Camp Summit Point, Virginia, September 11, 1864
Since we left Charleston in April last, the Twenty-third Regiment has had three captains killed and three wounded, two lieutenants killed and three wounded, and about four hundred and fifty privates killed and wounded. We have marched on foot twelve hundred miles, travelled on steamboats and cars five hundred; fought six or eight battles, (worsted in but one — at Winchester), [and] skirmished with the enemy in front or rear sixty days. Since we came into Sheridan's Army we have had comparatively easy times, as far as marching is concerned. In the way of skirmishing our division has had more than its share. Every few days an order came for us to go out and see where and what the enemy was doing. On one of these expeditions we killed and captured quite a number of the enemy without losing a man. This was fun for me. It was quite a battle, and our friends, back in camp, from the amount of firing, supposed we were having a hard time, and sent out thirty ambulances to carry in our wounded. Imagine their surprise when we returned them all empty. In our other skirmishes we lost more or less each time, but invariably worsted the enemy.
SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 505-6
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