Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 1)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]


Cheat Mountain Summit Oct 26th

Dear Brother

As Aaron Clauson is going home

I thought it would be a good chance to write you a

few lines & let you know how we are getting along,

We are building winter quarters now & the boys work hard

& live poor & grumble all the time. I had charge of 50 men

but I got sick of so much complaining & got a birth in

the hospital & there I set up 3 nights in secession & next day

was sick with headache, but it did not last but one day

I guess it done me good for awhile ago I saw all the

boys most home sick & I thought it must a terrible

feeling by the way they acted So I thought I would

go out in the woods & be home sick awhile & see how it felt

but it was a mistake for me to go into the woods for I am

always at home in the woods but I sit down on a log & put

my face in my hands to bring it on & began to think of home

when I heard a nois & looked up & there was a pheasant

makeing anois some like a quail when it sees something

it is fraid of I up and after it with a club & forgot all about

being homesick but when I got the headache I found out how

one felt & I would pity a dog that was homesick. Why it looked

to me as though the war would last forever & as though

50 rebbles would whip all of us & I thought I had the

typhoid feavor & would be sick the rest of the winter

but next morning I felt so much better that it looked

as though it would take 10,000 to whip us

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 2)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]

[left column]

Now I have got as stout as ever & feel as though I could

whip a regiment of them. The other night we were on picket

& some scouts had gone out that day to see what the enimy

were at & got parted & part of them come in & reported the

rest taken by the rebbles & that the rebbles were comeing

to attack our camp that night so the officer of the day come

round to instruct the pickets just at dark & he was badly

scart. I was stationed 2 miles from camp down the river from

the bridge with 4 men. At the bridge they had 20 men & they

built up with logs at each end of the bridge & had the plank loose

so as to stop them from crossing there and if they turned down the

river they could not cross till they got down to where I was

for it was deep & high banks so the officer of the day see that & told

me we mus hold that place at all hazzards I told him verry

coolly we could do it no danger of us we could hold it till

reinforced from camp & he seamed to be satisfied & went up

to camp & enquired who I was. It made a good deal of laugh to

to think he would ask 5 men to hold a position against 500

& to get assured that it should be done without fail made him

sleep sound I expect. but I knew that the rebbles dare not come

to us nor fight only behind their brestworks, & them men

that were reported lost come in the nex morning. They

had got lost hunting chestnuts. There was a negro come from their

camp to our pickets & they brought him in & he told where

the rebbles had cattle & he led a company of scouts the other

night & they went beyond their fort 4 miles & got 40 head of

cattle & six head of horses & found a post office in a little town

& they brought all the letters. The negger is quite a hero in our

camp he stepes around as big as cuffy. Some day he will go back maybe


[right column]

We have 6 sick men in our part of the hospital they have

the winter or they call here the mountain feavor some of them

are pretty sick they are generly deranged nights & some all

the time. The boys are all mad about staying here this

I guess I am the only one that liked it & I was glad for there

is some excitement here all the time we are near

enough the rebbles to see one once in a while & there is lots

of game in the woods of all kinds & if I get a rifle some of

them will catch it. If I dont kill a bear this winter I dont

know as I ever will if I dont I can kill some pheasants &

squirrels & they will go well here. I shall have some leasure

if I stay in the hospital for Dock says we shall have plenty

of help but when the old Dock get back I may leave for I did not

like him much but may like him better when he comes back &

he may never come back for they have not heard from him

since he left only by the papers noticeing his arrival in Cin.

I want you to oversee things a little this winter & not let

the stock get poor & encourage the boys all you can & tell

them how to manage & write to me how things are going

there & all the news. What was done with that case of George & Johns

in court & how the sheep & horses look & all the news.

From your brother H.C. Fuller

To R.M. Fuller

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 3)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]

[right column]


Cheat Mountain Summit Nov 14

Dear Brother

I sent you a letter some

time ago & have not got an answer yet

but thought I would not wait as I had

special word for you I got a letter from

Lydia last Sunday asking me to authorize

you to get Mother groceries & other

necessaries she may need. I want you to

get her all she askes for if she is not

unreasonble & get them on time & I will

send you the money as soon as pay day comes

which will be in 3 weeks I think. We

got the things you good people sent us

& it would have done you good to see the

poor ragged soldiers eyes sparkle.

Some of them could not contain themselves

Shouled & cried for joy. We have some

happy days here on this mountain. We got the

things on saturday & I waited till monday

before I tried my gun I found it all right

So Tuesday Maj Hewit Capt Dyer


[left column]

They got two good horses & sharps carbine

& pistols with them. We did not loose any men

this time but once before they went down

there under an Ia Major by the name of

Bell & he got drunk & led the men into the

pickets & 4 got killed & 5 wounded

Since that they have been more careful

I am tierd of writing & must close

by wishing you good by

from your brother HC Fuller

To R.M. Fuller

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 4)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]

[left column]

& 3 or 4 more officers started out

to shoot at a mark. They had their

navy revolvers & Enfield rifles & muskets

Just as we got started the butcher an English

man wanted I should shoot 3 beevers for

him so he turned them out of the pen

for it was muddy & 8 or 9 got out but there

was a 100 men to head them most of them

with guns & wanting to shoot, I asked him

wich ones he wanted to kill & he said any of

them so I took one with a white face.

Down he tumbled & I took another white face

Down he com the rest all righting but before

they could pull the beef would move &

Down come another white face the globes

showed so nice at their faces. The old butcher

laughed & says that is the way to nock them

boys why cant you do it that way one fellow

said he could kill them as well as I if he

could only hit them right. I run & overtook

the rest & we had a good time shooting but

they could not shoot their Enfields nor

Springfields nor pistols near enough to

make it interesting


[right column]


It makes me a little proud to hear so

many wish they had one & I dont know how

to express my feeling of grattitude towards

my friends who gave it but will try to

make it the means of shortning the war

(with a few at any rate) & if I could

make the war one day shorter it will

pay big I have a coppy of the subscription

paper with each mans name & amount

sent me by G.T. Sherman & I have read the

names over & over. I got by the last mail

a letter from Reub one from Lydia one from

G.T. Sherman one from Charly & one from

D Bricker & the Capt got one from G Courter

that was half written to me. They were

all first rate letters & all interesting

I got one from Read Letts a few days before

& one from J. W. Foote which I must answer

first & I dont know as I can answer each

letter sperately but will write a general

letter to all of you We send scouts everyday

down to Granbrier & yesterday some of the Ind

9th took a cavilry man & a Lieutenant prisnors

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 5)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]


Beverly, March 2nd/62

Dear Brother I received your letter

of Feb 21st yesterday and was glad to hear from

home that they were all well but sorry to

hear that things dont go smothe all the

time. I want you to see that the boys feed

regular and without wasting feed which you

can do without spending much time by noticing

how things look as you pass along by them weather

they eat it all up clean or if they are hungry.

About buying you out I cant make you any

better offer than I did before except you

want that prairie land to live on but

if you want it to trade on it is worth more

to me than you could trade or sell if for.

If you want to go there to live I will give you

15 80 acres of that prairie and my two horse

wagon and $250, or if you dont want the wagon I will give

$300, That is letting you have the land a $2.50 per

acre which is less than I would take under any

other circumstances.

Hiram C. Fuller's Civil War Letters (p. 6)

[corresponds to Civil War Letters of Hiram C. Fuller]


We expect to leave here in about 3

weeks for Richmond. We will go first to

Alleghany whare we expect to have our

first fight the next at Stanton and

and maybe one or two little fights between that

and Richmond. Then I dont know whether

we will go to Manassus or to Charlestown

SC and so on round to take New Orleans and

up the river home. Our Col has got back from

Ohio and we are to have the Sibly tents with stoves

in them and we can pitch them evry night on

the march and be comfortable in bad weather.

It is rported the regt is to have better guns but

that dont interest me as I have a better one

than the goverment ever made. I was offered

$30. for it the other day by a native and I guess

a secesh for he said he had come 10 miles on

purpose to buy it but I told him he could not

have it for $1000, for if he had bought it then

shot me with it that would have been bad

for the gun. It is mail time and I must close

my love to all. From your brother H.C. Fuller

To R.M. Fuller