Palmer B. Holdridge Civil War Letter #9: Below Baltimore on bourd the Atlantic November 8th, 1862

 NOTE: Disclaimer and explanation of formatting included at the end of this post.

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                    Below Baltimore on bourd the
                Atlantic November 8th 1862
Dear Kate
    You have properly learned ere this that we
have bid adieu to Baltimore and to Camp Belger
I was on guard the day we left so I could not
write but Norman said he would have his folks
inform you We left on the afternoon of the 5th
We marched about five miles before we reached
the wharf remained there about an hour and
then left their and went in reach of another dock
not yet having found the right one After another
march of about three miles over this street
pavement until our feet were so sore we could
hardly walk we were sent onboard a small
steamboat to remain there over night
There we were provided with tolarably comfortable
quarters through the night The next morning
we disembarked and went abord a larger steamer
where the Atlantic lay at anchor
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We expected to go aboard the Atlantic immediately
where we should have found comfortably quarters
but for some unknown reason were not alowed to
So we were compeled to remain on the deck of
the same boat that brought us down over
through the coldest night I have seen in
Maryland
    That was the longest night I ever saw
Sleep was imposible it was so cold I got near enough
to the boiler to get my feet against it so I did
not suffer as much as some others But morning
came at last and we were sent aboard the great
Atlantic where we found more comfortable
quarters The Atlantic is one of the largest
steamers afloat Two other large vessells are to
leave with us I dont know how many the
others will carry but ours will carry 2500 soldiers
The sailors say she has carried 3000 The 116[/110]
  regiment and three compainies of ours are on
board of her now The remainder of our regiment
is on board of another steamer about two
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miles further down the bay Our company is
on the lower deck We are put in as thick as we
can lay but have a comfortable situation There
has been a great deal to do to get ready to go
but I understand we shall leave to morrow
morning We should probably have left this
morning if it had not been so stormy
yesterday It snowed yesterday for the first
time here It is warmer to day and does not
storm any Where we are going no body knows
though I think a majority of the oficers believe
we are going to Texas It is my humble opinion
however that when you next here from us it
will be when you here of our success or defeat in
Mae?ing Charleston South Carolina it may
be taken by our fleet before we get there but
if not we shall probably join in making a
conbined land and naval attack But these are
only speculations in which there may not
be any truth Wait patiently and you will
here the result in due time
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Your letter of Oct 31st is the last I have received
from you but I am in hopes of getting another
from you to night If I do not it will probably
be some time before I here from you again But
you must keep writing and direct as heretofore
and your letters will doubtless reach me in
time But I must bring this to a close or
I may not have a chance to send this before
the mail goes to the city Tell Pa to write as
soon as the draft comes off and let me
know who the unfortunates are I am sorry
to here that Ney York has elected a traitor
for her Governer
    I am going to keep a journal to send
you as often as I have a chance
    But the mail man is just ready to start
to the city with the mail
Write me often and write long letters Dont
be concerned about me for whatever may
happen it will be no worse for us than
for others
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Take good care of Freddie there dont an hour
pass but what I think of you and him
Two months must of made quite a change
in him Avery is better than when I last wrote
Snyder has got well Two men on board have got
the diptheria in consequence of sleeping on the
deck of the before mentioned steamer

        yours truly
        P. B. Holdridge

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Explanation of formatting:
Effort is made to keep much of the spelling, line breaks, and page breaks preserved as shown in the original letter book on file with the William L. Clements Library. Some names of third parties and other select data sets are considered, with footnotes added. A question mark (?) will often indicate a word or letter that was not clear. It may be used to replace the word or letter. Other times it may show on the end of a word, if the transcriber was unclear about that specific word, but chose to transcribe it.

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