Item No. 8445791

General William Rosecrans and the Army of the Cumberland, defeated in September 1863 at the Battle of Chickamauga, had since been bottled up and put to siege by Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. Union reinforcements came to their relief from multiple points, including the Army of the Potomac in Virginia. That army’s 11th and 12th Corps, placed together under the command of General Joseph Hooker, had made a long round-about journey by rail to Nashville, and then southeast toward Chattanooga.

Among the 11th Corps men was Private Charles VanWagoner of the 141st New York Infantry. He wrote this letter from Chattanooga to his friend Alice Robbins on November 15, 1863. In it he discusses scant rations, the Battle of Wauhatchie, and a November 11 skirmish.

VanWagoner opens by describing the limited rations they had received in the weeks leading up to Chattanooga’s relief and the opening of the “cracker line”:

I never felt much better than at the present time, although we have not seen much harder times since we have been in the service than we have seen since we have been in the Department of the Cumberland. Since we left Bridgeport we have been on quarter rations until about a week ago. They call the 11th Corps the cracker boys down here, for we opened the road for rations for them. When we first came here we had 10 hard tack, a little coffee, and sugar, and what corn we could get to roast for 3 days rations. But Fighting Joe Hooker runs a small part of this ranch, and he is the one that brought out the soft bread for the Potomac boys, and he is doing his best for us. We draw full rations of everything now but meat.

He then discusses rebel positions surrounding the city, as well as the 141st’s participation in the October 28-29 Battle of Wauhatchie, in which elements of the 11th and 12th Corps forced back a rebel attack, thereby securing a new supply line for the beleaguered defenders of Chattanooga:

The rebels occupy Lookout Mountain. They are well elevated over us. They have some heavy guns planted on the highest peak of the mountain and about every 10 minutes they send they shot or shell a-screaming into our camps, but they do little or no damage for but few of them bursts. They are deserting like fun most every day. They come over in our lines in droves from 10 to 100. Day before yesterday there was a whole company, officers and all, came over. They say they cannot stand it much longer, for all they have to eat is a little roast corn. They have had quite a little fight since we have been down here. Our regiment lost 10 in killed, wounded, and missing, but our company did not have to go into it. They was detailed as provost guard at division headquarters. That is what saved our bacon. The rebs lost between 400 and 500. Our side about half as many. We capture between 3 and 400 prisoners and drove them from their position.

VanWagoner closes the letter with a brief account of a November 11 foraging expedition in which they were surprised by the rebels and lost several wagons and teams:

Last Wednesday we went out on a foraging expedition. We went about 4 miles down the railroad with about 50 wagons and went into a large corn field. Company H was detailed to help fill the wagons and Company E to guard them, and the rest of us was put out picket and guarding the roads, and the rebs came out of the woods into the corn field a little too strong for our boys, and captured two of the wagons. And they was so heavy that they could not get them away with them, so they cut the mules loose and burnt the wagons. We got away all right with the rest of them about 12 o’clock at night. We have been busy building corduroy roads for the last 3 or 4 days.

VanWagoner would be promoted corporal in October 1864 and mustered out with the regiment in June 1865.

The letter was written on four pages of a 5” x 8” letter sheet. It is in excellent condition with light toning. Creased at the original folds. The full transcript appears below.

Camp near Chattanooga, Tenn.
Nov 15th, 1863

Friend Alice
As we have a few hours to ourselves this afternoon, I thought I would write. I have been back to the Regiment about 3 weeks. I never felt much better than at the present time, although we have not seen much harder times since we have been in the service than we have seen since we have been in the Department of the Cumberland. Since we left Bridgeport we have been on quarter rations until about a week ago. They call the 11th Corps the cracker boys down here, for we opened the road for rations for them. When we first came here we had 10 hard tack, a little coffee, and sugar, and what corn we could get to roast for 3 days rations. But Fighting Joe Hooker runs a small part of this ranch, and he is the one that brought out the soft bread for the Potomac boys, and he is doing his best for us. We draw full rations of everything now but meat.

The rebels occupy Lookout Mountain. They are well elevated over us. They have some heavy guns planted on the highest peak of the mountain and about every 10 minutes they send they shot or shell a-screaming into our camps, but they do little or no damage for but few of them bursts. They are deserting like fun most every day. They come over in our lines in droves from 10 to 100. Day before yesterday there was a whole company, officers and all, came over. They say they cannot stand it much longer, for all they have to eat is a little roast corn. They have had quite a little fight since we have been down here. Our regiment lost 10 in killed, wounded, and missing, but our company did not have to go into it. They was detailed as provost guard at division headquarters. That is what saved our bacon. The rebs lost between 400 and 500. Our side about half as many. We capture between 3 and 400 prisoners and drove them from their position.

Last Wednesday we went out on a foraging expedition. We went about 4 miles down the railroad with about 50 wagons and went into a large corn field. Company H was detailed to help fill the wagons and Company E to guard them, and the rest of us was put out picket and guarding the roads, and the rebs came out of the woods into the corn field a little too strong for our boys, and captured two of the wagons. And they was so heavy that they could not get them away with them, so they cut the mules loose and burnt the wagons. We got away all right with the rest of them about 12 o’clock at night. We have been busy building corduroy roads for the last 3 or 4 days. I have nothing more to write at present.

Direct to Charles VanWagoner
Co C, 141st N.Y.V.
Nashville, Tennessee
2d Brig, 3d Div, 11th Corps