This letter was written by Isaac Zeigler (1834-1864), the orphaned son of John Adam Zeigler (17xx-1854) and Elizabeth Mary Dennis (1790-1848) of East Palestine, Columbiana county, Ohio. Isaac mentions in his letter an older brother, John Zeigler (1830-1915) who served in Co. H, 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI). Isaac wrote the letter to his older sister, Elizabeth (Zeigler) Crum who was married in 1855 to Peter Crum (1833-1863). Elizabeth’s husband died of disease earlier in the war, in June 1863, while serving as a substitute in Co. D, 19th OVI.
Isaac enlisted on 11 August 1862 as a sergeant in Co. C, 104th OVI when he was 23 years old. The 104th OVI came to be called “the Barking Dog Regiment” during the Civil War and even had a mascot, a dog named “Harvey.” Harvey was wounded in the fighting near Kennesaw Mountain in the Atlanta Campaign but recovered in time to rejoin the regiment in Tennessee at Franklin and Nashville. Isaac was serving as the Orderly Sergeant of his company when he was cut down along with 60 of his comrades in the Battle of Franklin on 30 November 1864 while manning the Federal breastworks thrown up between the Carter’s cotton gin and the Columbia Pike late in the afternoon.
Transcription
Camp near Decatur, Georgia
September 11th 1864
Dear Sister,
Your kind and ever welcome letter came to hand sometime ago and I was glad to hear from you but I hadn’t time to write to you before this for we was on a raid when I got your letter and hadn’t time to write to you till now. But I han’t got much time to write at this present time for we have went into a regular camp and we have got a great deal to fix up at this present time.
We drove the Rebels 30 miles below Atlanta, Georgia, and then our army withdrew back to this place and to Atlanta to rest this army after so hard a campaign. We will rest 30 days before we go on a new campaign and get us clothed and equipped and let us rest for awhile for we needed it very much.
I han’t seen Brother John for some time but I heard from him the other day. He was in the hospital but is able to go about and was getting well fast. His time will soon [be] out and then he will come home.
Well, sister, I want you to make them shorts right away and send them to me, and also them socks. I want them before we start on another campaign. I want good shirts and stockings. I want nice flannel and nice [ ] in them and nice buttons on them and make them large for the shirts that we get in the army is too small. And I want you to sew my name on them for sometimes the paper on package gets torn off and they are lost. Send them by mail as soon as you can for I want them before we go on another campaign.
You can go to Clark Chamberlin 1 and get 20 dollars from him but I want you to keep account of all the money you get from him and don’t forget it. Send me with them shirts some black satin thread and a good lead pencil. Well, Sister, I must come to a close for this present time.
My love to you and family and to all the rest of the friends. I han’t got many friends or I would get more letters from them. But if I live to get out of this army, I will be as independent as they are, I guess. Some of them think themselves too good to write to me.
No more at present. But write as soon as this comes to hand without fail. In haste, — Isaac Zeigler
1 William “Clark” Chamberlin (1837-1918) was a general store merchant, banker, and assistant postmaster in East Palestine.
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