5th West Virginia Surgeon Writes of the Battle of Cross Keys

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War-date Union soldier Autograph Letter Signed by Surgeon Peraz Randall, 5th West Virginia Infantry, 4pp. quarto, Camp at Woodville, Eastern Va, Rapphannock Co. , Army of Va. Milroy’s Brigade, July 29, 1862,” and reads in part: “...We are now in Eastern Va. with our Army encamped around in a circuit of 30 miles, and I suppose we have about 60 or 70,000 men under Gen. Pope. The Rebs are at Gordonsville and near there 60,000 strong. We will have a general battle before long, the Rebs under Stonewall Jackson, and we under Gen. Pope. Gen. Sigel is in command of our division. It will be a hard fight. Our Genls are ambitious. I mean such Genls. as Milroy, Schenck, Stahl, etc who are Brigadier Generals. What the event will be as who will survive the great battle is in the future. We have had hard times since our march. Marching without tents, without anything for comfort. Sometimes on short rations, night and day, till we drove Jackson’s Army across the river at Port Republic, 12 miles from Staunton. Had a battle at Cross Keys near Port Republic where we lost about 1,000 killed and wounded. We have marched in rain and nights till our men would drop down by the side of the road exhausted and some had to be dragged from under the cannon wheels...This is soldiering...Richard, I wish you would see L.T. Moore about those Negroes of Col. Gray’s. He is very anxious about them. He cannot come nor write to Kentucky to attend to the case....I have tried to get a black girl for you, but she was left with our baggage train. ...I do not know that I can ever find her again....I have been in one battle. The others before this were only skirmishes, but at ‘Cross Keys’ I suppose we had some 15,000 men engaged. I was in the rear of the Regiment and I suppose the enemy saw our march down a little valley and after they had passed, they poured cannon ball, grape and bombshell right into the place where I was. A bombshell came within 2 feet of my hors and me on him. We lost about 1,000 men in our Regt. about 32 killed and wounded. Tho. Stafford from Paintsville was the first killed. His back was cut in two by a shell...” Fine condition.

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