W. C. Tunstall, Co. D, 5th AL on the Aftermath of the Battle

Union Mills Aug. 6th, 1861

Dear Mother,

I received your letter a few days since by Uncle Herndon.  That is yours and Bettie combined.  I was very glad to hear that you all had heard that we were not killed.  We were not in the battle.  I wrote you a letter after the Battle on the 18th & the one on the 21st also.  The last letter I wrote you I gave you a minute description of our maneuvering on that day, also an account of our retreat from Farrs X Roads, which letter I suppose you have received some time ago.  I suppose you all were very much distressed in Greensboro about our Company.  I was very glad to hear through Uncle H. that you were not kept in suspense but one day when you received the intelligence that the 5th Reg. was not in the Battle.  I rode over the battle field on Sunday.  It was truly a sad scene to witness the many graves scattered over the field of our brave and gallant men.  I saw where different officers of high rank fell.  The places being marked out by posts being driven down and names of the officers inscribed upon them.  There were a great many dead horses lying on the field but all of the dead were [line illegible] on our side.  There were so many Yankees that it was impossible for us to bury them very decently.  Sometimes they would bury 40 or 50 in one grave.  I understand from men that visited the battle Field the day after the battle that the whole field was covered with dead bodies.  Sometimes you would see them lying in large heaps on different spots.  The Yankees carried off their dead and wounded up to 3 o’clock in the evening.  The cars were brought out near the field and they were sent back to Alexandria.  We have not been able to find out the exact loss on both sides but the [line illegible] yet I think is from Russell the correspondent of the London Times.  He was in Alexandria and Washington when the enemy retreated and afterwards came to Richmond.  His estimate of loss is between 4 & 5000 killed & wounded on our side and between 10 and 12000 on the Yankees.  We are stationed at Union Mills in a very healthy place about 4 miles from Manassas Junction.  We are all doing very well.  We have fine water and plenty of it to drink and plenty to eat.  Although the fare is rather rough we are willing to submit to much greater privations and hardships to serve our Country in this great and grand cause.  I do not think we will have any fighting soon as…

Letter provided and transcribed by Tunstall descendent Maxwell Elebash of Tuscaloosa, AL.

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