Near Frederick City, July 28, 1864.
Dearest Wife,
Here I am out in orchard, a little west of the battle ground of Monocacy, pronounced Mo-nox-y. I received a letter from you yesterday and sent one. Had to send it by a citizen I met in the road. The last three letters I have sent to be mailed just as I could. One of them I am glad to hear you have received. We left Tenallytown day before yesterday a little afternoon. Came just through the town of Rockville; stopped over night, the country very fine. Yesterday came through Nielville, Clarksville to Hyattville to this place. The country yesterday was poorer and quite broken. This morning it has been better, and Frederick City lies in a beautiful valley. The water is everywhere good that I have been in Maryland. It is a beautiful country and very productive, but not as much so as it might be. The air is pure and healthy. I had rather be here than down in the region around Petersburg. The marching that we have to do here is much harder, but this country seems more like down there. All the women look ugly. I have not seen a handsome woman in all our marching in Virginia. Have seen one or two haughty ones, but there was not one spark of beauty. Have seen several that I think were good, but here in Maryland all the women have bright cheery faces. That, and the country and its crops make me like it. The Rebels mean to keep us in Maryland. As soon as we left their rear in the Valley of the Shenandoah, then they turned Northward. I do not anticipate any fight here, certainly not as long as the 6th Corps remains together.
There is some prospect that we may be distributed to guard this country from the Rebel raids. The Rebs will not try to butt their heads against the 6th, unless in greatly superior force and our forces in the region are nearly equal. There is a part of the 19th Army Corps now with us. They have with them the Vt. 8th. They find it rather harder campaigning in Louisiana –
Tenallytown Sushi
I used to march over to “Tenallytown” for some of DC’s finest sushi, about 125 years after he went through.
It's a stop on the Metro
Now it’s all urban, but back then it was a neighboring town to a much-smaller Washington. Interesting to think of traveling between all those communitites on foot or horseback, instead of the expressways (and traffic jams) of today.
Once I walked from the Zoo to the Mall; it actually didn’t take all that long. But imagine doing it with a heavy knapsack and leather shoes, in typical DC heat and humidity!
Walkin'
I used to walk all over DC. It was pretty easy, always interesting, and from end to end is 10 miles. Would have been easier on the feet if it wasn’t paved, but the paving had advantages.
For many people these days, it seems the idea of walking a few miles is daunting. Our sense of distance is warped by vehicular travel, and our “busier” lives make us want to speed about.