The following letter was written by George William Dickinson (1843-1933) of Co. M, 2nd New York (“Harris Light”) Cavalry. George enlisted in August 1861 at NYC to serve three years. He was subsequently transferred to Co. A (no date) and finally mustered out of the service while on detachment in June 1865 at Alexandria, Virginia.

The following information was posted on a website called Civil War Quilts: George was son of Elbert Dickinson (1814-1874) and Susan Dove (1816-1892) of Queens, New York. Several stories about George’s war experiences survive in newspaper articles but any follow up leads to dead ends. He was either wounded at Hanover Court House or Bull Run, captured at Pawmunkey River towards the end of the war when he was held ten days in Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. George was married in the summer of 1862 to Sarah Marie Carpenter (1843-1933), both age 19. Within a month, her husband was off to war, shortly to be shot in the lungs. The bullet worked its way out to become a souvenir but he suffered periodic hemorrhages the rest of his long life, which he attributed to the wound. Twentieth-century newspaper articles and old Civil War veterans may have been confused about places and dates, exaggerating scars and exploits. Sarah’s parents were Jackson and Sarah Craft Carpenter of Sea Cliff on Long Island’s Northern shore, families descended from mid-18th-century settlers. She and George had four children, two boys John & Daniel, and two girls Annie Conrad Abbott and Susan Dickinson Conrad. Towards the end of the 20th century, George obtained a job as caretaker at an estate owned by Charles M. Pratt, a Standard Oil heir who built a family compound and gardens in Glen Cove a few miles east of Oyster Bay. 

George wrote the letter to his sister, Caroline Matilda (Dickinson) Carpenter (1845-1885), the wife of Latting Carpenter of Rosyln, Queens county, New York. The couple were married in March 1863.

Transcription

Yorktown, Virginia
June 7th 1863

Dear sister,

I now have the pleasure of writing to you these few lines to let you know that I am well and hope that these few lines will find you the same. I received your letter three days ago and was glad to hear that you was well. You said in your letter that you thought I had forgotten you but I have not. You must not think that I ever would forget you for I never will. The reason why I did not write is because the regiment has been on a march and I could not send one if I had it wrote, but I will write to you as often as I can. But I never will forget you.

I have not got my likeness taken yet. I have not got any money to get it taken with. I have not been paid off yet since I have been down here. You said that you was a going to send me yours but I have not seen it yet.

I am at Yorktown yet and expect to leave soon but don’t know how long before we will leave. Our regiment has made another raid and got to Falmouth again and I expect that we will have to go back there again. I have not seen any of the boys that went out with them. So I will close and tell you no more about it.

Give my love to Father and all the folks. I want to know if you can’t send me a few stamps to put on letters for I cannot get any out here. So now I will close with bidding you goodbye.

From your brother. Direct your letter to George W. Dickinson, Harris Light Cavalry, Co. M, Washington D. C.