1              Bucks County Intelligencer,  From the 104th Regiment  March 03, 1863  Page 3  Col. 2  1

 

From the 104th Regiment.—Private letters were

received in Doylestown on Saturday evening from mem-

bers of the 104th Regiment.  They brought intelligence

from the regiment up to the 17th of February—two weeks

later than our previous accounts.  The men of the 104th

were still occupying their old quarters on St. Helena

Island, and the camp of the Bucks county Militia Reg-

iment was within sight of them.  Nothing of special in-

terest had occurred during the past two weeks.  The

Militia regiment had started on an expedition, the des-

tination of which was supposed to be Fort Pulaski or St.

Augustine, Florida, but they returned to their old quar-

ters again in the course of a day or two.  The writers of

these letters speak of frequent rains which had occurred

during the past month, and some of the men were ex-

periencing bad effects from exposure to frequent moisture

and dampness.  The weather at times were quite warm,

reminding them of summer time in Pennsylvania.  From

a grove close at hand the men plucked ripe oranges, which

were a great treat to them, as well as considerable of a

novelty.  Some of the oranges were a little sour, but they

made first-rate “ lemonade, “ and were being freely used

for that purpose.  It was rumored in camp that then thou-

sand picked men were about to start on an attack upon

Charleston, but, of course, this was mere speculation. 

Active operations, however, in that quarter may be ex-

pected to take place very soon.  Rigid discipline was

being enforced throughout the entire army, and officers

as well as privates were held to a strict account.

One of our correspondents in the 104th Regiment writes :

“ The weather here is delightful.  One can hardly real-

ize the fact that the present is a winter month, it is so

warm.  It seems more like summer.  The frogs hollow all

night long, and in the morning the birds awake us with

their musical notes.  Alligators and snakes are quite as

numerous on this island as oranges.  I saw an alligator

the other day, that some of the 52d Pennsylvania boys

had killed.  Some of the drummer boys awoke the other

night and found a snake or two sleeping with them, and

a teamster about retiring found a large alligator in

front of his quarters.  Some people would think it un-

safe to sleep where such reptiles are so numerous, but

soldiers, you know, can stand anything.”