The following letter was written by Thomas Benjamin Fargason (1831-1918) of Co. D, 14th Alabama Regiment. Thomas mustered into the regiment as a sergeant in August 1861 but was commissioned a lieutenant prior to the Battle of Gettysburg when he was taken prisoner on 2 or 3 July 1863. He was first taken to Fort McHenry, then Fort Delaware, and later to Johnson Island where he wrote this letter in late May 1864 after almost eleven months of confinement.

The date of Lt. Fargason’s capture at Gettysburg varies and the regimental history informs us that they were engaged on both 2 July and 3 July. They did participate in Picket’s charge on the 3rd but the more likely opportunity for capture seems to have been on the evening of 2 July when they joined in the attempt to break through the Union lines at Plum Run and suffered severe losses before falling back.

Prisoner of War (POW) letters generally make for dull reading since the content was screened by censors who made certain nothing sensitive was revealed in them. This, combined with the fact that they were limited in length to a single page to make it easier on censors to do their job, usually resulted in a letter that served little purpose but to inform recipients the prisoner was still alive. Correspondence between Confederate officers held at Johnson’s Island and southern-sympathizing citizens living in the North are occasionally found but it’s very unusual to find a letter written by a Confederate POW to a Union Soldier. Unfortunately the Union soldier is not named in the letter.

Thomas was the son of John Fargason (1800-1866) and Elizabeth Mason (1797-1879). He was married in 1857 to Laura Walker Duncan (1836-1900) and had a young daughter named Ella, born in September 1860. When he was enumerated in Tallapoosa county, Alabama, in 1860, as a 29 year-old farmer and the owner of two slaves (40 y.o. female and 12 y. o. male). Later in life, he appears to have become a minister.

[Note: This letter is from the private collection of Jonathan Peace and was made available for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared by express consent.]

Transcription

Johnson’s Island, Ohio
May 26th 1864

My dear friend,

Yours of the 19th has this day come to hand and I hasten to respond. I am truly sorry that you have to go into the field again, though I presume it is your choice. Since I wrote you last, I have received some articles of clothing from a friend in Boston, so I am not particularly needing any just now. You have my grateful thanks for your kind offers to add to my comfort. I hope I shall not be under the necessity of calling upon you, but should it become necessary, I will certainly do so. I hope that you will escape all harm and that you may be permitted to return home at the expiration of your term of enlistment to cheer your dear old Father in his declining age. Should you become engaged with our veteran and war-worn soldiers down in Virginia, stand up and fight like a man. Hold your ground as long as possible, but should the tide of battle turn against you and you are likely to be captured, then lose no time, but get to the rear as fast as possible. Do not be captured if you can possibly prevent it. Prison life is too bad—especially down South. I have a wife and one little girl. I am permitted to write and receive letters from them. My address is Mill Town, Alabama. Should you be so unfortunate as to be captured, write to my wife and no doubt she will do what she can for you. There is a Sutler’s establishment inside the prison and we can purchase almost any article necessary for our well being if we have money. Receive my thanks for the dollar and stamps. May God’s protecting care shield you from all harm.

Ever your true friend, — Thos. B. Fargason