The following letter was written by Joshua A. Armstrong (1831-1862), the son of Aquilla Armstrong (1803-1854) and Margaret Elizabeth Harris (1802-1848) of Lima, Allen county, Ohio. When he was 24, Joshua married Lucretia Matilda (“Tilly”) Morse (1837-1918) in 1855. The couple had three children—Isaac Morse (1858-1926), Alice (1859-1944) and Amasa (1861-1932)—by the time he enlisted as a sergeant in Co. F, 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) in June 1861.

The 23rd OVI had the distinction of being led and staffed by some prominent men, not the least of which was its first colonel, William Rosecrans, who was ably followed by Rutherford B. Hayes. Also serving in the regiment was quartermaster sergeant William McKinley. The regiment saw its first action at Carnifex Ferry in present-day West Virginia, in September 1861. The regiment then spent most of the winter of 1861-62 at Fayetteville, Virginia. By mid-March, 1862, the regiment had relocated to Raleigh, Virginia, some 25 miles further south. Here, under the command of Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, the de facto colonel wrote his wife, “For the first time in months we are all together; ranks very full. Oh! it was a beautiful sight; we had plenty of cheering, music, and our best marching. The men were never in finer condition. You would enjoy seeing the 23rd now; well-dressed, bravely looking, and soldier-like.” ¹

The regiment’s next encounter with the enemy was in the Battle of South Mountain on 14 September 1862 and the Battle of Antietam on 17 September 1862. After suffering severe losses in the former, the regiment pursued Lee’s army to Sharpsburg where they were in the thick of the fighting in the latter. Their casualties at Antietam? Eight killed, 58 men wounded, two missing.

Regrettably, one of those eight men killed was 31 year-old Sergt. Joshua Armstrong, husband and father to three children. In the book, Ohio at Antietam, there is a story of Joshua’s death, taking a “bullet to the heart” on the slope above Antietam creek while carrying the colors of the regiment and falling, “wrapped in the folds of the banner he had loved and borne so well; it was literally dyed with his blood.” This makes a good story but it may not be 100% accurate for in the Widow’s Pension application that Lucretia filed on 29 December 1862, she wrote that her husband died on or about the 20th day of September, at or near Sharpsburg, and in consequence of a wound received in the line of his duty in the Battle of Sharpsburg three days before his death.”

Lucretia remarried in November 1863 to Joshua W. Pillars and had at least six more children; the three children by her first marriage appear to have been adopted and raised by someone named William Hall who served as their legal guardian.

[Note: This letter was made available for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared by the express consent of Jim Powell who is the 3rd great-grandson of Sergt. Armstrong.]

Transcription

Camp Hays
Raleigh, Virginia
April 1st 1862

Dear wife,

I received your letter yesterday and was glad to hear that you and the children was well again and now I hope that you will all keep well. Tilly, my health is good. I cannot complain of anything—only that I am away from my family. Otherwise I enjoy myself well. Daniel is in good health and would like to see the children but he must wait sometime yet.

Tilly, I do not get more than two letters per month and sometimes not so many. I can’t tell why it is but it is so from some cause or other. Tilly, I drew my pay the 1st day of April and was glad of it for your own sake and the children also. And now Tilly I will send $100 dollars ² off to you and you must use it as you think best for both of us. If Pa wants what you don’t want for yourself and children, you may let him have it and if he don’t want it, let Charles Hover have it and you keep enough so that you will not get out of money before I send you more and I can’t tell when that will be.

I will not add any more at this time. Yours truly, J. A. Armstrong

to wife and children

Isaac, Pa will send you a nice little gold dollar and you must be a good boy and mind what Ma tells you. And Alice, Pa will send you one also and you must be a good girl and mind Ma. You must look to the Express Office for the money and as quick as you get it you must let me know as I shall feel very anxious about it.

I will only send one hundred dollars now. Use it at your pleasure but [not] to waste any. — J. A. Armstrong

to wife and children

¹ Rutherford B. Hayes to his wife, 13 March 1862.

² $100 was a lot of money for a non-commissioned officer. This sum represented more than a half-year’s pay so the regiment either hadn’t been paid for a long time or it included a delayed bonus for enlistment.