Franklin County: A Brother to David D. Hougham,
August 4, 1863
Summary:
This letter to Hougham from a family member describes Union troop movement from
Philadelphia to Reading, Pennsylvania.
David D. Hougham
August 4 1863
Pottsville Schuylkill County
Dear Brother
I received your letter yesterday about 10 minutes
after reaching here. We left Philadelphia friday eve
at 7 o'clock and marched to Norristown 16 miles stopped 2 hours and fed and started again and went as
far as [unclear: Trappe] and fed again there and then left and made
another halt at Pottstown got there at 9 Saturday eve
and stayed till Sunday eve at 10. When we left for Reading where we arrived at 7
in moving here we took the cars for Pottsville the
weather during the
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march was the hottest of the season. We left
Franklin Palmer and one other fellow on the road sick every where along the road
and here we had every thing we could eat. this morning a lot of ladies brought
up enough for us all to have breakfast. we had a good trip, but it was an awful
hard one. the trip from washington to Philadelphia
was rather long. we ran an extra train and had to wait for orders at every
station so as to miss other trains. We are up in the coal mine region and we
expect to have business there is
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16000 miners to oppose the draft,
800 were drilling 4 miles from here yesterday having left the mines for what
purpose we don't expect to stay here long but are going
5 or 6 miles up into the mines or mountains for it is all mountains here there
is a mine about 100 [unclear: rods] from here have not had time to go to
it yet they are raising a Brigade and we shall probably go to the front when we
go from here I did not receive the letters you spoke of only Sarah's and that I answered just before I left Philadelphia here and got
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here before I did
the trip from Washington to Philadelphia was about the same as when we went down only we got quite hungry and
stopped at a station where there were 5 gallon cans filled with milk and I
[unclear: just took] one of them and it happened to be filled with
cream and we had a big feast and have got the can yet and keep it to put water
in it is quite handy I don't know as there is any thing
more at present all the boys are well and with us except [unclear: Orb]
we left him in Philadelphia Gray and [unclear:
jap
] was left but came all the way by Railroad and
got here. [illeg.] we [unclear: shall] leave this County probably so write to Pottsville
[illeg.]
yours
Batt A1st[illeg.]
Pottsville Pennsylvania
