The following letter was written by Andrew (“Andy”) Green Barnett (1843-1917) of Mecklenburg county who enlisted as a private on 25 October 1862 in Co. K, 56th North Carolina Infantry. He was wounded on 30 May 1864 and hospitalized in Richmond, Virginia. He was furloughed in September and returned to service in January, 1865. In March of 1865 he was taken prisoner and held at Point Lookout, MD until the war’s end, taking the Oath of Allegiance on June 23, 1865. [His obituary published in the Charlotte Observer on 19 January 1917 says he was imprisoned on Hart’s Island in New York.]

After he returned home from the war, Andy married Martha McClure (1843-1916) and the couple had at least nine children. He died on 15 January 1917 and was buried in Davidson, Mecklenburg county, N. C.

Andy wrote the letter to Margaret C. Dewese (1841-1910) who also lived in Mecklenburg county. She was the daughter of John Allison Dewese (1811-1870) and Mary Ann Sloan (1819-1911).

Transcription

Randolph City, North Carolina
January 14th 1864

Miss M. Dewese,

Dear friend, I seat myself to write you a few lines to inform you that I am well and hope these few lines may reach you and find you in the same good blessing. I have been having a right fine Christmas here along of the Randolph girls but I would rather been in Old Mecklenburg to a taken Christmas with them that I know. I have been at two parties here, then dined at both places. We had a fine large time of it and I hope you had a fine time with the old men and boys for they ain’t any other sort there to take Christmas with but.

[It looks like] we will have to set in for a New Year. I think they had better all quit and go home and mind their own business. I hain’t got anything to do but write letters or read the ones I get from the girls—that is more satisfaction.

This is a fine, wet day and we are all sitting up indoors. The boys is well and hearty and we are cooking or eating pickled beef.

Well, Miss M., I have not got anything of interest to write that you will [have] seen by perusing the [ ] but I hope it will find you with some important news so you won’t be like me at a loss to know what to write. I am getting along fine here and I hope they will keep us at this business till the war comes to a close. Write soon and give me the news to a close, if you please, and I will try to think of more next time. Give my compliments to all the girls that think worthy of asking but don’t let no one see it. I have been looking for letters from the girls and I begin to think I wouldn’t get any and I thought I would write a few and see if you all had forgotten me. So I must close by asking you to write soon and give me the news in full.

Direct your letter to me as before. But you know all that. So I remain your esteemed friend while I am, — A. G. Barnett