1865: John Smith Carter to Sabrina Butler (Barton) Carter

The following letter was written by John Smith Carter (1823-1905) while serving in Co. F, 89th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI). John enlisted in the regiment in August 1862 and served through the end of the war, mustering out on 7 June 1865 was Washington D. C.

John wrote the letter to his wife of twenty years, Sabrina Butler (Barton) Carter and three children, Martha (b. 1848), Charles (b. 1855), and Anna (b. 1857). Before and after his service, John worked as a teamster and lived in Cincinnati’s 16th Ward.

Transcription

*Addressed to Mrs. Sabrina B. Carter, Cincinnati, Ohio*

Camp five miles south of Holly Springs, North Carolina
April 24, 1865

My dear wife & children,

This is a pleasant Sabbath morning. It finds me in good health. Hostilities has ceased and Johnston’s army is surrounded and it is reported that he has surrendered—not only him but the entire force from the Potomac to Rio Grande rivers in Mexico. And I think in the course of 10 days, we will be on our way towards home. It is said that the 14th [Army] Corps goes to Hagerstown, Maryland, to be mustered out so I suppose in the course of one month or 6 weeks, I will be at home.

We have a yellow boy that lives one mile from here to cook for our mess. He is a good boy. Bakes cornbread almost every meal so we have plenty of sugar and coffee. If you only had part of the coffee, I should be glad for we have got more than we hardly know what to do with it.

Our camp is in a nice pine forest rolling ground so if it rains, the water will run off. We have a good bunk made with pine boards about 16 inches from the ground and two dog tents over the bunk. Mr. Cal[vin W.] Vance & Preston Bishop & myself sleeps together in this tent. I have nothing more to write that I think will interest or amuse you so I send you three leaflets for letters sent to the soldiers by the American Tract Society to be sent in letters to his friends so each one of you can take your choice of them. So I bid you good morning trusting it will not be long that we shall see each other face to face.

From your affectionate husband and father, — John S. Carter