St. Simons Island
Nov. 14th, 1861
My own darling wife,
Your very dear letter reached me on yesterday, and I hasten to reply. It seems that my last letter gave you a great deal of uneasiness - and I may say useless uneasiness - but I did not think at the time I wrote that you would think of the dangers that ever surround a soldier, for being as you are soldier's wife, I thought your little heart on that point as well as on all other, beat in unison with my own - but I find by reading your dear little letter that woman's love for her husband causes her to express the desire of having her heart's idol place in a position of safety. Now darling on this point - I am going to differ with you. (I wish I could see you a few moments, I could explain things much better than I can write them) in regard to moving this regiment on the main, I have several objections; though I will not give but one. That objection is because I believe we can whip them on this very Island. We are very well fixed here for a fight, and have every advantage of them. And besides it is the great wish of all of our men that they will come, and give us a showing. I think though it is General Lawton's intent to evacuate the Island and
move us to some point on the main, but I hope it is not the case. If we are going to run away every time we hear of a superior force coming against us it will stimulate our enemies and cast a shadow of fear over the brave hearts of our own people and besides what would be said of me in after years; that I ran when I heard the enemy were coming, merely because I heard their forces were a little greater than ours, but darling I am willing to leave the matter in the hands of my superior officers, hoping that the just God who rules the destinies of nations will give them wisdom to act rightly. The valise you sent me has not yet arrived neither has Witter's box, though I expect they are in Brunswick. In regard to the paper you sent with the account of the Yankee Armada, we have all read I expect we saw it before any of you did. It is not Col. Styles' fault that we are retained on the Island for he has been doing his best to get Gen. Lawton to move us to the main but the Gen. has not seen fit to do it. We had quite an alarm here on Monday night. Just about sunset in the evening a large steamer came just off the bar and anchored. We could see with the glass that she was full of men and had thirteen barges in tow (no doubt but she was one of the Port Royal steamers). Just after sundown she weighed anchor and went towards the north end of the Island. Not long after she left one of our pickets from the north came in post haste and informed us that she was joined by three other ships and that they had all come to an anchor off Long Island. We did not think anything of that, only that they were afraid that they would get ashore if they kept on in the fog. But about one o'clock in the night Col. Styles came around and woke us all up and told us that the enemy were landing on the Island and that we must get up quietly and give each of men fifty rounds of balls, and then go back to bed and that he would take three companies and proceed to the place of landing and hold them in check till morning. So he fitted out the three companies and gave the command to young Capt. Atkinson [1], who started off for the scene of action but he had not proceeded far before he found out it was a mistake and that the vessels had gone.
You must not complain of this long letter for if I had any more paper I would write you a much longer, but my paper is out and I can't get off the Island to get any more. Goodbye darling you must write often to your darling
Nate
Give love to all.
[1] young Capt. Atkinson - from the on-line Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861-1865:probably Alexander Smith Atkinson, captain of Nate's company from Aug. 5 1861 to Oct. 22, 1822; and the son of Nate's 'old cousin' Edmund Atkinson. Alexander Atkinson was born in 1836, so he would have been 25 in 1861.