'We are just beginning to find out what soldiering is'

 

Lieutenant A.H. Alexander
103rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment 

The end of March 1862 was a very cold one in the area around Washington D.C. But the Union Army was on the move.

Lieutenant A.H. Alexander of the 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment took a moment to share what "soldiering" was like in a letter to his sister Lizzie:

We left Washington on last Friday at 5 O’Clock P.M. and marched to Alexandria [Virginia]. it was a pretty good march, we arrived at Alexandria at 12 OClock Same night and were marched into a field where we lay down on the ground and slept until morning.

The Boys thought that it was pretty hard times when they had to sleep on the ground without anything to protect them from the weather. I lay down with Wash Gathers on the Ground and we had one blanket between us. I slept sound for about 3 hours. when I wakened I was very cold. and got up and made a fire and stood around it until morning.

I saw Dale and a number of others of our Callensburg Boys. They have been laying out for the last fifteen days without any Tents or any thing else to cover them

He also mentioned a new revelation to her – orders without explanations: “This morning we will go on Board Transports at Alexandria at 12 O’Clock. for what place I don’t know.” But he ended the letter with a personal note to Lizzie, “Lieut Schott sends his best regards to all of you.“

That afternoon, Alexander and the rest of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment boarded the transports, bound for Fort Monroe, VA on the Virginia Peninsula. During the next six months, Lt. Alexander and the 103rd fought in seven major battles and a series of skirmishes. Within a year he was promoted to Captain. On April 20th, 1864, during the battle at Plymouth, N.C., Captain Alexander and more than 75 percent of his regiment were captured. He was paroled February 21, 1865 and mustered out with the remainder of the 103rd on June 25, 1865.

Lieut. Schott? He was killed two months later at Fair Oaks while fighting a delaying action with his company that saved the regiment (and Alexander) during a disorganized retreat.

In his letter that cold, March day, Alexander shared an almost prophetic epiphany with his sister:

We are just beginning to find out what soldiering is.

He had no idea just how right he was.

There are millions of stories from the Irrepressible Conflict. This was just one of them.

Mac

Works Cited

[1] Alexander, A.H. Letter (1862). Auburn University Digital Library Collection