The following letter was written by George F. Lanphear (1836-1863), the son of Reuben Lanphear (1806-1888) and Catherine Remington (1806-1847) of Hartland, Windsor county, Vermont. In the 1860 US Census, George was living in Rich Valley, McLeod county, Minnesota with his father and his step-mother, Amelia P. Messenger (b. 1811).

On 11 September 1861, George enlisted as a private in Co. K, 2nd Minnesota Infantry at Glencoe, Minnesota. He served with the regiment until 25 November 1863 when he was killed in the Battle of Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was buried in Grave No. 383 at the National Cemetery at Chattanooga. He was buried under the name Lamphear.

George wrote the letter to his sister Eliza Jane (Lanphear_ Shattuck (1831-1914), the wife of Eliphalet Shattuck (1825-1881) of Hartland, Windsor county, Vermont.

Transcription

Camp near Nashville, Tennessee
March 9th 1862

Dear Sister Eliza,

I received your kind letter of the 16th last night. Although it was a short one, I was very glad to get it. I like to hear from you often and all letters from you will be happily received by me whether they are long or short. It is a great comfort to me since I have been in the army to get letters from my brother, sisters, and friends at home. I would like to get one every day if I could. I wrote a letter to you day before yesterday but after I received yours last night I thought it wouldn’t be any more than fair to sit down and write a few lines more to let you know that I had received your letter.

It is Sunday today and there is no drilling or anything a going on to pass away the time. As I am sitting around here with nothing to do, only to think of home and its pleasures. It’s nothing to be wondered at, if I get a little homesick at times and wish that I was really at home. In order to pass away those thoughts or feelings, I take my pen and paper and sit down to write a letter to some of my friends which sets me all right again. It’s not a very funny thing to be a soldier nor did I enlist with the idea that there was fun in it. A fellow has to go through a great many hardships and sometimes don’t get enough to eat, but I can’t say yet that I am any ways sorry that I enlisted. I mean to stay in the service now until the stars and stripes shall float over every town and hamlet in the Southern Confederacy, and the last rebel that wants to destroy the best Government that ever existed driven into the Gulf of Mexico or some other sea port town, as the saying is.

I hear there was a skirmish fight took place between our pickets and the rebels this morning about eight miles from here but haven’t learnt the particulars about it yet. There was a citizen came in to our camp this morning with whiskey to see to the soldiers but he wasn’t here long before he was arrested and two or three guard sent to escort him to jail.

I haven’t heard from [sister] Mary since I enlisted. I wrote a letter to her some time ago but forgot to tell her how to direct to me. I suppose that is the reason she don’t write. She don’t know where to direct to. If you write to her soon, I wish that you would give her my address & tell her I would be very glad to hear from her. I should think she would come up to Hartland and stay with you now. Frank has gone to the war. Tell Net to write to me often. I believe that he owes me two letters now. I will send you a Glencoe Register with this letter. Also one to [brother Reuben] Nelson. Eliza, if I could call in to your house this afternoon and take supper with you, it would be one of the best treats that I could ask for. But seeing that I can’t, I shall have to eat my regular hard bread and coffee and be contented with it.

I have no more to write this time so goodbye. Write soon and accept this from your brother, — George F. Lanphear