"....Our loss is quite heavy. I think the Revels also lost heavy, They charged us and tired to drive us back but failed..." 

Autograph letter signed by Sergeant Bruce Elmore (1835-1876), Co. C, 143rd New York Infantry, to his wife "Libbie." Peach Creek, Georgia, 21 July 1864. 4 pages, crown 8vo. With original cover with inked cancel and red three-cent stamp.

Written to his wife, Elizabeth Ann "Libbie" Hill, the day after the Battle of Peach Tree Creek, Elmore's letter contains grim details from the recent conflict, and its tone suggests some lingering concerns about a subsequent  attack. He reports significant losses on both sides after the day of "severe" fighting: "Our loss is quite heavy. I think the Revels also lost heavy, They charged us and tired to drive us back but failed. Some of their dead and wounded fell into our hands." Among the dead and wounded he enumerates are "Gilbert B. Lawrence," "Lieut. Wm. M. Ratcliff, Adjutant," and "Lieut. Waterbury of [his] Regiment," along with his brother Willard, who is in the field hospital. 

After discussing some family news and the potential sale of land, Elmore closes the letter, but adds a postscript just after midnight, noting that he "heard a little cannonading. Hard to tell whether there will be any hard fighting in any part of the line today or not. Lieut. Waterbury is not yet dead."

The New York 143rd had a distinguished service record, particularly while participating in the 20th Army Corps under General William Tecumseh Sherman. The regiment saw action in major battles and campaigns from Chattanooga to Raleigh, including the Atlanta Campaign. Perhaps consequently, the 143rd also suffered significant casualties, with heavy losses at Kennesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek.

Elmore survived the war, mustering out on July 20, 1865 in Alexandria, Virginia after attaining the rank of 1st Sergeant. While his brother, Willard, recovered and also survived the war, Gilbert Lawrence, a Private also from Fallsburg, New York, died at a field hospital six days after the battle. Similarly,  Lieutenant Waterbury, caught in the balance between life and death at the time this letter was written, also succumbed to his injuries, dying at Peach Tree Creek on July 24, 1864. 

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