Leonard Anson BONNEY: Civil War- 25 April 1863 Letter

25 April 1863

Fort Halleck
Columbus, Kentucky
Saturday afternoon, April 25, 1863

My dear Maria,

Eight captains and the colonel commanding have gone this afternoon on a pleasure excursion to Union City [Tennessee] — a little town ten or twelve miles east [actually south] from here — and as we have no drill, I will devote a portion of the time to you and Janie by writing you a letter. I do not promise to fill this sheet tho’ I may spin it out that long.

We have been in the army long enough now to decide calmly whether we came into it from feelings of temporary excitement or whether we had counted the cost to ourselves as well as our duty to our country & made up our minds fully that we would give our services and our lives to our country, if necessary. I have seen no occasion yet to regret my course, and I have never heard [our son] John express the first regret at having enlisted. Every day’s news and every day’s experience convinces me that we are in the right place and none too soon. I thank God that we have had two sons that love their country so well that they will offer their lives in its defense & I am thankful that I find myself in their company and that you, tho’ not personally with us are still a co-worker with us through persevering prayer for our country and for us. It will be a great solace to me in the future as it has been in the past to feel always assured that you — wife & mother — are continually praying for our cause & for us.

I suppose we are seeing very easy times tho’ it seems to me that I should like a little more to do — in fact, a little marching and battling. But we shall have to “bide our time” and wait for our call. Our regiment seems likely to be elected to stay here for the summer. Of course we judge from circumstances and may be deceived. We — that is our regiment — occupy the fort and Col. Messmore is in command of the fort. The 25th Wisconsin is camped outside & a regiment of cavalry (4th Missouri). The drafted regiment (34th Wisconsin) is in the fort but it is too small for its defense besides being considered not of much account.

I should like if you could look in someday and see how Ft. Halleck looks inside. I can hardly give you a description of it that you will comprehend. You may imagine, however, a bluff about as high as the one behind Prairie du Chien, tho’ more level on top and without any ravines on its front, and it must be clay instead of rock, and the river — all in one channel — must flow by its base and make a long graceful curve off to the northwest after it passes the bluff. And it must be bordered for 3 or 4 miles — and out of sight — by a forest of timber now clothes in green. Upon this bluff, gently rolling in surface, stand Fort Halleck, which is simply a parapet 4 feet high faced on the inside with boards and six feet broad on top, surrounded by a big ditch — except next to the river — about six feet deep and 15 feet wide with sloping sides. The sides run 8 or 10 rods in one direction and then make an angle & run in another direction, making offsets so that guns may be brought to range from the inside upon every direction, even on a line parallel with the parapet.

View of Fort Halleck on the bluff above Columbus, Kentucky

There is about 15 acres of ground enclosed within the fort and this is occupied by the 34th Wisconsin, and partly by tents of the 34th and 31st, and the balance is streets and parade ground. Our encampment occupies about 4 acres of ground. It is laid off by military regulations, and all encampments of infantry are laid off in the same style. The streets run from east to west and each company has a street 10 or 12 ft. wide & the tents are 5 feet from each other on each side of the street. The captain’s tent is at the head of the street on the north side; the lieutenant’s opposite on the south. East of the encampment and running north and south is the parade ground and on the east of that the regimental staff quarters.

Looking south over the town of Columbus from Fort Halleck (March 1862)

Our tents are wedge tents shaped like an iron wedge turned on the thick end and the sharp end up. They are about 7 feet square and will do for five good-natured men to live in. We have raised the sides of ours about 3 feet with boards, taking the tent for a roof. We put one bunk on top of the boards and two men sleep on it and 3 under it. In this little home dear to the soldier are stored our arms, clothing, provisions for 5 days, cooking utensils, and in damp or cold weather our little stove — 1 ft X 2 — and at night, our persons. You will allow that it is for our interest to be good-natured. Our mess consists of Sergeants Leonard A. Bonney, William T. Bottum, & Orlando T. Carpenter, and private Joseph U. Searles of Seneca ¹ (Dean’s father-in-law) and a first rate man). The latter does most of the cooking and is a very good cook. We expect to pay him something for it.

I have done my own washing since I have been here. The river water is very soft and there is no difficulty with soap and a little scrubbing to cleanse them sufficiently for all purposes of health, tho’ I suppose you would want them a little cleaner.

You need not be uneasy about the allotment money. It will soon come to you and will be a draft, probably on a New York Bank. As soon as the payroll is returned to Madison from here, which I suppose has been before this time, you will receive a letter from the state treasurer enclosing a receipt for you to sign of the draft above-named, which you will sign and send back to him and then you will receive the draft as above. The state does all this without any expense and solely for the safety of the soldier. If we should leave Columbus, we might not be able to forward any money to you with safety and it is better to wait a little and be certain than lose it upon a chance of its coming sooner. I am confident that [our son] John will make a great saving by allotting [the money rather than] receiving it here and then sending what he might think he could spare. Anybody can slip off money for this and that thinking they need it if they have money to buy it. I believe as a general thing, the men — married as well as single — who do not allot will not remit any money but will endeavor to keep it and in doing so will fritter it away and will not know what has got it.

You said something of Kroft wanting to know in July if he could have the farm again. If you say anything to him upon the subject, you may say that I shall expect to get the rent in advance next year and probably — as grain bears a good price and if crops are good — you will be able to get that rent in advance, it being a very low price, and probably a better tenant may turn up.

John received your letter of April 3rd and will soon answer. I enclose J. T.’s last [letter].

Love to Janie and enquiring friends. Affectionately, your husband

¹ Joseph Utter Searles (1812-1876) was 50 years old when he enlisted in the 31st Wisconsin. He was married (1838) to Jane Lucy Dalton (1821-1895). The Searles’ oldest daughter was Joseph M. Searles (1842-1863). She was married to George Lyman Dean (1831-1920) in 1858 and resided in Seneca, 

***Leonard Anson Bonney was in the same regiment as John A. McClure. Leonard would be basically going through the same things as John A. McClure. The information in this post has Leonard Bonney identified by name. His name is in bold red letters.  However, for more information about what Leonard went through , please go to the following website:"When Duty Calls — The McClure Family Civil War Diaries & Letters"

http://mcclurediary.wordpress.com/letters/