B. F. Burke to his Brother - December 31, 1861

Camp 12 miles from
Bowing Green, Ky.
Dec. 31st, 1861.

Dear Brother:

This favors me with an opportunity of answering your last two favors, the last of which I received on Christmas day & the other I received some time since but did not have time to answer it then as I had to start right away out on a scout & did not return near as soon as we expected. We left our camp ten miles north (of) Bowling Green about the eight of Dec. with preparations to be gone only seven days but we did not return until the 23rd day. We went about 30 miles beyond Bowling Green and finding that there was pretty plenty of Yankees just across the river (Green River) from where we was we struck camp and thought we would devil them some before we left them. Our force that we had along consisted of about 250 of our Texas cavalry & about a thousand or 13 hundred Arkansas infantry under Gen. Hinemon, and some few pieces of artillery. After scouting around for two or three days we pitched of tents in about 8 miles of their camp, which was about 4000 strong, which was afterward reinforced to a much larger amount. We were out most every day spying around and venturing closer every time. We had our pickets stationed close enough to hear their drum & music playing all the time.

At last on the 15 of Dec which was Sunday we ventured up too (sic) within a mile of their camps, our advance guard being a short distance ahead of us they came up with 5 or 6 of the federal pickets stationed at a bridge across the R.R. which was about three quarters of a mile from their own camps. Our advance guard numbered some 8 or 10. So they succeeded very handily in capturing three Dutchmen (picketts) wounding two and taking the third prisoner. The other escaped by flight. I was near enough to hear the firing of the guns but did not get there until they were bringing the two wounded up to Col. Terry. One of them had his arm broke pretty badly and the other had his leg broke. This little round with the Dutch Yankees enlivened the boys up so that Col. Terry and Gen. Hinemon concluded to go up and give them a brush anyhow provided they were on this side of Green River. So two day's rations were cooked and on the following Tuesday two days after our little skirmish we had orders to move on up to Green River. So all of our force was mustered except a few to guard camp which numbered something over 200 besides Hinemon legion of about 1000 infantry & four pieces of canon. We marched on in that style, our cavalry considerable in the advance up to meet I don't know how many thousand of Old Abe's pet lambs (the red mouth Dutch). After marching about 8 miles we arrived near unto where we had had the little skirmish before. We then came to a halt and waited until the infantry came up. After they came up they were all commanded to rest for a few minutes . . . . .

(Remainder of this letter missing. Editor)

Heard, Jessie Burke, ed. Terry Ranger Writes Home: Letters of Pvt. Benjamin F. Burke Written While in Terry's Texas Rangers 1861-1864. No Place, No Publisher, 1965. (Available in the University of Houston Library.)