Research Arsenal Spotlight 86: Alexander Lyle 2nd New Hampshire Infantry

Alexander Lyle was born in 1843 to William and Agnes Lyle of Dublin, New Hampshire. He enlisted as a private in Company G, 2nd New Hampshire Infantry on June 5, 1861. The regiment was organized at Portsmouth and then sent down to Washington, D.C., initially as part of General McDowell’s Army of Northeastern Virginia, and later as part of the Army of the Potomac.

The 2nd New Hampshire Infantry in Virginia

Alexander Lyle wrote his first letter in our collection on July 18, 1861 from Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia. By this time the regiment had been in the Washington, D.C., and Virginia area for about one month. In his letter, he mentions the large number of Union troops in the area, as well as the difficulty in getting mail home.

“There is about 40,000 men on our side. They are marching all our men down here. We took the place. The men stole all they could get. We marched out two miles and the roads are full of trees cut down. All the bridges are torn down. We are in the woods now waiting for them to build it.

We got paid off yesterday. I sent home 15 dollars by a man that was sick. We cannot get any way to send it. There is not half of the letters [that] gets home so we cannot send it in a letter. I have got 20 dollars I wish you had but I can’t send it now.”

In the same letter, Alexander Lyle also mentions the hard march from Washington, D.C. to the 2nd New Hampshire Infantry’s present location.

“We are 23 miles from Washington. There is teams going from the camp all day. We have marched it in one day. It was a hard march. We carried our guns and things—40 pounds. I stood it well. We had hard bread and water when we got to this place. We went in to the stores and got all we wanted. We shall have a fight tonight.”

A few days later, on July 21, 1861, Alexander Lyle wrote about recent fighting in the area, though he himself was not part of it.

“I don’t know where we are. We are in the woods about 40 miles from Washington. We took one battery. There was 4 thousand of us in the center and about 40 thousand around us. There was 15,000 Southern soldiers. They left any quantity of stuff here. We are about 2 miles from the battleground. There were four thousand of our soldiers got led into a masked battery. They fought most of the day. They killed one thousand and lost about 100 men. We have got them surrounded now. We are going to attack them today, we think. I asked God’s blessing this morning. If we fight and I get killed, I hope God will bless you.”

On July 25, 1861, Alexander Lyle wrote a short letter after the Battle of Bull Run.

“I am feeling first rate after the fight. It was a hard fight. The loss on the other side was great. There was seven hundred horsemen made a charge against our men and there was only 7 men that got back.

It was a hard march to go seventy miles without stopping. You thought I would not stand it but I did. There was not another man that stood it better. The most did not bring their guns—not a thing. Some of the men brought [tear in page ]. I brought my gun and everything which weighed about 40 pounds. I guess I am as good as any of them.”

Alexander Lyle in Maryland

After the First Battle of Bull Run, the 2nd New Hampshire Infantry was sent to Bladensburg, Maryland, to do duty. It was from here on August 17, 1861, that Alexander Lyle wrote to his parents and siblings, telling them not to worry about him being in battle.

“You must not be sorry that I was in the fight. I should think you would be proud of me. I was not afraid any of the time. I stooped down some of [the] time when the cannonballs went over my head. You can tell mother that she must not be afraid. I shall stay until the war is through. Tell Margaret I should like to see her and if I ever come back, I shall come next spring. If we don’t whip them before the spring, we shall never gain the victory. They have got a good many men and they are better armed than we are. It will be a hard fight. We are about 9 miles from Washington.”

On November 24, 1862, Alexander Lyle shared a recent disappointment. The 2nd New Hampshire Infantry had expected the first lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, to come to see the regiment, but she never showed up.

“There is no news out here now. We expected the President’s wife down here last night. We were on a line to receive her but she did not come.”

Alexander Lyle in 1862

The 2nd New Hampshire Infantry remained in Maryland into 1862. On January 23, 1862, Alexander Lyle wrote from Camp Beaufort, near Doncaster, Maryland.

“I am as tough as ever. We are doing nothing but eat and drink and sleep. I don’t want you to think we drink liquor—we get tea and coffee. It is not cold here. It has rained about a week and the mud is about 6 inches deep all round. This is the worst place for mud I ever seen. We are in the same camp we have been [in] since we came down here and I guess we shall stay here until the war is over and not see any more fighting unless the Rebels come over and attack us and they will not be likely to do that. If they do, we can whip forty thousand of them.”

Months later, on March 7, 1862, the 2nd New Hampshire Infantry was still at Camp Beaufort and Alexander Lyle was anxious for a change in location and an end to the fighting.

“The last letter I wrote to you I did not know when I should get the chance to write again but we have not moved yet. I hope we shall move soon and get this fighting done so that we can go to our homes. I wish I could be at home and help you this spring but I cannot so I will help you all I can with my money. You must not work hard. I should rather not save one cent than see you hurt yourself with work.”

Alexander Lyle’s last full letter was written on May 2, 1862. In it he mentions preparations for the siege of Yorktown.

“There is not much news here, only we are preparing for the siege of Yorktown. It will take place soon, I think. We are making some strong works. This company is out to work most every day. If we are not at work, we are on guard. It is pretty hard when it rains to get wet through and have no fire to dry them by but we stand it well. There is none sick in our company now.”

Tragically, Alexander Lyle died just a few days later, killed at the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. The letters in this collection were used by Alexander Lyle’s mother in her application to receive a pension, as both she and Alexander Lyle’s father were reliant on his income.

We’d like to give a special thanks to William Griffing of Spared & Shared for his work in transcribing and sharing these letters.

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