The following two letters were written by Arthur (“Art”) Tappan Wilcox (1834-1902), the son of Capt. Franklin Wilcox (1797-1867) and Julia Ann Wilcox (1802-1859) of Lorain county, Ohio. He wrote the letter to his older brother, Lucien (“Lute”) Henry Wilcox (1830-1880).

Art was living in Sandusky, Ohio, at the time of the 1860 US Census. In 1861 he graduated from the law school at the University of Michigan and married Julia Morehouse soon after. That same year he enlisted into military service and was elected 2nd Lieutenant of the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI), Co. E. He was promoted to Captain of Co. D for bravery and meritorious service. He participated in these battles: Cross Lanes, Virginia, where he was captured by the enemy and confined to various prisons; Dumfries, Virginia; Chancellorsville, Virginia; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Tennessee; and several battles in the state of Georgia. He mustered out of the 7th OVI on July 6, 1864. Soon, he reenlisted and became Colonel of the 177th OVI. On June 24, 1865, Colonel Wilcox was mustered out with regiment at Greensboro, North Carolina.

After the war was over, Wilcox resumed his work as a civil engineer. He worked on the construction of railroads, including the Union Pacific and the Canada Southern. A publication of the University of Michigan Alumni Association reports that Arthur Tappan Wilcox contracted yellow fever while working on bridges in Central America. He died of the disease at Port Limon, Costa Rica, on October 24, 1902. A biographical sketch of Arthur T. Wilcox which appeared in the book Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1864 closed with this statement about Colonel Wilcox: “He was a zealous officer and a brave man.” [Source: Sandusky History]

[Note: These letters are from the private collection of Brent Reidenbach and were transcribed and published on Spared & Shared by express consent.]

Letter 1

Camp Dumfries, Virginia
January 7th 1863

Dear Lute,

I have a little matter of business I wish you would attend to for me as I suppose you can do so easier than Mr. Wilbor. I wrote to him soon after sending my money to send $161.25 to Mr. Ralph Plumb of Oberlin for Capt. Shurtleff. Today I had a letter from Capt. Shurtleff saying that he had been advised by Mr. Samuel Plumb that the money had never been received. I ought to have directed the money sent to Samuel Plumb but still that should make no difference as all packages coming to Ralph Plumb are opened by him. They are brothers but Ralph is away in the army somewhere. Shurtleff’s solution is this—“The express agent at Oberlin is an old scamp & has probably stolen it.”

Mr. Wilbor has undoubtedly a receipt from the Express Co. & I wish you would get it and look into the matter. The sum is rather too large to lose—especially when it costs so much to live as it does here in the army. If necessary, go down to Oberlin & see Mr. Plumb and I will pay expenses.

We are still lying here quietly & I hope may remain so. The weather yesterday was decidedly rainy looking but has cleared off cold and we are feeling quite a touch of winter. Ed wrote to me sometime to try & get Gen. [Orlando B.] Willcox’s endorsement to a recommendation for his promotion. I wrote to Shurtleff & he says Gen. Willcox endorsed it without hesitation so you can tell him when you write to him.

Shurtleff thinks they had a warm time at Fredericksburg but says the horror of the fight was nothing compared to the suspense of lying with 50,000 men two days in Fredericksburg directly under the rebel guns, before recrossing, & he cannot conceive why the rebels allowed them to remain undisturbed.

We hear today that Rosecrans has gained a victory & taken Murfreesboro. Heaven grant it may be true. Also that our people are gaining ground at Vicksburg with every prospect of success. May that be true too. We need something to make amends for our want of success in Virginia.

Write to me, you and all the rest. So long as we are quiet you will hear from me quite often. There is a prospect of our staying here some time, unless the Confeds “come down on us” and make us “light out” which would be very uncivil on their part. But still, good as the prospect is of remaining, it don’t need more than half a dozen words from Headquarters to spoil all our great calculations.

I don’t reckon any of us will be sorry when the US brand wears out of our skins. It will be sort of pleasant to own one’s self again, if the property isn’t very valuable.

I must close up. Goodbye. Love to your wife and mine, Lottie and Father and the rest. Remember me to Capt. and Mrs. Parrish. Yours truly, — Art. T.

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Letter 2

Camp near Aquia Landing, Virginia
Friday, May 15th 1863

Dear people at home,

George is writing to Clara, & I will put in a line to you though It can be nothing more, as it is already nearly meal time. I should have written again before this, but have been detailed on a Court of Inquiry nearly all the week, to examine into the conduct of a New York Officer charged with cowardice at Chancellorsville. It was a mixed up mess & we only got through last night.

We are all getting rested up & fel in good spirits, despite the non success of our movement south of the Rappahannock. I shouldn’t wonder if Gen. Joe [Hooker] is sorry he didn’t stay the other side of the river—especially since Stoneman’s report has come in. I can’t help thinking that we might have hung on a day or two longer & possibly given the story a better ending, though I will admit that individually, I felt more comfortable on the north side of the river. Our wounded have been mostly brought this side of the river. Our missing boys are not yet accounted for altogether. One of them, Sergt. Allen, we hear from some of the wounded who were paroled, was sent to Richmond as a prisoner, unhurt. The other, Brayton B. Williams, ¹ I can hear nothing of.

Lee Raymond is in Ward I, Armory Square Hospital, Washington D. C. Please inform his mother. [Henry T.] Benton ² is in some hospital there but I have not heard from him.

George says the money I sent got through safe. Write to me somebody. The mail is ready & I must stop. Love to all, — Art

¹ Brayton B. Williams was taken prisoner at Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863 and returned to duty in mid November.

² Henry T. Benton was wounded in the left knee at Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863 and discharged for disability on 7 March 1864.