The following letter was written by J. Alexander DeArmon (1845-1894) who enlisted at the age of 18 in Co. K, 56th North Carolina Infantry in mid-August 1863. He was sick in July 1864 and furloughed in August 1864 to return in September and rejoin his regiment. He was surrendered at Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865.

Alexander was the son Richard Lawson DeArmon (1818-1893) and Pamela Wilson Alexander (1819-1899) of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina. After the war, in November 1866, Alexander married Sarah Jane Templeton (1839-1895).

Transcription

Camp Pleasant Hill, North Carolina
November 27, 1863

Dear Aunt Sally,

I take the present opportunity of dropping you a few lines for the first time. You will have to excuse me for not writing sooner for you know that I always was lazy and it is ten times worse now and I can feel it growing on me every day. I feel better today than common because Old Jeff has give me a pair of old pants that come about to the knees and that is not all. He give me some of his old shin plasters that I suppose he had no use for. Well, I will have to quit my foolishness or you will think that I am sorter cracked and you will not think far wrong. But I don’t want you to know it.

Well we have got back to our camp at Pleasant Hill. It has been four weeks since we left here and we have been marching nearly all the time and over some of the roughest roads that I ever saw. I did not know that was such a country in this world. You just ought to come and go over the mountains and see what is in the country. If I could just get home to stay, I would never grumble at my travails. But it is hard to tell when that time will be, whether ever or not.

Well you must excuse this bad[ly] composed letter. I want you to write to me and let me know how Uncle Rankin is getting along. Well, I will close by asking you to write. Give Miss Mollie my respects and all the rest of the girls. — J. A. DeArmon

to Mrs. Sarah Alexander