A Letter From Dixie

The following text is a transcribed letter written by Sgt. Maj. Dixie to (discharged) Col. Samuel Ardwick, former commanding officer of the 12th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. The physical letter is currently on display at the South Carolina Museum of Warfare in this wooden soldier's exhibit.

Somewhere in Virginia,
December 25th, 1864

Dear Sam,

I saw [Gen.] Anon [Ardwick] writing you a letter in his tent, and Ive decided to do so as well. Im curious which one you will recieve first.

I hope you are having a merry christmas back home in [South] carolina, and that the bastard [Gen. William T.] sherman has let you be! We on the other hand have received all our gifts slightly ahead of schedule. Two nights ago, we executed a successful ambush of a yankee camp that sent them running back to washington. They had no time to take down their tents nor put out their fires! For the past few nights, the boys have been dining like kings: somewhat fresh bacon, dozens of hardtack crackers, saltpork, fruit of varying quality, and even some sugar for their coffee! Certainley an improvement from what theyve been eating: nothing!

Where the hell is billy yank getting all this food? Weve not ______ much in the countryside, yet his dropped haversacks are full of it. He must be getting to the farms and plantations before us, because every one we pass is deserted and the people inside are as starved as us. We scavenge mostly ammunition and a little food from the dead yankees, but its something, and on occasion we find a healthy live cow for the boys to eat.

I dont know if Anon told you in his letter, but were on our own out here. For some odd reason at petersburg two months ago, [Gen. A.P.] Hill detatched our brigade from his command and sent us out to rage "gorilla warfare" on the yanks. At first I thought it would be a fun break from the trenches, but then I realised how bare this state was in terms of resources, which I just wrote about. Anon is our brigade commander and he is often under a lot of stress, but the boys (and especially myself) all love and look up to him. He is the Lee of our little army.

Unless God hands the south a miracle or two, I dont believe we will win this war, but that wont stop us from doing as much damage to billy before we go. Ive never been prou[der] to call myself a rebel.

I dont think itll happen since weve come this far, but if something happens to me OR Anon, I want you to hold onto this letter. If were both fine after this war ends, save it anyway! In the past two years, I hope youve adjusted well to missing one leg. Give my and Anons love to the family. I only met them once but I hope to see you and them again.

Sincerely yours,
Dixie - sergeant major, company A, 17th South Carolina infantry, Ardwick's brigade, but formerly McCroskey's division, AP Hill's corps (I miss you Jackson), army of northern Virginia

PS: Im running out of space on this paper but I want to wrap this letter up propperly. Were planning something big, or at least bigger than forageing and fighting like [wild?] animals. After new years, well be marching east to the Virginia coast to actually try and recapture a yankee owned town all by ourselves. We dont have but 600 men, but well do it anyway. We dont know the exact federal strength, but well do it anyway. It may be suicide, but well do it anyway.

I love you Ardwick boys.