The following letter was written by Thomas E. Bispham (1835-1865), the son of Thomas Bispham (1797-1879) and Elizabeth Jennings (1795-1878) of Wayne township, Warren county, Ohio. Thomas was married to Sarah Frances Likins (1840-1902) in March 1857 and the couple had two children at the time that Thomas enlisted as a private in Co. H, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) in August 1862.

Thomas was promoted to a corporal in February 1863 and made it through the Atlanta campaign without injury but was wounded at Averysboro, North Carolina on 16 March 1865. He died of his wounds at David’s Island (N.Y. harbor) hospital on 25 May 1865.

In this letter, Thomas describes the Battle of 20 July 1864 at Peachtree Creek in the Atlanta Campaign.

There is a striking similarity in Thomas’s handwriting with that of a diary fragment that I transcribed back in January 2021 which I was able to attribute to the 79th OVI but not to any particular soldier. I suspect, however, the mystery soldier served in Co. I.

Transcription

Camp 79th OVI
Sunday, July 24th 1863

My Dear Father & Mother,

I thought as Sallie was from home, maybe you would not hear from me, and perhaps you might wish to. Therefore, I will write.

On the 20th we got into quite a battle. The rebs attacked our lines. We (our brigade) was laying in the rear of a gap, and when the attack was made we had to move up to get on the line. We had a fair, open fight and defeated them. I had some very fine shots. Our regiment lost 58—ten killed and forty-eight wounded. Co. H had George Brinker & Corp. I[saac] F. Stump killed. Joseph H. Wolfe, Asa Chandler, John Prater, Wm. Watkinson and Martin Lansey wounded. I have heard they are all doing very well but Wolfe. It is estimated from the number we have in our possession that the Rebels lost from ten to fifteen hundred in front of our brigade.

On the 22d, we moved to where we now lay. We are said to be two miles from Atlanta. There was severe fighting on our left on the 22d. It is reported that [James B.] McPherson was killed. There is no trouble to keep awake here during the day. The rebs are shelling us continually. But we have pretty good works and they have not done us but very little injury yet. If we happen to be out of our ditches, and a shell comes pretty close, it is amusing to see the diving. The rebs came out and attacked our pickets yesterday. We expected a fight but they thought best to retire. We are all willing for them to come, so there is not more than three times as many as there is of us. This is all my paper so I must close.

From your Affectionate Son — Thos. E. Bispham

Co. H, 79th OVI, 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 20 [Army] Corps