The Scott Guards (Company A, Second Regiment) In The First Battle At Bull Run.
Extract from a Private Letter.
Bull Run, July 20.
You see now that I am on the battle field. We left Camp Winfield Scott last Tuesday at 3 o’clock P.M., and arrived at Vienna at 9 P.M. We remained there over night, and in the morning I saw the place where the rebels had their masked battery and fired upon the Ohio troops. We left Wednesday morning at 7 o’clock, and marched towards Fairfax Court House. When we came within sight of the place and saw the rebels leave there. We then took the road towards Germantown, where we arrived at 2 0’clock P.M. The rebels had left there, thought their camp fires were burning, and we found a good many articles which they had left behind. They were only a mile ahead of us. We took up our march again and drove the rebels right before us until we arrived at Centreville. We staid there a short time, and marched again towards the place where we are now, two miles from Centreville.
Here the rebels made a stand in a hollow by a road and small river which they call Bull Run. We were drawn up in line of battle, the Massachusetts First, then the New York, then our regiment, and the Third Michigan last. Our artillery commenced a fire at them from the hill where they were situated, and firing commencing at 2 o’clock. After we had fired for about half an hour our skirmishers, of which we furnished twenty privates, two Corporals, and one Sargeant, under command of Lieutenant J. V. Ruehle, went in the woods to see where the rebels were stationed. Our force went down hill till all at once they stood before the enemy within twenty rods, they commenced firing and the enemy fired by plattoons, but this did not stop our man from going ahead; they kept up their firing and came within four rods of the enemy, where they all at once discovered a masked battery with at least ten guns. The rebels then commenced to fire with the cannon at us. We were in the fire from 2 1/2 o’clock till 5, when the balls whistled around us in every direction. Musket balls whistled around us in every direction. Musket balls we could not dodge, but the cannon balls we could.
Wallen Weber of our Company is severely, and Marx is but slightly wounded. They are both privates – these two men are the only ones injured in our company. Wallen Weber will not be fit for duty after he gets well, for he received a shot in the side; but Marx will be able to do duty again in a few days.
We could not take the battery. We have got some 12, 16 and 32 pounders, which did good service. Two slaves that escaped, say that we killed from 200 to 300 rebels. Our brigade lost fifteen killed and twenty-five wounded. Colonel Richardson said the he never saw such heavy firing before. We have to sleep on the ground without tents; all we have is our blankets. There is now a large number of troops here, and we expect to attack the enemy to-day or to-morrow.
Gustav Kast
Lieutenant Company A, Second Regiment Michigan.
Detroit Free Press, 7/25/1861
Clipping image not available due to copyright.
Contributed by John J. Hennessy
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
Recent Comments