Letter From Wilmington 18 October 1863-- Part 1

From the Oct. 18, 2013, Civil War Day By Day, UNC Library.

Continuing with another letter written by Lt. Benjamin Lewis Blackford describing the state of affairs at Wilmington, North Carolina, his current posting.

"My dear Father

"I have had the pleasure to receive in the last two days a long and interesting letters from you and another. Though a bad correspondent, I was always fond enough of receiving letters, but they were never so welcome as now, when I feel myself more cut off from home than ever before.

"I have but little more to tell you of events down here since I last wrote. My last was written just as I was starting a trip down the river (Cape Fear River) in company with the Chief Engineer & several staff officers.

"My immediate object was to establish part of my Corps on 'Bald Head' or Smith's Island one point which forms Cape Fear and having done this I spent two or three days examining the various defences of the Cape Fear River.

"These consist of Forts Fisher, Caswell, Campbell, Pender, St. Philip, and a number of outlying and flanking smaller batteries, besides a number of batteries up near the two whose names i cannot recall."

More to Come. --Old B-R'er