The following letter was written by James J. Martin (b. 1838), the son of Robert Thompson Martin (1790-1857) and Patsy Hall (1804-1880) of James City, Virginia. James served in Andrew J. Jones’ Company, Virginia Heavy Artillery, also known as the Pamunkey Artillery. This regiment was organized in May 1861 with men from New Kent county. James was mustered into the company on 3 June 1861. At that time, he was described as a 5 foot, 9 inch tall, light haired, 23 year-old farmer.

The Pamunkey Light Artillery were attached to the Department of Richmond and first served at West Point but later relocated to Chaffin’s Bluff to protect the approach to Richmond by Union gunboats coming up the James River. This point of the river was not heavily fortified until May 1862 during McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. The company began as a Light Artillery but later changed to Heavy Artillery, manning fixed batteries on the James river.

James’ muster roll records indicate that he was with his company through December 1864. It appears that he was wounded on 5 January 1865 and that he deserted from the hospital in February. After the war, in December 1870, he married Mary Frances Curle (b. 1846) of New Kent Court House. She was the daughter of William Graves Curle (1808-1867) and Sarah Frances Tyree (1826-1860). Whether Mary F. Curle was the cousin to whom he addressed the following letter is unknown as he only refers to her as “cousin.”

James’ letter, written in the evening of May 9th 1862, informs us that artillery fire was heard. This may very well have been connected with the Union assault on and fall of Norfolk which resulted in the Confederates destroying the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack), and the opening of the James River to Union gunboats. In fact, just days later, on 15 May 1862, Union gunboats led by the USS Monitor attempted to get to Richmond by maneuvering up the James river but were stopped by Confederate batteries at Drewry’s Bluff and Chaffin’s Bluff, within a mile of each other on opposite sides of the river.

Transcription

Camp Chaffin’s Bluff
May 9th 1862

Dear Cousin,

I received your kind letter this morning and was much pleased to hear from you once more. This leaves me quite well at present and I hope those few lines may find you the same. Dear cousin, I have received one letter this week from a certain young girl. It may be more than possible that you may know who she is. I think from what she writes that she is kind & set back a little. Dear cousin, you seemed to think that I were trifling with you from the way you wrote. But believe me, dearest, that this world and all that is in it could not make me do that. No never. Such a sweet and charming young lady as I think you are. I think if there is a lady in this world that I could be happy with, it certainly would be you.

You said in your letter that my self and a certain young lady was engaged to be married. I beg to say that you are wrong informed. And if you say the word, it never shall be. No, not so long as I could make such an exchange as that.

Dear cousin, as I am now writing, me thinks that I can see your sweet angelic form before my eyes and oh for the world that it was so. Oh! how much happiness I would feel than I do at this lonely hour. But I am glad to think that there is something to cheer a poor soldier up for a soldier’s life is a bad one. Make the best of it you can, dear cousin.

As I am now writing, I can hear the cannon roaring and me thinks that I can hear small arms too but I hope, dear cousin, that you will not be disturbed by them for I am in hopes that the Yankees will not get to Richmond. As it is getting late, I must close this badly written letter by saying that you must excuse bad writing and mistakes. And believe me to be as ever your true admirer and well wisher, — James J. Martin