I must bring my letter to a close by saying put your trust in God and don’t trouble yourself anymore. I have cast away all trouble and only pray to God that we may soon meet again and I have the hopes that we will meet again. Nothing more at present, only yours until death. -George Hiram Beckel

Heartbreaking three page letter written by Pvt. George Hiram Beckel of the 33rd North Carolina Infantry to his wife and daughter on September 30th, 1862, less than two weeks after the Battle of Antietam. Beckel relates the story of his friend, Capt. Francis Parmanius ("Permany") Miller, who at the Battle of Antietam "was wounded in the forehead and was started away and another shot went in under his left shoulder which went near his heart and a bomb shell bursted and hit him on the right breast and shoulder and he then lived 4 hours yet."

Beckel's lengthy letter spans a range of topics from his health, to his being reunited with old friends, to his advice for taking care of the farm in his absence, and his prospects for coming home. Of the latter, he remains hopeful, but says he does not know when that may be. "We hear much and know nothing," he says.

Complete Transcription:

[Shephardstown, Va.]?September 30th 1862
Dear wife and [daughter] Sarah,
I this morning am blessed with the opportunity to write to you to let you know that I am well. I have had my health better the last few weeks than I have had in a long time. We have left the Camp of Instruction near Gordonsville and have gone 80 or 90 miles farther north or northeast between Winchester and Harper’s Ferry. We have a nice place to camp now and more to eat than we had when we was in the Camp of Instruction and if I don’t get sick again, I think that I will get as big and as fat as Old Mack was. Sometimes when we was moving and got some strong limestone water, it works on my bowels tolerable strong and gets me weak for a day or two. But when I get over it, I feel like as if I could all the time and I think that I will be able to get along if I don’t get sick.
We have now got to our regiment and I am glad for we are used much better than we was at Gordonsville. We have a fine captain and lieutenants. They care for their men and don’t spare them to be misused. John is the captain’s cook and gets 4 dollars a month extra and plenty to eat.
We have seen a great many of our old neighbors that left when the first volunteers left. We have seen C. Mock and H. Bruner and many more. They are now about 1 and a half miles from us.
You wrote that you heard that Permania’s company [Co. K, 21st N. C.] was all killed and taken but 4. That is a mistake. I have not heard that any of them was killed lately but they went over into Maryland and there was many lives lost. Permany was killed there. 1 Christ Mock, and Sam Shutt told me all about his death. They said he was wounded in the forehead and was started away and another shot went in under his left shoulder which went near his heart and a bomb shell bursted and hit him on the right breast and shoulder and he then lived 4 hours yet. Christian Mock told me that he hope to carry him about 6 miles to Shepherdstown, Va., and buried him decently and put a marble stone to his grave. It was his request to be brought home but there was no chance for transportation now and he was buried so that he can be moved at anytime.
I received three letters from you yesterday. There was 2 letters and 3 sheets of paper and 3 envelopes and another letter. They was dated from the 6th to the 15th of September. I have got 4 from you since I am with the regiment and am truly glad to hear that you and Sarah have had your health as well as you have had and are getting along as well as you are. You wrote that you was sometimes very much troubled. You must lay all this aside and not trouble yourself about anything. You will injure your heart snd it will not profit you nor me any thing and you know that I always told you that you must not expose yourself at work so much.
You had better do what you can and live the balance undone than to injure your health. Take as good care of your things as you can not to overdo yourself. I would rather everything would [illegible] your health. You wrote that you sold the heifer. I think it was as good as any way but if she had been fat you could have got there times as much for her. But don’t trouble yourself about it for the salt would have cost half as much as the beef would have [illegible] if you would have kept it. When you write again, I want you to write how you make out for salt and whether you have any money yet and whether you have made any arrangements to get salt. If you have your pigs yet, try and sell all but 3 and have them marked for Sarah. Always saves. Ervin will buy your pigs and will give you as much as anybody else. Try and get the price that is going.
You have wrote about clothes. My clothes are all good yet and I don’t know when I will need any. Make yourself easy about clothes. Only knit me a good pair of gloves and if ever you can get the chance to send them to me. And you wrote about tobacco. If you get the chance, send me some, but not more than 10 plugs. It is too heavy to carry for we don’t stay long at a place. And if ever you get the chance, I want Sarah to send me about a gallon of peach snits but not more than a gallon for I can’t keep much of anything and somebody else would eat them. Tell Sarah to take care of all her things and be a good girl and keep me some of her ground peas and a plenty of snits and not trouble herself about me for I think that I will get home again. Some say that we will move to North Carolina if not home but I don’t know how it is. We hear much and know nothing. But I hope that there will soon be something done that will make for our better.
Oh, tell your brothers to write to me as oft as they can and you try and write every week and I will do the same and write how you and everybody else is doing. I read all G[ideon] Miller’s letters and get much satisfaction from them. I have not paid the postage for my letters. It is not because I have no money but I can’t get the stamps and I must send them to the office the best way I can.
I must bring my letter to a close by saying put your trust in God and don’t trouble yourself anymore. I have cast away all trouble and only pray to God that we may soon meet again and I have the hopes that we will meet again. Nothing more at present, only yours until death, — G. H. Beckel
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