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2nd Vermont Infantry
CorrespondenceA Hyde Park Boy
Lamoille Newsdealer, 5/16/1862
From a letter written by a Hyde Park boy, at Yorktown, on the 28th ult., we take the following.
I see Col. Hyde almost every day. He looks well. I saw Leo yesterday at a distance, also, Reed, Earle, William and Philo Crowell, Vaness Lilley, Capt. Benton, Sam Sumner and Henry Benton; they were all feeling well except Philo, who had caught cold and felt a little dumpish. My own health never was better. You say that I am never sick, or else I don't write about; you can judge for yourself when I tell you that during the eleven months I have been in the service, I have not had occasion to get excused from duty more than ten days.
You need never wonder what I have for supper, at so long as things remain as they have been since the commencement of the spring campaign, you may be sure that every night I will have three or four hard crackers and a pint of coffee. Breakfast the same, with the addition of a piece of boiled meat, dinner, beans twice a week, and rice now and then, the rest of the time we have to fall back on crackers and meat. Some have the impudence to call this bad living, but I guess they will find it not as bad as it might be. One thing is certain, the longer they are kept on it the less they say about it. There is some sickness in our regiment since we came here, and one died of pneumonia a few days ago. He belonged to our company and was enlisted by Lieut. Henry last September. He was a brave and faithful soldier, ever ready to do his duty without a grumble; and one week before he died he was assisting us to watch the rebels. His name was S. Leek, belonged to Waterbury, and was about 28 years of age.
We buried him with the two boys of our regiment who were shot. Their ashes lie in a spot made sacred by the dust of some of the patriots who fell in trying to establish the liberty that we so endeavor to preserve.Webmaster's Note: the deceased soldier was Sayles Locke, Co. D, 2nd Vt. Inf., Three members of this company hailed from Hyde Park: Francis Finnegan, George Perry and Terrence Roddy.
Submitted by Deanna French