Company K

        Letters
              Carpenter
              Goddard
              Marvin
             Jane Ely
             Charles Ely

Diaries
Marvin

Newspaper

NYC & Brooklyn
Reports
Company K

1ST Minnesota & 20th Maine

Acknowledgements & Credits
Bibliography
Links

St. Patrick's Day,
March 17, 1863

Company K Roster
1861-1864

User's Guide

Alfred Carpenter's Letter on the Battle of Gettysburg (excerpt)

Sergeant A. P. Carpenter’s

LETTER ON THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (excerpt)
Written at
Warrenton Junction, Va. July 30, 1863

The field is ours. Can we not go and care for the wounded? No, another attack is suspected, and every well man must be in his place. Hospital attendant must take care of the wounded till darkness closes down about us. Then we go supperless to sleep, our bed, Mother Earth; our covering, the broad canopy of the starry decked Heavens; the unburied dead sleeping around us. Then comes the 4^th of July, the day Independence, which we celebrate in a manner different from ever before. We did not cram the good things of life for we were out of rations. A piece of bread which a Rebel prisoner gave me was very acceptable. Part of the day we spent in burying the dead, and on the morn of the 5^th we buried more, and collected the scattered arms and debris off the field.

In the night of the 4^th, our teams came up; we drew rations and had plenty to eat for we drew for three hundred and had only one hundred to eat them.

A.P. Carpenter

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Charles Goddard's Letter to his Mother, July 4, 1863

Division Hospital near Gattiesburg

Pa July 4th 1863

Dear Mother

We have engaged the enemy again but this time in a free country and our company as well as the regt has suffered much Ely and myself are bothe wounded. Ely through the side and myself through the leg and shoulder. I do not know where Ely is this morning [xxxx] very dangerous. I am not dangerously wounded, feel first rate and I would like you to give yourself no uneasiness on my account, nor do I think there is any need of Mrs Ely worrying about her son I have not seen him for I am not able to help myself on account of my leg or I would have gone to his assistance, he was fetched off the field and brought to the hospital where I was and then the hospital was moved again and I have not seen him since. Capt J. Periam is wounded badly Sargt Marvin, Corp Kiely, Durfee, Eaton Hanson Behr, Einfeldt and Sargt Carpenter slightly. I Durr badly. Killed Corp L P Gore, Private Taylor, Geisritter, Smith, Winters, Vosz, These I know of how many more I dont know.

[Top of page] Colonel, Lieut Colnel, Major and Adjutant are all wounded out of our Regt.]

Well mother good bye dont be so foolish as to come down here and worry about me for I am getting along fine dont let anybody see this letter but if they want to know if any of theire friends are wounded you can tell them. The Chaplain will make out an official report and then the people of Minn will know the true story.

C. E. Goddard

[Letter in four fragments, written in pencil]

Matthew Marvin's Bound Diary July 4, 1863

Saturday, July 4, 1863

Our men are driving the Rebs
It is a gloomy 4^th here in the
Woods among so many Wounded
With the surgeons amputating arms
& limbs This morning we were
short of Bandages & Rations
but got some near nite. Out of
24 Field & Line Officers that
went in 16 were killed or wounded

Matthew Marvin's Loose Leaf Diary, July 4, 1863

Saturday July 4^th 1863

During the nite the rebs began to fall back & at daybreak our men advanced & have kept driving them Out of 24 Field & Line Officers 16 wer killed & wounded This is a gloomy fourth for us. Bandages played out & one of the Dr went out to the farmers & asked for old sheets shirts & pillow slips They told him they had plenty to sell but none to give away whereupon he went to the beds & pulled of the sheets & slips and told them to … hell out or he would take the best he could find The killed of the company wer Randolph Wright, Leslie P. Gore Israel Durr Jacob Geisreiter, Augustus H. Smith David Taylor Peter Vosz Henry C. Winters. The Regt is now in command of Capt. Harry A. Coates who was a second Lt when we came out & is now [senior]Capt

Weather Rain

July 4^th

The Fourth of July was gloomy one to us as luxuries wer scarce and money scarcer fell in while they wer fireing the salute & fell in for dress parade We arrested 4 [recish] Who wer prawling around the camp they took the oath of alegicence & we let them go to do some more------

William Lochren's letter published in the Winona Daily Republican, July 6, 1863

Winona Daily Republican, July 6, 1863

From the First Minnesota Regiment.

Battlefield , near Gettysburg, July 4, 1863

To the Editor of the Winona Republican:

We are in the midst of a terrible battle,
and what remains of our regiment is now
for the third day in the front line. Co. "K"
went into the battle with twenty-nine men, of whom
twenty-two beside the Captain are either killed or wound-
ed. The casualties of the company thus far are:

Mortally Wounded

Capt. Jos. Periam

Killed

Lester P. Gore, Randolph Wright, Augustus Smith,
David Taylor, Henry C. Winters, Jacob Geisreiter.

Wounded
Sergt., M. Marvin, in the foot, Serg't. A. P. Carpenter ,
slightly. Corp. Charles North slightly; Corp. John Ein-
feldt, slightly; Corporal Timothy Reily, severe; private
Charles Behr ,severe, private Chester S. Durfee, severe; private
Israel Dunn, severe; private Chas Ely, severe; J.S.
Eaton; private Chas Goddard; private Wm Kinyon; pri-
James Towner, slight; private Samuel B. Tenny;
private Peter Vosz, severe; private Hanson.
Col Colville is severely wounded; Lieut-Col.
Adams, mortally; Maj Downie and Adju-
ant Peller, severely; Capts. Messick and
Muller are killed, and Capt. Farrell mortally
wounded; Lieut Farrar is killed, and Lieuts.
Sinclair, May, Boyd, Demarest, De’Gray
and Mason are, wounded.
Two thirds of the regiment are killed or
wounded. We got the better of the enemy
in the fight of yesterday, and drove them
some distance. Our regiment captured
a stand of rebel colors. Nothing but skir-
mishing has taken place yet (at 9 0'clock)
this morning. I have no time to write more.

Respectfully,

Wm. Lochren, lieut. Command'g
Co." K", 1^st Regiment. Minnesota Volunteers

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