1861: Benjamin F. Wright to his Brother

This letter was written by Pvt. Benjamin F. Wright (1836-1917) of Co. K, 42nd Illinois Infantry. Benjamin—a native of Fairfield Township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania—was living in DeKalb, Illinois, in the fall of 1861 when he enlisted on 4 August. He was with the regiment until 20 September 1863 when he received a gunshot wound to the spine during the Battle of Chickamauga. He was hospitalized at Springfield, Illinois, until he mustered out on 28 September 1864.

Following his discharge, he returned to Pennsylvania for a time but then relocated to Indiana and then to Kansas in 1876 where he homesteaded in Reno county.

Benjamin’s letter describes the expedition in October 1861 in which Union troops under the command of General John C. Fremont, perceiving Warsaw, Missouri, to be a “treasonous” city, fairly devastated the town, taking over its supplies and homes for their own needs. During the following month, as Union Army stragglers followed Fremont’s troops, they burned much of what had not already been destroyed.

*Image of Co. H, 42nd Illinois Infantry taken in Nashville 1863. Image belonged to James Reese of the company. (Ronn Palm Collection)*

Transcription

Tipton, [Missouri]
December 1st 1861

Dear Brother,

I received your letter and was glad to hear that you was well. I am well as usual and hope these few lines will find you the same. It is very cold here today but we have not had any snow at Tipton. I do not know how long we will stay here. I expect we will get our pay tomorrow. That is the talk. We have got a new pair of pants and a new cap.

We left St. Louis the ninth of October and went to Jefferson City about one hundred and fifty [miles] up the river and from there we went to Warsaw on the Osage River about 100 miles from Jefferson City. Then we was ordered on a forced march to Springfield eighty-five miles. From Warsaw we started about ten o’clock on Friday night and on Monday night we was in Springfield. We had to live on hard bread and meat and had the ground to lay on and the sky for covering.

*Artist’s Sketch of Fremont’s army marching to the Osage River in Missouri, 1861*

We would of had a fight with Price if it had not been for General McKinstry. He was acting the traitor and communicating with Price and letting him know our movements. He is now in prison at St. Louis. ¹

I expect we will go to St. Louis the next time we march and so on down into Kentucky. Write and let me know how my folks are and how you are getting along. Send me the news about the war in the East for we cannot hear much news here. If we was in some city where we could get the papers, we might know more about the war. I have not got homesick yet. I like it very well.

As my paper is getting most full, I will bring my letter to a close. You must write as soon as you get this and direct your letters to the same place you did before. So goodbye from your brother, — Benjamin Wright

¹ While it is true that Justus McKinstry was arrested on 11 November 1861, his biographical sketch on Wikipedia does not imply that he was being charged as a traitor. He was eventually convicted of graft, corruption and fraud in the quartermaster’s office at St. Louis.