July 24, 1861

Arlington Heights, VA

My sister, I received your letter of the twelfth and was glad to hear from you that you are well. I am as well as can be expected from the hardships I have been through. 


I wrote you a few lines last Saturday, that we had a little brush with the rebels and were preparing for another battle. It took place on Sunday last, and it was the bloodiest battle that was ever fought in America. It lasted ten hours and part of the time at bayonet charge. The enemy was stronger than we expected and was strongly fortified so we were driven back. We retreated back to the Arlington Heights that are on the other side of the River from Washington. There must have been ten thousand killed on the battlefield, both friends and enemies all mingled together.

The rebels have got my coat, knapsack, blanket, and Bible, and I hope they will read it. They got them from me because my officers commanded us to take them and pile them up when we were preparing for battle. 


The President visited our camp and Wm. H. Senard yesterday. We have had plenty of rain here most of the time.

You must write to me often, direct all your letters to one place. They will come to me let me be were I may. I must bring my letter to a close, I send my love to all my friends and to the Children and to Buby, he must take a shear and so must all of you.

   Samuel Matthews

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Written by pen on one piece of patriotic stationary, and folded like a book.

The first battle that Samuel mentions as a "little brush with the rebels" was the battle of Blackburn's Ford, a precursor to Bull Run. This was the 3rd's first battle, their baptism into fire. Nothing was accomplished during their first skirmish, with the exception of some blackberry picking that occurred while they were being fired upon by the rebel artillery.

The second battle he talks about, where he says they were at bayonet charge, was the battle of First Bull Run. The 3rd was very optimistic that the battle would end in a victory, and as the reinforcements passed them they cheered. Saturday night, the night before the battle, the 3rd sat around smoking their pipes, thinking of the loved ones at home. The next day dawned bright and presently the 3rd heard some small firing being made on the right of the federal line by the skirmishers, which only grew louder and louder until it was apparent that a full scale battle was being fought. Being on the left side of the federal army, the 3rd simply watched as the battle evolved. The roar of the artillery and infantry was almost deafening to the men. Soon, it became very apparent that the battle was lost, and the federal army was routed in udder confusion. The 3rd was called in to do a rear guard actions, protecting the rear of the fleeing army from any rebel cavalry that might feel like harassing them. Fortunately, the cavalry left the army alone  and they got back to Washington safely.

The regulations stated that the men were not to wear their knapsacks into battle, and so early in the war most of the regiments left their knapsacks in big stacks before they went to fight. All too often, when an army fell back quickly and in disorder, the soldiers never got their knapsacks back. This was a large annoyance, for the soldiers lost all their extra clothing and any personal items they had.

Blackburns Ford