Andrew Buck Letter 1865

              Camp Russell Va Jan 4th 1864 [sic 1865]

Brother Amphictyons

								You have heard of raids a thousand times, but the details of the one of which I shall now speak may be of some interest. Dec 19, 1864 [sic?] Gen. Torbertt with two divisions of cavalry started from Winchester for Gordonsville via Chester Gap and Madison C.A. and after eleven days of weary painful marching returned to camp with �Gordonsville� not ours. We went in light marching order taking no shelter tents to cover us from the storms. Our first night in Chester Gap was a bitter one. Camping on a hill where the piercing wintry winds swept unobstructed there we lay shivering in every limb and wishing with the coming of every fresh blast for the morning light to dawn. It was such a night as finds the stoves warming Michigan kitchens at a smoldering heat and that with no discomfort to the inmates.