
Highways,
> and one of the founders of the Library. In 1902 he was elected Sheriff of
> Suffolk County, NY, and he lived in Riverhead during his term as sheriff.
He
> believed in "progress" and was the first owner of an automobile in
> Riverhead. He was married to Asenath W. Congdon who lived from 1844 to
1912.
> He is buried in the Shelter Island, NY, Presbyterian Church cemetery.
>
> Following are excerpts from letters he wrote home.
>
> On, February 4, 1862 from York, Pennsylvania, Preston wrote his
father:
> "Received your letter the other morning and was very glad to here from
you.
> The government payed us some last week. They owe me about 20 dollars now.
I
> want to send you about 10 dollars, give it to you I mean, I think I had
not
> better send it all at once so I will not send you but 5.00 dollars this
> time. Then when you answer this letter I will send you some more.
> You asked me if Page (his cousin) is in Camp. Why yes certainly. We
were
> both on guard Sunday together. He has not been very well since we have
been
> here.
> There has been a law passed not to pay the Cavalry but 13 dollars a
> month. Then they keep back 1/2 the regulations say. Then we have to buy a
> good many things for our comfort. We want for shirts and gloves and such
> things. I have now bought the second pair of gauntletts or gloves as you
> might call them. They are buckskin gloves with long wrists to them about 6
> inches long. They cost about 1.25 to 2.00. You see handling a sabre so
much
> they soon wear out. There are regular riding gloves but we do not have
much
> riding to do now. Our new barracks are pretty comfortable. I tell you I am
> growing as fat as a hog. I weigh about 140 now for I was weighed
> yesterday....Page sends his best respects to you and all."
>
> On Friday, March 6, 1863, he wrote his parents from Yorktown,
Virginia:
> "I received your letter tonight, also the box. Nothing affords me so much
> pleasure as to get a letter from home. I am well and in good health so
that
> I have gained 6 lbs weight in 1 week. What do you think of that. I am now
> inside of the fort at Yorktown. I am acting Orderly for Colonel West,
chief
> of Artillery Ordnance on General Keyes (?) staff... I like him very
much...I
> have to go out riding when he goes out; and carry dispatches to regiments
> when to march and when to open fire on the enemy ... That is the principle
> of it. ..."
>
>
> "I have lived to see another birthday. (18th, APB) You spoke sometime ago
> about promotion. I suppose I could, as at least I know I could, get
promoted
> if I should get drunk every other day or as often as the officers does.
But
> that I cannot do. I was not brought up a drunkard and I never will be.
There
> has been times that I have been compelled to drink liquor and that was
when
> we was up in front of Richmond last summer. Had it not been for brandy
that
> was dealt out to the men, not one hardly could of survived the campaign.
The
> campaign was the first time I ever tasted of liquor after I slept out all
> night in a hard rain strorm. We were all stiff in the morning, we had no
> shelter at all. The Lieutenant Col., who is a church member and a church
> temperance man went and drawed liquor from the Commissary. Had it not been
> for that, half of the command would of never survived."
>
> "I think I have seen some very hard times, so that I think that when I get
> home I will know enough to stay there."
>
> "I do not see as the war is any nearer to a close than it was when I
> enlisted."
>
> "I am tired of this war. It is not a just war. If I had known as much when
I
> enlisted as I do now I should of never come out, I can assure you, for I
> think that the South have a cause to fight. They are fighting for their
> houses and firesides. Which is more than we are doing. It's the
> abolitionists that caused all this trouble."
>
> "Henry"
>
>
>
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>
>
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