November 24, 1861

Dear Parents, i write these few lines to yous hoping to find yous all in the Enjoyment of good health as this leaves me at present. Thanks and praise be to God for all his Blessings to me. Dear Father you must excuse me for not writing sooner. We are continually marching. We have got no Seteld Place for the winter as yet. Dear parents our regiment has good fortune for so far, thanks be to God, we only lost two Men but Some of our regiments was cut up prety bad. Dear Father on the 21 of October we left a place called Daniestown in Maryland fer to go cross the river into Virginia. We got down to river at 3 clock in the Morning. It rained the whole day. We pitched out tents in the Evening and we got Supper and 8 clock our Company and 2 more had to go on picked that night. We had a hard night of it geting ready to cross the river over to our enemy. Our Artilery was placed on the enemy's camps and fired 6 shots into them so they had to fly. We remained there until 2 o'clock the next day but the day before we got there 3 of our regiments went across the river and suffered sore. One of our Captains went over with a flag of truce to see about the dead and wounded and he said it was the poorest sight he ever seen. They took one Colenel and 3 Captains over with them. I seen them myself. The Colenel was shot in 4 places. So they buried they rest on the other side. Dear Father if God spares me life and health to go to old Ireland I will be able to tell yous something about war. I am not able to tell you about all the dangerous we went trough but with the help of the Blessed Virgin I will brave dangerous. Dear Mother I will never never forget you for Sending me this Blessed Agnue Dei and the little prayer belong to it. Dear Mother i don't feel the same person since I got it. I do feel very big in spirits ever since. Dear Parents we have no Catholic preist in our regiment. I never seen a Mas Celebrated since I enlisted. I was very sorry I did not list in the Irish Brigade. The have preists with them. I conclude in sending my love to all my old Comrads, to Anee Howard and family, to James Owen family and not forgetting my old Comrade Michael Owens. I had letter from Thomas Flood from Easton. He sent me a letter belong to Richard Russel and I was very glad to hear from you. Dear Mother let me know how she is getting along. I do feel very uneasy about her.

September 23, 1862

Dear parents I take up my pen once more to write to yous with Thanks to God and to the Blessed Virgin for restoring me my life to write to you once more hoping to find Father Mother Sisters and Brothers in the enjoyment of good health as this leaves me at present. Thanks be to God for all his blessings to me. Dear Father we had another awful battle on Wednesday the 17th of September. It was the desperates battle that was fought since the war began. There was over one hundred thousand men engaged on each side. The Enemy fought us very hard but we gave them an awful cutting up. The lost upwards of 20 thousand men killed and wounded. It twas the awfulest sight I ever witnessed. Dear Father my tongue cannot express the slaughter I seen. The enemy's dead lay on the field like windrows of hay in a meadow. We lost a great deal of men two but nothing to theirs. The battle comenced at 4 o'clock in the Morning and lasted until 4 in the Evening and never stopt an instant. The Rebels does have their Canteens full of whiskey mixed with gunpowder and it takes their senses from them. They charged different times on our batterys but our men mowed them down like chaff blowing before the wind. Their Artilery did not hurt us much. Their infantry fought us like Tigers. They fired two so they wounded a power of our men. Every shot of ours told a tale. We had our Artilery in a fine position. They would make lanes in their ranks six perches long. You would see them lying from 30 to 40 in heaps dead. We charged on them and took 15 pieces of Artilery in the one charge and then fired in to them with their own guns and slaughtered them. They fell left and right. Our boys is estimated to 9 thousand killed and wounded. Dear Father I hope I may never see such a sight again. We had accounts from prisoners we took next day that their regiment went in to the battle with 800 hundred men and came out with only 2 hundred. So you may expect their loss was awful. General Jackson was greatly mistaken in coming to Maryland. He thought he would have the play all to himself but he got greatly mistaken. I now conclude in sending my love to Father Mother Sisters and Brothers and all my Friends and Neighbours and all acquaintence and to all my old comrades. I do very often think upon the good times i used to have in poor old Skerries but with the Assistance of God I do expect to see poor old Skerries once more. You must excuse me for not writing a longer letter. I could not. No more paper at the present. No more at present from your affectionate Son, Richard Seavers

(No Date)

Dear Father I received your welcome letter of the 22 of September and i made no delay in answering it. I wrote on the day after I received your letter for I know the trouble yous do be in hearing from me. Dear Father you spoke of writing a few lines in private to you. I ought to know that myself dear Father. You say i put two much dependance in Thomas Flood but I would have to put dependance in some one and i choosed him for the best one. I had a letter from him the day i received yours. He felt very uneasy about me, not hearing from me for some time. Dear Father i would send all the money i had home to you but i have no chance out in this Country. But i think that Flood is an honest fellow. You say that yous sent him a letter and that you got no asnwer from him. But I think the reason of that is Francis Wilson left North Easton and went to Philedelphia to work and i think that is the reason he did not answer your letter. I think it will be all write between me and him but i wish you had it as there is no trusting anybody as you say yourself. Dear Mother you wish of me to send my likeness home to you. The first chance i get i will do it. I do very often be thinking of doing it dear Mother. I do think upon you very often when i do read those little prayers. They do make me cry when i think of home. it makes me feel bad. This is a poor life for a man to live. It is a sinful life but praises be to God and to the Blessed Virgin i do not associate with any of the soilders. I have a comarde boy of the name of Michael Kenedy. He is a very nice fellow. The Cork boy was taken prisoner 6 weeks ago. Dear Mother, i hope that my Sister Elizabeth is getting along better than when i was to home. I do be very uneasy about her. Dear Parents i have got no more to sat at present. Give my love to Anne Howard and family. And to my aunt Bridget and family and to all my friends and Neighbours. No more at present from your dearest and affecionate Son, Richard Seaver. the Blessed of God be with us all. Dear Father Let me know do you have to pay for my letters. I do pay for them myself here. I cannot get post stamps to send on them.

March 23, 1863

Dear Parents I take up my pen once more to write these few lines hoping they will find Father Mother Siters and Brothers in good health as this leaves me at present. Thanks be to the great God and to the Blessed Virgin for their goodness to me. Dear Father you must excuse me for not writing before now. I took sick 2 months ago. I was sent to Hospital to Harpers Fery in Virginia. We stopt their for two weeks. There was a big battle expecting every day so they then took us from their and brought us to Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania. So I was in the Hospital their for 6 weeks. I was prety sick their for awhile. We had the best of care and attendents. I never saw so kind a people in my life. The ladies belong to the city would come to see us every day. We wanted for nothing. Their was one lady the name of Mis Johnson. She was my best friend. She cared me like a Mother. She would bring me all kind of nourishment to eat and drink. I had a first rate Doctor attending me. His name is King. He was making out my discharge. He told me that I would have it in two weeks. Then came an order from Washington for to break up all the Hospitals in the city. I would have my discharge now only for that. So they then took us out to a place called Chesnut Hill. It is about 9 miles from the City. It is a splendid place. They built a new Hospital here, the largest one in the world. It will hold over six thousand men. It is the greatest building I ever seen. Their is ten acres of land under the buildings. I am getting along first rate now. Ther was 6 men in my ward examened for their discharge a few days ago. I was one of the six myself. So i don't know how it will turn out. I may have to stop here for some time. Yet I will do a good deal before I go back to the regiment any more. I done and seen enough of war for my life. Their is no sighn of this war coming to an end at all. They expect this Spring and Summer for awful fighting to be done. We do expect to hear of drafting every day but we think the people wont stand it. If they draft any more they will have a rebellion in the Northern States. Among their selves the people will turn out against it. We do expect to hear of a big battle now every day. I will send you home the paper as soon as it comes of. There is no much news in the papers now. There is no use in sending a paper until after a fight. I spent St. Patrick's Day in the city. We do get passes every 4 days for 12 hours to go out. It is very nice place here. I drowned my shamrock and had a pleasant day. It made me think of home but a man could take more pleasure out of a half Crown to home than you could here out of 10 dollars. Their is nothing in this country but one man looking to get the better of another. It takes a fellow to be wide awake here all the time. But thanks be to God I have good fortune. Michael Owens and Richard Russel done a wise thing to go home. If stopt in this Country they would foolish. But with the help of God I will have the pleasure of telling you a good yarn.