FROM THE PAGES OF THE BROOME REPUBLICAN,
Wm. Stuart, Owner
Wed. Nov. 12, 1862:

Camp Pleasant Valley
1 Brigade, 3 Division, 89 Reg., Co. K,
Oct. 12, 1862

 Dear Uncle Peter- I thought I would write you a few lines concerning our late battle of Middletown Heights and Sharpsburg. As we marched out of Frederick we could see our battery playing on the rebels off on the other side of the mountains, driving them by inches over the long range of mountains. We moved on in quick time in the direction of our artillery; Presently we came to the foot of the mountains: we marched up slowly while our cannon were sending shells into the woods ahead of us. As we reached the brow of the mountain we formed in line of battle. The left of our regiment, companies K, E, V, and B, had not got quite in line, when whiz came the musket balls. The order was given to drop; then came a shower of balls like hailstones, and a yell from the enemy gave us confidence that they were charging our batteries, not knowing our brigade was there to support it. But, quicker than lightning, our regiment was up and poured a murderous volley amongst them. Then our 6-gun battery opened a deadly fire on them with shot and shell, when they turned and ran down the hill, and retreated to the valley. Oh, how our artillery did play on them- it was horrid. There it was that Chris Knight was shot through the heart. He never breathed after the shot hit him. And Job Knapp was wounded in the leg and Simpson from Unadilla. If we had not dropped as we did, nearly every man in the regiment would have been shot. Our company was riddled. The firing continued all night. The 33^rd Ohio charged on the enemy over a stone wall, where the rebels lay in masses four deep; but the Ohio boys did not know it. Uncle, there was fighting in those Ohio boys! They bayoneted two at once, and clubbed their guns and fought two to one. … On the other side of the mountain the rebels lay thick as could be. We had to march right over them. In some places their dead lay two deep. Oh, I shall never forget the sight. Many dead and wounded rebels did we musicians carry to the rear. You must know that the rebels had just as good care taken of them as our own men. Wednesday we catched up with the rebels; McClellan headed them from crossing the Potomac; they had to fight. Here was where the great battle of Sharpsburg was fought. After our brigade got shelled out of the cornfield, our company was pushing ahead as skirmishers. They crossed Antietam Creek. McClellan was giving the rebels Hail Columbia on the right and old Burnsides on the left. After we crossed the creek the enemy got range of us, somehow, and the way the shells flew and burst among us was all sorts. We lay down under the hill till the order came to charge on their batteries. Every man rose, fixed his bayonet, and up the hill we went with a yell. They retreated with their batteries, fighting like devils; we did not take their batteries, but drove them through Sharpsburg. Our flag sergeants were all shot down- two out of our company, sergeant Eaglesfield and corporal Miller both shot with the flag in their hands. Both our State flags and National colors are all full of shot-holes; but they look just as pretty to us as they did when, at Washington, Daniel S. Dickinson presented them to us. The battle was a hard one. Many of our Broome county boys lay dead on the bloody field. Charles Benn fought bravely. Uncle, it seems awful to you at home to go into battle- it is not so with us. We get so excited that we do not think of the danger we are in. The rebels got out of cannon balls, so they fired rail-road iron at us. They made the darndest noise- some of them came so close that they almost brought me to the ground. The fight lasted two days. It was four days before we got our dead buried. The rebel dead lay in winrows across the field. We used them for fortifications to hide behind: what do you think of that! The rebels tried to flank us, but did not succeed; though they had a cross-fire on us and killed many of our men.

    Well, I am out of it, and tough and sound as an ox. I can only thank God for the preservation of my life. I have seen some of the boys- L. M. Corbett for one. They complain some at having to live on salt horse meat. We have got used to it. I have been at Middletown battle, Camden battle, got shot out of cornfield battle, and battle of Sharpsburg, and aint dead yet. My love to all.

From the Drummer Boy,
Chas. A. Bogardus