Letters of Rev. John W. Alvord

City Point July 31, 1862

My Dears

You see I date to day from Rebeldom. We have come up here, under a flag of truce for our wounded — & the rebels are all around us. As we approached the wharf, about 8 miles from Harrisons Landing we were received by a similar flag of theirs — so that we are quite safe. A Telegram has been dispatched to Richmond for the train to come down & now we are waiting for them. It rains and grows duskish and probably we shall be obliged to wait until morning. There are^We have^ three steamers of us^& are^ hoping to obtain enough to fill them all. This City Point, has been shelled, & partially destroyed, by our Gun Boats looking very desolate &. the secesh glowering at us from the shore ^make^— us feel this evening a good way from home. Only nurses will be per-

[on side of page] Yours aff signed J. W. A.

-mitted to land, & these must wear white badges around their arms, so that many of us are prisoners. What a great mercy it is that our poor fellows can get off in this way. We expect them in dreadful condition, & the doctors say it will be many hours before they can be properly cleaned & their wounds dressed — but all this only enhances the boon of their deliverance. Day before yesterday M^r Eddy was brought down — will they not rejoice in Winsted? I could not see him but believe he is in good health. Morning — no prisoners came during the night & here we are very quiet though there was much firing about midnight below us, which we could not understand — probably some attack upon our working parties at Harrisons Landing.

The great black war vessels on the river, & the gloomy looking secesh ^rebel^ country around us bounds our vision,