Article from The Letters of the Civil War (Copyright Tom Hayes 1998) which has unfortunately disappeared.. (Paragraphs about the 15th in bold print.) From the Boston Herald, January 5, 1863, Pg. 1, Col. 7.

DECEMBER 29, 1862.

TENTH MASSACHUSETTS. FIFTEENTH MASSACHUSETTS. NINETEENTH MASSACHUSETTS. FIFTY-THIRD PENNSYLVANIA.

Falmouth, Dec. 29.

THE MASSACHUSETTS TENTH. The Mass. Tenth had a nice dress parade Sunday afternoon, under the declining rays of a December sun. The men look well physically, understand the rudiments which are taught by military instruction, and wear good uniforms and better shoes than the average worn by soldiers in the Potomac army.

SLIGHT LOSS IN BATTLE. The only loss of the 10th in the Fredericksburg battle was John Hazlett, Co. B, slightly wounded.

RECENT DEATHS. The recent deaths in the 10th are Dennis Boswell, Co. H, congestion of the lungs, and Kart Kelfeur, Co. K.

ON ITS ROLLS. There are 503 enlisted men on the rolls of the 10th.

CROSSING AND RE-CROSSING. The 10th Mass. led the advance and was the second to cross the Rappahannock and the last to close up the retreat from the other side of the river.

THE RHODE ISLAND SECOND. The 2d Rhode Island regiment, in Devens' brigade, was deployed as skirmishers, and won the commendations of military men for the genus they displayed in the performance of that most responsible duty. They had before a high reputations as skirmishers, which their recent exploits did not dim. They lost only two men.

TOWARDS THE POTOMAC. Newton's division will move to a point nearer Belle Plain in a day or two, and Devens' brigade of course go with it. It is now about four miles from Falmouth. The nearer the division gets to Belle Plain the nearer it is to its base of supplies.

MORE DEAD IN N. H. FIFTH. Leiut. Nettleton, of Co. G, 5th N. H., has died in hospital here of wounds in recent battles. Private Frank Smith, of Co. A (of Hanover N. H.), has also died in camp of pneumonia. The bodies of Lieuts. Little (before reported died) and Nettleton and private Smith were all taken from here for the North by Mr. Elscoomb, N. H. State Agent.

CAPT. CROSS IN COURT MARTIAL. Capt. Cross, of the 5th N. H., has been designated as an officer on court martial.

CLOSED UP. The division hospital, of which Dr. L. M. Knight is Medical Director, has been closed up and all the patients sent to Washington.

NEW MEDICAL ORDERS. An order has been issued requiring returns to be made of all the sick soldiers in camp, with a view of sending such of them as will not speedily recover here to General Hospital. Perhaps these movements denote a movement of the army in some direction.

DEATH IN CAMP OF 15TH MASS. Private Sylvanus H. Doane, (of Dana, Mass.,) of Co. B, 15th regiment, was buried yesterday in camp. The funeral escort was Co. A, and the mourners were Co. B. The officers of the regiment attended the funeral. Rev. Edwin B. Palmer (of Brunswick), Chaplain of the 19th Maine, conducted the funeral exercises. There was the music of the fife and drum, and the firing of three vollies of musketry over the grave of the dead hero. This is the first death of the 15th since the 15th left Bolivar. Wm. Ferris, orderly sergeant, Co. H, wounded at Fredericksburg and missing, has been reported in hospital at Philadelphia. Wm. Cushman, Co. B, is also there.

TO SUPPLY THIS ARMY. To supply the army of the Potomac requires the daily transportation by 25 trains of 16 cars each. This cannot be done by a single track, and a portion of the supplies come to Belle Plain, from thence they are transported by teams.

DEATH IN 19TH MASS. Private Charles G. Smith, Co. K, 19th Mass., died at hospital 18th inst. of wounds at Fredericksburg.

CHAPLAIN DISCHARGED. Chaplain E. G. Winslow, lately of the 19th Mass., has been discharged for disability.

CAPT. H. O. O. WEYMOUTH. Capt. Weymouth, in command of the 19th at Fredericksburg, and badly wounded, has left for home.

CAMP GOSSIP. It is the camp gossip that Couch's corps, which is diminished in numbers, and suffered more severely in the Fredericksburg battles than any other corps in the army is to be relived by Heintzleman's corps, and sent to a point near Washington; that the whole army is to leave this vicinity, except a small force to be left as rear guard; that the rear guard will suddenly disappear, and that the whole army will turn up "all of a sudden" in some undiscovered country.

CONDUCT OF THE WAR. It is stated that the Committee on the Conduct of the War were supplied with a liberal stock of liquors to bring up here, but that Senator Wilson contrived to have the ardent converted into hospital stores and distributed for the benefit of the wounded. The committee swallowed the loss, but not the liquor.

COME AND GONE. Col. Wetherell of the staff of Gov. Andrew, and Mr. Tufts, State Agent for Mass., have been here among the Massachusetts well and wounded soldiers and returned.

CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS. The 53d Pennsylvania regiment, or its officers, dined on roast turkey, the 57th New York had turkey also, the medical men of the 5th N. H. had fricasseed chicken, roast beef, green corn, potatoes and other vegetables, and nearly all the troops had something extra for a Christmas dinner, and the boys had a general good time.
(Boston Herald, January 5, 1863, Pg. 1, Col. 7.)

Thanks to the work of Tom Hayes, wartime articles in Massachusetts newspapers have been compiled and are being typed and posted on the web at: Letters of the Civil War Copyright Tom Hayes 1998.