The following letter was written by Thomas McCormick (1841-1915), the son of John Morrison McCormick (1812-1888) and Martha Guyton (1813-1856) of Martin, Allegan county, Michigan. Thomas enlisted in Co. B, 19th Michigan Infantry on 6 August 1862 when he was 20 year old. During June 1864 he is listed as “absent, wounded.” His muster roll records estimates that he was wounded on or about the 15th day of June 1864. He was mustered out at Washington D. C. on 10 Jun 1865.
T R A N S C R I P T I O N
[Camp near Lexington, Kentucky]
December 11, 1862
Friend Maggie,
It is with pleasure that I take my pen in hand to answer your welcome and unexpected letter. I am well and in good spirits. There was three in our brigade left here yesterday. Our regiment is a going to leave tomorrow—all but our company. We are a going to stay here a while longer. The 33rd Indiana and the 85th Indiana and the 22nd Wisconsin is in our brigade. 1 These three regiments left here yesterday. I can’t tell where we will go to when we leave here.
We have got a company of artillery in our regiment. Jerome and Fred Campbell has gone into it. The 2nd Michigan Cavalry is about two miles from here. I went over to see them the other day. I saw Alonzo Mapes. He is well.
You wanted to know whether we marched on Sundays or not. When we are on a march, they don’t stop for Sundays nor any other day. We have got a chaplain in our regiment. We have meeting in our camp every Sunday. We can have our choice to stay to meeting in camp or go to town to church. We don’t drill any of Sundays. There has been a funeral in our brigade every day or about two weeks. There is a good many sick in our regiment. Mr. Jerome Dugan is sick yet. I hain’t seen him for about a month. He is in the hospital at Lexington. He was a getting better the last I heard from him. I believe I hain’t got anything more to write. As soon as you can, direct your letter to Lexington, Kentucky.
— Thomas McCormick
Let me know when you are a going to have a spelling school and I will try to come to it.
1 In October 1862, at the height of hurried recruiting activities when it appeared Confederate forces campaigning in Kentucky would cross the Ohio and invade the Upper Midwest, the 85th Indiana, the 33rd Indiana, the 19th Michigan, and the 22nd Wisconsin regiments were assembled into a brigade under Coburn’s command.
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