The following letter was written by George Earl Judson (1843-1864) who enlisted on 15 August 1862 in Co. I (“Woodbury Company”) of the 19th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The regiment was organized and mustered at Camp Dutton, outside of Litchfield, departing by train for Washington, DC on September 5th and assigned to the defenses of Alexandria, Virginia after their arrival. They spent the fall of 1862 on picket and patrol duty in the city until January 1863, when the 19th was reassigned to the outer ring of forts and redoubts defending Alexandria. Judson was promoted to corporal on July 16th and in November, the regiment was redesignated as the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Judson was made acting sergeant in Co. I in January 1864 and was officially promoted to that rank on February 15th. In May, the regiment was called into the field to serve again as infantry in the 6th Army Corps during Grant’s Virginia Campaign. It fought with valor at Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Winchester and suffered heavy casualties. On 19 October 1864 at Cedar Creek the regiment suffered a loss of 38 killed in 96 wounded; among the latter was Sergeant Judson, who received a gunshot wound in the left hip. He was eventually sent to the General Hospital at Patterson Hill in Baltimore, Maryland, where he died in late October from his wound.

George was the son of Capt. Ransom Judson (1797-1854) and Lucy Tuttle (1801-1885) of Southbury, New Haven county, Connecticut.

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Redoubt D near Fort Lyon, Va.
July 12, 1863

Dear Sister,

It is Sunday and another inspection is through with. While I am down here sitting in my cloth house writing to you, I suppose you will be at church sitting up there in the gallery listening to a sermon from Parson Smith, or perhaps singing some of the good old tunes that I used to know, and which I have not forgotten. I should like to sing a few of them with you this evening after tea, but it is so far up there, I fear I should not get bak in time for dress parade so I think it will not be best for me to come. Our chaplain preached to us last Sunday in the bomb proof but today we have had no preaching.

Some of the boys come off guard this morning & are trying to enjoy a little repose but its precious little a fellow can get unless he rolls himself up in the blankets for just as one gets his eyes closed, the flies begin to swarm around his face and alight on his nasal protuberance which is very apt to wake him up.

I celebrated the fourth of July by going to Mount Vernon with three or four comrades. We visited the tomb of Washington and paid a quarter of a dollar each to go into the house & garden. In the house we saw the key of the French Bastille enclosed in a glass case appended to the wall. It was sent to Gen. Washington by Lafayette after the destruction of that fortress in 1789. In the garden were several objects of interest, among which was the Sago Palm which Washington used to take care of, & the Petanary [?] plant. I send some leaves that I picked in the garden. The smooth edged one is a leaf of the Magnolia tree. The other is a fig leaf.

I sent another paper to you this morning. I hope to hear Mother is better next time you write. Do not let her get sick if you can help it. Have you made arrangements with anybody for getting the hay yet? or shall you have to let it stand over? With much love to all. Your affectionate brother, — George E. Judson