July 1, 1863

Dear Audrey,

I am writing to you from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania at 9 in the evening on July 1, 1863. It has been three days since I have arrived in Pennsylvania. As soon as us soldiers heard that General Robert E. Lee was going to PA, General George Gordon Meade rushed us towards the southern border of PA. However, we were too late to block them from crossing into PA and General Lee’s whole army made it. I heard General Lee thought that if the war was in the Northern states, it would cause us to be at peace with them. We, the Union, came with 90,000 soldiers and they, the Confederates, came with 75,000 soldiers. As they settled in, we went behind them and shut them in from the south; eventually, we ended up in Gettysburg. On Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill, is where we set up with a line of people that was about 3 miles long. Over the past day, much has occurred and we are uncertain who will win this battle. Union soldiers and I fought tenaciously yesterday thanks to General George Gordon Meade’s leadership. We have put the Confederates in a quagmire and we are hoping General Lee goes back to Virginia. 

This battle is being fought with good reason, however,  it has affected me gravely. I agree with Lincoln that we have to fight in order to keep the southern states as a part of the United States. This war has caused me to witness my fellow soldiers being stricken by the measles. I can’t decide whether I am lucky or unlucky to be relatively healthy because I must keep fighting against the ruthless Confederates. Thousands of our soldiers have been killed in this battle and are laying throughout the streets, gardens, and farms of Gettysburg. Hours after the battle began, my companion, Jeffrey, was killed by a Confederate soldier. The doctors tried to save him by making him drunk to mitigate the repair that was going to be done on his leg, sadly, Jeffrey could not stay alive. Although it has only been one day of this battle, I hear soldiers pleading to die as I try to focus. Leaving you has most deeply impacted me. I will do my best to return as soon as possible. I will write to you every day for thinking of you is what keeps me sane.  

Love,

Mark