The following letters were written by Emor Young (1823-1869) of Glocester, Providence county, Rhode Island, to his wife, Martha P. (Gleason) Young (1826-1882). Emor served as a private in Co. C, 7th Rhode Island Infantry but spent much of his time detailed as a cook and baker for the regiment. During the Battle of Petersburg, Va. in July 1864, he served in a military hospital in City Point, Va., for several weeks.

In the 1860 US Census, Emor was enumerated in Glocester and employed as a “lumberman.” In the same household were his wife Martha and their two sons, Edgar M. (age 12) and Frederick (age 8).

Mortality records indicate that Emor died at the age of 45 while employed in a cotton mill. The cause of death was attributed to typhoid fever.

[Note: Many more (100+) of Emor Young’s letters are in the private collection of my friend Rob Grandchamp which were published in a limited number under the title, “Write Soon and Give me all the News.” Copies were distributed to libraries in Rhode Island. There are also a large number of Young’s letters (76 altogether) that are housed in the Filson Historical Society Archives in Louisville, Kentucky.]

Letter 1

Lexington, Kentucky
November 7, 1863

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you all the same at home. I have received two letters from you—one October 28th, one November 1st, and two newspapers. One was the Pat and the other the Cincinnati Times. Where they come from, I cannot tell. There was no name on either of them.

I have no news to tell you for you can see the papers. In one of your letters you sent me an extract taken from a Richmond paper to prove the continuance of this war. I shall now send you a paper with the speech of Hon. E. W. Gantt of Arkansas. I want you should read it carefully. In the article you sent me you must remember it was right from the heart of rebeldom. It is nothing more than could be expected from such a source and this is from one of their own men and so you see how he feels about the war.

I must tell the boys that I have received letters—one from each of them, I was glad that Edgar has concluded to take up with my advice about drilling with the rest of them for they will tel him anything to get him fast. Then he cannot get away. Tell Fred to mind and not get hurt with his rifle and tell him to tell me how much he has caught in his snares this fall.

You want to know if Nathan or Amy has wrote to me. Neither of them has wrote yet. In your letter you wanted to know if Henry had wrote to me. He has not but I had a letter from Emily and she said that he was going to write to me soon. Perhaps I shall get one from him by the time you get this. The mail is going now. Goodbye. — Emor Young

---

Letter 2

Point Isabel, Kentucky
January 10, [1864]

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you all the same at home. You must excuse me for not writing sooner but the day after I wrote you before, we marched for this point. It has been a cold march but I cannot describe it to you. But it appears that our regiment has the times on the mountains this winter. We are upon the Cumberland. Last winter we was on the Blue Ridge. I must tell you where this place is. It is between the two branches, the North and South of the Cumberland [river]. It is now called Burnside Point. It is the route that he took for Knoxville. It is all mountains where we are now. This is the worst place we have ever been in. There is nothing for either man or beast to eat at present. The roads are so bad that they cannot get the teams over the road. The hills are almost straight up and down. It is so cold that I cannot write much this time—just enough to let you know that I am still in the land of the living.

I must tell you what I am up to at present. I am cooking for the teamsters. So you see that I get my knapsack carried instead of backing it. We are going to stay here for awhile. [Zenas] Bliss is in command of the Post here. This is all that I can write this time.

Direct your letter to Point Isabel, Kentucky Now goodbye. Yours truly, — Emor Young

---

Letter 3

Point Isabel, Kentucky
January 18, 1864

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I have just received two letters from you and one from Emily. I was glad to hear that you are all well. Yours found me the same. As I wrote yesterday, I have no news this morning.

I must tell you that there is quite an excitement in the Old 7th. They are trying to get them to reenlist. Several of them have put down their names but for my part, I shall not be in any hurry enlisting again until some of those at home have tried it as long as I have. The officers tell the men funny stories to get them to reenlist but they cannot fool me so I know them too well.

I see by Edgar’s letter that he is afraid that I shall reenlist but he need not fear. He says that he has done the best that he could to help you and is willing to still do so if I will not reenlist but if I do, he can not help me any longer. Quite an encouragement for me. Does he think that I crave this suffering and privation? Is it for me alone or is it for my children that I have suffered and still you know nothing. I have never told you one tenth part of what I have undergone, but still I do not murmur. But Edgar has come to the conclusion not to help me any longer if I reenlist. But that would not make any difference. Has the forgotten the months and years that I and you have toiled for him and what I am still although hundreds of miles from home. Tell him that I shall not reenlist but if I thought it my duty, whether he refused to help me or not, it would make no difference. Now he can do as he pleases about helping you any longer.

Tell both of the boys that they must write as often as they can. You must do the same. The officers have just been round to see how many men are willing to reenlist. I must tell you that there is about three-fourths that will go for three years but they thought that I should go in with them. But I shall have got to see some of them fellows that stay at home out here before they get me again. There is nothing more that I think of this time but I will give you the whole particulars in a few days how things progress in the regiment. Have no fears for me.

Now I must bid you goodbye for this time. Yours truly, — Emor Young

---

Letter 4

Point Isabel, Kentucky
February 27, 1864

Dear Wife,

I have received your letters and papers. Also the letter from the boys and was glad to hear that you are all well. Yours found me the same.

I must tell you what is going on out here. The 9th New Hampshire and the 1st Ohio are ordered to Cumberland Gap. The 9th have started. The 1st goes tomorrow morning beside a cavalry force but what it is form I do not know. I must tell you that I have just received three letters that was sent in December last. They have been down to the front.

You say that it is the coldest day that has been this winter and want to know how it is out here. It is like May at home. I wish you could be here and enjoy the rambles with me. Every chance that I get, I stray off over the mountains. It is very beautiful. I begin to like this place very much now. We have enough supplies, the snow is all gone, and in some places the grass begins to start.

You speak about Mr. Hall. Hill. He come into our camp in Virginia when Nell was with us. I have never seen him since. Ask the boys how they would like to live out here. Tell Fred that some of the teamers are out after wild turkeys and coons and some of them have gone up the river after fish. They have Saturday to do their washing so they wash Friday night, then have all day Saturday. Now how should you like to live out here. There is mountains and plains that extend for miles in length and breadth. Then the broad rivers between making it one of the finest places you ever saw. There is a railroad run out near our camp.

I must tell you that we are making fortifications and it will soon be one of the most important forts between Knoxville and Lexington. It has the advantage of most all the rest. It has the river and it is filled with steamboats loaded with any amount of rations. I will tell you the number of teams that going in one train. There is one hundred six-mule teams and five hundred pack mules that are going by now and how many more I do not know. They are going all the time at this moment. There is another train coming in from Knoxville. It is as long as I can see. How many more of them I cannot tell. They keep coming and it is all the time. In frint of our camp there is thousands of spare mules ready for use at any time. There is many things that I can tell you that I cannot write. You must await the particulars till I come home. Then I will tell you all.

Now goodbye. Yours truly, — Emor Young

---

Letter 5

Point Isabel, Kentucky
March 4, 1864

Dear Wife,

I have just received your letter of the 24th if February. I got the paper day before yesterday but have not got the envelopes yet. I must tell you that we have had two stormy days commencing with rain and rained about 36 hours. Then the snow fell about 4 inches deep. This caused the river to raise and they had to take up the pontoon bridges, thus causing the mail to stop. Perhaps I shall get the envelopes when they put the bridge down. I have not had but one letter in about ten days and that was the one that I got this morning. I am in hopes that I shall have one when the bridge can be crossed. As we get but few papers, I shall not attempt to tell you the war news for I think you know more about the fighting than I do.

I am still with the teams but expect soon to go to baking. Tell Ann that as soon as the snow leaves the mountain tops, I will send her some kind of wild plant. There is various kinds on the mountain.

Now you ask me why I don’t write and ask Nathan about a settlement. I have wrote to him and have never had any answer and you know me well enough to know that I shall never write again until he writes to me in my previous letters. I have told you what I thought about dismissing Manning Angell and that is if you can do so and then sell Pine Orchard, take the money and put it into the bank in your name and then let them sewat about a settlement.

You want to know who tends the saw mill. It is a citizen. They said that they wanted me to tend it but I thought they might as well pay me 60 dollars a month as that man but all that they could pay me was 13 dollars so you see that I did not know how to tend the mill. Now you say that Nathan says that he is Emor. What do you mean by that? For my part, I do not understand you. Tell the boys to write often. you must write the same that you always have. I must tell you that I am well and hope this will find you all the same at home. Now the mail going and I must draw my letter to a close by bidding you goodbye. Yours truly, — Emor Young

---

Letter 6

Camp near Petersburg [Virginia]
August 1, 1864

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you the same.

Long before this you will see what a battle there has been here. I must tell you that it was one of the most disgraceful things that ever I heard of as I told you about blowing up the reb’s fort. Well, at about 5 o’clock on Saturday morning, it went off, blowing everything sky high. How many rebs was killed by it, I do not know. Some say two thousands but we do not know the number yet. That part of the plan worked to the satisfaction of all but instead of charging at the time that the fort was blown up, they only left with a light force. They went in and was repulsed. Then this the 2nd Brigade of our Division, the the 4th Division which is the colored troops was ordered to charge. They went in and drove everything before them. They was supported by the rest of the 9th Corps and one division of the 10th Corps—in all, perhaps ten thousand.

After they had drove them to the second line of works, they made a stand and then started towards our men—the blacks still in front as the rebs advanced. The officers ordered the men to let them come for they [the Union officers] was going to give themselves up and would not let our troops fire on them and they came to where our men was, then poured a deadly fire into our men, then charged on them and got them started. They run like sheep. They tried to make out that the blacks was to blame but I say that the officers is responsible for the disaster. The blacks drove the rebs out of their works after the white troops had tried it and had been drawed back.

But I must stop on this subject and let you judge by the papers. I will tell you about our regiment. As I told you before, we are pioneers but was ordered to the front [and] had four or five wounded, none killed. We was not in the charge. The 4th Rhode Island was in the charge [and] lost 71 men and 12 officers, 83 in all. Phil Potter is among the missing, He is either killed or taken prisoner. I have just come from the battlefield. Our men sent in a flag of truce to bury the dead which has been accepted. They are both at work together burying the dead but the time has expired and the firing has begun again as usual

This is all that I can tell you about the battle now but if I live to come back, I shall have plenty to tell you. I must tell you that I received your letter of the 19th yesterday and was glad to hear that you are all well. Edgar wrote in your letter. Now it is Fred’s turn to write to me. But I want you all to write to me and I will answer them. Goodbye for this time. Yours truly, — Emor Young

---

Letter 7

Camp near Petersburg, Va.
December 15, 1864

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you all the same. I received your letter this morning—or I might say Edgar’s letter, for you both wrote in the same, but it makes no difference if I only hear from home.

I told you in my last that we were all packed up ready to move. Well we started on a march Saturday night with four days rations. I told you that it snowed the night before, then began to rain. Well, we started about six o’clock in the evening. It was rumored that the 5th Corps was cut off by the rebs and we had got to go and release them but that was not the case. The 5th and 2nd Corps made a dash on the road and we had to go to protect the flanks. Perhaps you do not know what I mean by that. Well, it is to join on to their right and left so that the rebs cannot get in behind them.

Well, as I said, we started when the rain was pouring in torrents. The mud was over shoe for more than half of the way, but rain, snow, or the mud did not stop us. We marched twenty miles and halted at about four in the morning, Then the cavalry went out and found that there was no rebs and found that the 5th and 2nd Corps were all safe and had crossed the river on their way back after tearing up the [Weldon] railroad. You will see the whole particulars in the paper long before you get this. After the troops had got over the river, we had orders to fall in and march back to our old camp again. This was pretty hard to march the same ground over again but that was the order and it had to be obeyed. As I told you, we expected to march the night before we did march so you see there was but little sleep through the camp that night, then marched all Saturday night, then Sunday night through the mud with sore and blistered feet. We commenced our long march again about three in the afternoon and the regiment got back into camp about nine that night. That is marching twenty miles in six hours through the mud. But the men was scattered for ten miles. Some of our regiment did not get back to camp till the nrext morning. They were very foot sore.

I must tell you that I have not forgotten where I was two years ago today and I hope that in a few months more I can come and tell you all that I have seen. I must tell you that this morning we was all called into line to see how many wanted shoes. The Colonel said that we had got to go on a long march and a hard one—perhaps two hundred miles—but where I do not know. I must now bid you goodbye. Yours, — Emor Young

Letter 8

Near Petersburg, Va.
December 23rd 1864

Dear Wife,

I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you all the same at home. I have just received two letters from you—one dated the 16th and the other the 19th and a sheet from Edgar. You want to know f I was with Warren on his expedition. I told you in my last that our regiment was out with the 5th Corps. There was four regiments went and five stayed to guard the lines in our brigade and of course the 7th Regiment was one that had to go. But never mind that now. We have all lived through it but it was a pretty hard march as I told you in my other letter.

Now you want to know if I am in the same place. We are, and it is a bad place. The rebs try their guns and mortars almost every fay. Tuesday afternoon they began about 5 o’clock and kept it up for about an hour and a half. In that time they threw one hundred and five shells such as we call dinner pots. They are eight-inch shells. They did not hurt anyone in our regiment but killed one man in the 48th Pennsylvania Regt. They are in the same fort with us. But I do not think the fun was all on the Johnnies’ side for we threw more than three to their one.

Now about Sherman and Thomas. I have seen the account in the paper [that] you say is glorious news. Well, I guess it is to every poor soldier in the field. Now you ask if I think Grant is going to fight anymore this winter. I think if he can gain anything by fighting, he will fight. And if he can do better by not fighting, he will lie still. This is all that I can tell you about him. This is my opinion.

Now you ask about the rebs murdering the pickets. There has none been murdered in our brigade but they might in another brigade or different corps and I should know nothing about it.

Now you say that Henry has come again on you about keeping his child. I was not disappointed at all but I must speak now as I have said nothing about it. I must advise you not to do anything rash that will make the child suffer for what the parents have been guilty of consider well. Suppose it was your own child. But do as you think best. Tell Edgar that I am glad that he likes his school. Tell him to try and learn all he can and when I come home, I shall want he and Fred ready to go with me out West where we can live easy. I suppose you will want to go and live with us. We can take comfort but I must not think of that for it is a long time yet. There is nothing more that I think of so I will bid you goodbye.

Yours truly, — Emor Young