The following letter was written by John Hillard (1807-1862), of Glen Hope, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, while serving as a 54 year-old private in Co. D, 105th Pennsylvania Infantry (a.k.a, the Wildcat Regiment”). He wrote the letter from Harrison’s Landing on the James River where McClellan’s Army of the Potomac had retreated following the Seven Days Battles in front of Richmond. We learn that he had been suffering from some disease and though his letter attempted to reassure his wife he was on the gain, he died of disease a little over a month later on 15 September 1862 at the Union Army Hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland.
John enlisted in 28 August 1861 and served with his regiment a little over a year until his death. He was married to Rachel Reese (1803-1895) and they had at least seven children. For those who are interested in the early record of the 105th Pennsylvania, see a diary I transcribed by Robert Increase Boyington, Co. I, 105th Pennsylvania.
This letter was provided to Spared & Shared for transcription and publication by Justin Houser who found it in Hillard’s pension file at the National Archives. John Hillard was his 4th great grandfather.
T R A N S C R I P T I O N
Camp near Harrison Landing, Virginia
Co. D, 105th Regt. Pennsylvania Vols.
August 8, 1862
Dear wife,
It is with pleasure that I again take advantage of this present opportunity to inform you that my health is improving very slow. I received a letter from you this morning bearing more cheering news. It brought me intelligence that you was well and also that you had received the money that I sent to you in the two letters. I was glad to hear that it had got home safe to you. I am not gaining much strength for the last two weeks and I feel very feeble. I am much reduced in flesh but I hope that these few lines will find you enjoying good health.
There is nothing of importance going on here now. We are still in camp but the weather is very warm here. Some days since some of our boys returned from Richmond that was taken prisoners on the retreat to the James river. They say that they got very hard usage. Lyman Higley says that they drove them on through Richmond and took them up the James river to Belle Island and took them on the island and put them in an old tobacco house and their rations was a half pound of bread a day and no salt and some old beef that was half rotten and maggoty. 1 Common government shoes such as we wear costs $8 per pair [in Richmond] and their common worth 1.80 cents per pair. Common Stogy boots costs fifteen dollars. I think by that that they must be hard up in Richmond for shoes and boots. They have no coffee nor sugar but our prisoners says that they have plenty of bread and meat.
Our Captain [William Kelly] returned to camp today and we was all very glad to see him coming back for now we can rely on having justice done by us. But the rebels is bent to fight. Their hearts and souls is bound together and they think that they are fighting for a just cause and to protect their homes. But we will show them what they have been fighting for.
William Smith died on Monday, the 30th day of June. He was taken prisoner on the 29th and taken to Richmond and died the next day after he landed in the Confederate Capitol.
I must close for the present. Nothing more but I remain your affectionate husband to death, — From John Hillard
To Rachael Hillard, his wife
I find there is no place like home. Farewell for a short time.
1 Since Hillard’s description of the facilities on Belle Island is based on hearsay, we should question his claim about a tobacco warehouse being there. Other detainees reported it as an “open air” camp with only tents for shelter. The prisoners might have spent a night or two in a tobacco warehouse in Richmond before arriving at Belle Island.
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