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Col. Geo. C. Wynkoop, Commanding.
LETTERS FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS.From the 7th Cavalry Regiment, P. V., Col. Geo. C. Wynkoop, Commanding. ON BOARD THE STEAMER DENMARK.} Dec. 23d, 1861.--Evening. } LIEUT. WALLACE: The Seventh Pa. Cavalry, under command of Col. Wynkoop, is on its way to the seat of war, and with it Schuylkill County will have over two hundred more of her sons in the field, ready for action. The Regiment left Harrisburg on the evening of the 11th, and reached Pittsburg on the next evening, where it immediately took the boats--in all, seven. Friday and Saturday were consumed in loading the horses and baggage, so that we did not start down the waters of the Ohio until 5 P. M., of Saturday. The distance from Pittsburg to Louisville, our place of destination, by the river, is seven hundred and forty miles. I expect to be able to mail you this letter at Cincinnati to-morrow, as the captain of the boat informs me that he expects to reach there some time in the afternoon. It is distant five hundred miles from Pittsburg. The men of our Regiment are all well, except eight, who were left at the hospital at Harrisburg, and these, the Doctor thinks, will be able to join us within two weeks. We have two Companies in the Regiment from Schuylkill County, besides a number of men scattered through the other companies. As soon as the Regiment is together in camp, I will furnish a list of all the men in the Regiment from Schuylkill County. It was expected that it would require at least five days at Pittsburg to get loaded and ready to start for Louisville, but through the efforts of Col. Wynkoop and his officers, it was all done in two days, for which they received the highest praise from the U.S. Officers at Pittsburg, and for the regularity and good conduct of his men, that of the citizens of Pittsburg. How few people living in Pottsville think that in 24 hours one may reach Pittsburg, and thence by river--the most pleasant of all travel--float clear to New Orleans, a distance of over two thousand miles, without change of conveyance, or any particular restraint to the ordinary luxuries of life. Mr. James B. Richards, formerly of Pottsville, now of Pittsburg, is on board with us. He has made many inquiries about his old friends in Pottsville, and they, no doubt, will be pleased to hear that he is in good health, and looks well. He has taken the trip down the river for the purpose of being once more with some of his old friends. The Regiment took it's departure from the State as well equipped as any of its predecessors. It is in want of nothing, either in clothing or arms. It is provided also, with the Sibley tents and stoves. The Colonel stands in high favor with both the State and War Department, and anything that his Regiment requires, if it is possible to be had, he can get. It should also be remembered by the people of Schuylkill that in a council of war held by the much censured Gen. Patterson, Gen. Wynkoop, with only one or two other officers, voted in favor of a move on Winchester. Lt.-Col. Sipes has not been able to join the Regiment, he remaining sick at Philadelphia. The Chaplain of our Regiment, Rev. Mr. Drake, of Tioga, is very efficient and popular with the men--he is always willing to assist, whenever he may be of any service. The same may be said of the Surgeon, A. M. Speer, of Pittsburg, and his assistant, Dr. Shirk, of Lebanon.--In short, the Regiment is well organized and equipped and if it does not do its share in quelling the rebellion, it won't be because Col. Wynkoop does not desire to sustain the reputation he bears, where he is known among officers, of being decidedly a fighting man, but because there will be no opportunity afforded him. Major John E. Wynkoop, who gained much valuable experience in the management of cavalry, while serving in the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry, is acting as Lieutenant-Colonel, in the absence of Lieut.-Col. Sipes. When we left Pittsburg the river was low, but from the rain which fell on Sunday, it is now considerably swollen, thereby enabling the boat to run much faster. We are all very anxious to see a newspaper, as we have seen none of later date than last Friday, and I fear we will not be able to get any before next Friday. This is Tuesday, and Cincinnati nearly in sight, as I close.
Source: Unknown, "Letters From Our Volunteers, From the 7th Cavalry Regiment, P. V., Col. Geo. C. Wynkoop, Commanding," The Miners' Journal and Pottsville General Advertiser, Pottsville, Pa., Saturday, 4 January 1862, page 3, col. 3.
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