William F. Chambers,
Private. Served in Companies K and E. Drafted November 1, 1864; transferred to
Co. E on September 1, 1865; discharged at Richmond on November 2, 1865.
He was born in Licking Co. 9-20-36 and died 11-26-1917 in
Nokomis IL.
John Chambers, great
grandson of William, has
copies of two letters he wrote
home. "The first he tells of seeing President Lincoln review the troops of
the Army of the James, Feb. 1st. 1865. He wrote;
"I was one of the soldiers in line and helped in the
cheering as the President passed. He had been sick and looked very pale,
but he had a smile for all. He rode a very ordinary looking bay horse, Had
his stove pipe hat in his right hand, and ahead of him was his family in a
covered spring wagon."
The other one he entitled "Movements of my Bragade"
"We was in camp
in front of Richmond Va. behind a line of brest works 48 mi. long in the
winter of 64 and 65. Till the last of March. We went from there to Hatchers
runn. done picket duty there 9 of 10 days. We left there on Sat. night the
first day of April and marched 4 mi. to the left after night, to break the
Confederate line, but the lines was broken to the right of us, on a Hill by
another regiment and right in front of the fort, which was a little up hill,
and the Johnnies had a fort on each side of this, that we did not know of,
and They fired on us from all three forts. This Fort is called the Key to
Petersburg and Richmond.
I was wounded by a piece of shell that hit me below the
shoulder blade and a ball tore a piece out of the left side of my cap. We
staid here till Sunday morning. then was ordered to Ft. Gregg. before
daylight, we got there and that afternoon at 2 P.M. Charged on the fort,
Apr.2, the charge lasted 1 hr, 15 min, and WE took the Fort. There was 600
in my Reg, and 154 killed and wounded and 1100 men in Pennsyl,-Reg, they
lost 30 men. The Bragade was composed of the 67 Ohio, 62 Ohio, 39 Illinois
and the 199 Penn. The 199 Penn. was on our right, and the 62 Ohio and 39
Ill. was on our left We (67) being in the center three days after this
charge Richmond was taken."
