My passion is studying American history leading up to & including the Civil War. I particularly enjoy reading, transcribing & researching primary sources such as letters and diaries.
The following letter was written by Rufus R. Gardner who served as a private in Co. D, (later Co. K) in the 48th New York Infantry. Rufus was the son of Aaron B. Gardner (1812-1886) and Mary C. Belknap (1814-1846) of Newburgh, Orange county, New York. Though the regimental records indicate that Rufus was discharged for disability in July 1862, this letter proves otherwise. In all probability he was discharged in August 1864 after three years service (not having reenlisted as a veteran). He died three years later in September 1867 at the age of 24.
In his letter, Rufus provides 50 year-old Enoch Dingee (1814-1872) more details of his son’s death—killed on the field at the Battle of Olustee in Florida in February 1864. Enoch’s son was Hezekiah Dingee (1843-1864) who enlisted in September 1861 as a private in Co. C, 48th New York Infantry (he later transferred to Co. K). Both Rufus and Hezekiah joined and served together from the same community.
Transcription
Palatka, Florida March 20th 1864
Mr. Dingee, Sir,
I received yours of the 9th and was glad to hear from you. The information you wished to get concerning your son, I will give you to the best of my ability.
This expedition started from Hilton Head on the 6th of February, arrived at Jacksonville next morning. We then started on the march, passing and halting at several places such as Three Mile Run [or McCoy’s Creek], Camp Finegan, Baldwin, Darby’s, Barbus, and arrived at Saunderson on the 12th. On the 13th, we retreated back to Barber’s plantation. We remained at this place until the morning of the 20th when we commenced our march again. We marched 16 miles without rest and commenced fighting.
Your son fell after the fight had raged for two hours. He was shot through the head—the ball entered in his chin just below his lip. After he fell, he could not speak. One of our boys raised his head and put his haversack under it. He said he was dead before he left him. T. Scriber was also killed.
Hezekiah was a dear friend of mine and I deeply sympathize with you. Mr. Dingee, you must excuse me for not giving you the full account in my last letter. We are now at Palatka in a very nice grove. Our veterans has returned from their furlough.
Well, there is not much news so I will close. No more at present. You have my best respects. I remain yours, &c. — Rufus R. Gardner
An early war image of Joseph Edward Parker (provided by Tim Parker)
When looking for information about your Civil War ancestor, do not overlook Pension Records. Not only can they often provide vital information such as marriage records, names of children and their birth dates, death records, &c., but if you’re lucky, they might even include letters that were written by the soldier himself or by members of his company who wrote of his death. But why would a grieving mother or spouse part with original letters (in the days before copying machines)? Sometimes they were necessary to prove a marriage to the Pension Bureau, or that the death occurred while in the performance of official duties in the service, or that the family relied upon the soldiers wages.
Little was known about the death of Sergeant Joseph Edward Parker of Co. D, 10th Missouri (Union) Calvary when his descendant, Tim Parker, went searching in the Pension Records of his ancestor. But what he found more than answered his questions.
Born about 1830 in White County, Tennessee, Joseph was the son of Thomas Parker and Lucinda Satterfield. He came with his parents to what is now Reynolds County, Missouri, by 1832 and the family settled near present day Bunker. He was married to Susan Reese on 8 March 1849 and by the time of the Civil War, the couple had several children.
Joseph served throughout the war and reenlisted as veteran in January 1864, serving most of his time in Tennessee and Mississippi. He was known to have been killed by a rebel guerrilla on 4 August 1864 by the Wolf River near Memphis, Tennessee, but the particulars of his death were not revealed until the pension records were searched and the following two letters were found—one written by Sgt. Dennis Beale, and the other by his tent mate Sgt. Jacob Shofler.
Dennis Beale (1838-1928) was a native of Pennsylvania. He enlisted originally at Chicago to serve in Bowen’s Battalion of Cavalry and was attached to the 13th Illinois Infantry. He later transferred to the 10th Missouri Cavalry and mustered out on 11 October 1864 at St. Louis.
Jacob Shofler (1839-1917)—(or “Jake”) was a native of Ohio who served as a sergeant in Co. D, 10th Missouri Cavalry.
Letter 1
Camp of 10th Missouri Cavalry August 6th 1864
Mrs. Joseph Parker,
Madam, it grieves me to inform you of your husband’s death. Day before yesterday morning, he with several more of the company went to the river to water horses and while watering, a Rebel who had evidently been in ambush shot him in the right side, killing him almost instantly. It surly is a sad occurrence and the company mourns his loss. He was a good and brave soldier, ever ready and willing, and in him [we] lose one of the best soldiers. His final Statement will be forwarded to Washington D. C. as soon as the captain returns from the scout. His effects here also will be sent to you upon his return to camp. You will have to apply to the 2nd Auditor at Washington D. C. to obtain his arrears. Any information you may want in the future in regard to his effects, etc., will be cheerfully given at anytime.
Respectfully your obedient servant, — Dennis Beale, Sergt. Commanding Detachment Co. D, 10th Missouri Cavalry
Letter 2
Memphis, Tennessee August 30, 1864
Mrs Susan Parker,
I seat myself to answer your request of me as a friend. Your request was to know all about your husband’s death. I will inform you all I can.
Mr. Parker and I staid in the same tent and in the morning, I and Mr. Parker went to wash saddle blankets at Wolf River. And after he was done washing blankets, he went to wash his horse and I went to wash my handkerchief. [I was] sitting on a log by the side of him and a Rebel came on the opposite side of the creek and the first word he spoke, he said lead that horse out, and Mr. Parker said, “For God sake, Jacob, there is a Rebel,” and I cast my eyes up and I saw him with his gun up to his face. And [when] Mr. Parker started to run and the Rebel shot, I said, “Don’t run, the Rebel is gone,” and the only words he spoke was, “I am dead.” After running some 30 steps after being shot, I went to him as soon as I could and I told him to raise his head, and I saw he was very weak. I said to him. “I will go to camp and get the boys,” [so we could] carry him to camp and he was so weak that he could not speak. And then I started to camp and I met two of the boys coming to water. I sent them to camp and I staid with him till the company came and took him to camp. The creek was so deep that the Rebel could not cross it. We had him well taken care of and nicely buried. Mr. Parker was liked by all of the boys in [the] company. That is all I can tell you of his death.
The following letter was written by Levi (“Lee”) Edmund Chenoweth (1840-1923), the son of Thomas Foster Chenoweth (1808-1886) and Christena Thomas (1810-1886). At the time of the 1860 US Census, 19 year-old Lee was enumerated in his parents household where he was employed farming with his father in Washington township, Darke county, Ohio.
I could not find an image of Lee in his uniform but here is one of Abraham Mosier who served in Co. D of the 69th OVI (Paul Loane Collection)
On the 13th of May, 1861, Lee enlisted as a private in Co. K, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) for three months’ service, and was honorably discharged 17 August 1861. He re-enlisted on 25 October 1861 in Co. E, 69th OVI and was appointed Commissary Sergeant of the regiment on 1 February 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and soon after appointed Quartermaster Sergeant for the entire regiment. He re-enlisted as veteran on 26 February 1864 at Chattanooga, Tennessee and was discharged from service as Quartermaster 1st Lieutenant of Co. H, 69th OVI and, on same day, was appointed Quartermaster of the regiment. He was then appointed Brigade Quartermaster on the staff of Gen. Buell commanding 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corp, Goldsboro, N.C., March 27, 1865. He mustered out as the Captain of Co. I, 69th OVI. He was present at the following battles: Stone River Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge – Ringgold, Snake Creek Gap, Buzzard’s Roost, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Marietta, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro and Savannah and Goldsboro N.C.
Since the war, has been engaged in the grocery business, miller, engineer, merchant tailoring boot and shoe store, foundry and machine shop and a traveling salesman, handling school furniture and supplies, in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Canada. On the 5th day of December 1875, in the Supreme Court of Ohio, he was duly admitted to practice the law since which time he has been engaged in the business of his profession. He married, on the 3d of July, 1867, Effie A. Arnold, daughter of Noah Arnold, Esq., of Jasville, Darke Co.
Lee wrote the letter to his friend, Joshua Jefferis (1837-1918), the son of Darlington Jefferis (1796-1880) and Mary Potter (1801-1865) of Darke county, Ohio.
Transcription
Addressed to Joshua Jefferis, Esqr., German P. O., Darke county, Ohio
Murfreesboro, Tennessee March 3rd 1863
Friend Joshua, dear sir,
Having a few idle moments this afternoon, I will improve them by writing you a brief letter and to begin I will just state that we are all well & able for our rations. The weather is fine & roads are drying up fast. Vegetation begins to make its appearance, meadows are getting green, and the forest is brightening & everything gives evidence of an early spring. The boys have just been paid off & are very light-hearted & cheerful. We are not half so sick of the war as we were one year ago from this date. We have stood up to the toils, privations and sufferings of the war this long & we are bound to stick to the willows till the last horn is blowed—till the last enemy is killed or subjugated—till the Stars & Stripes wave triumphantly over the last state, county, or district in the Southern Confederacy. It can be done & I would wager my interest in the future world that it will be done.
Rosecrans can soon do his portion of the work if Grant & Hooker will do theirs & it is my candid conviction that ere 12 months more shall have rolled round, peace and tranquility will reign in the United States. We can stand it another year & if needs be, the fall term. I would like to come home & see all my friends as much as any man living, but I have not the remotest idea of so doing until the close of the war. You might as well try to get brains out of a cannon ball or farts out of a dead man as to try to get a furlough for 10 or 15 days.
I presume our stay at this place will be but brief as I am told by a reliable man that General Rosecrans is only waiting for the roads to get in condition.
I have not seen or heard from William Jefferis for some time but think he is yet in hospital at Nashville. Abner Haines died here yesterday morning from erysipelas & was buried today.
Our forage train was attacked about eight miles out yesterday. Our boys went into them vigorously & killed and captured nearly the entire rebel force amounting to near 300 men. The Rebels are deserting and coming to our forces daily. There is seldom a day passes without a squad of from 15 to 30 comes over. 28 came in yesterday morning and some in the evening. I have seen none today.
As there is nothing of any particular importance transpiring just now, I will close hoping that you will respect my missive & reply soon. Give my respects to Milton & Louisa. Also to Mr. Jefferis & family. Yours &c., — Levi E. Chenoweth, Com. Sergeant, 69th Ohio
Address 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 14th Army Corps, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
I could not find an image of George but here is a CDV of Edward C. Morehouse who also served in the 2nd New York Cavalry (Co. C) (Photo Sleuth)
The following letter was written by George M. Warner (1843-1864) who enlisted at age 18 on 21 August 1861 at Fairhaven, Vermont, to serve three years in Co. F, 2nd New York Cavalry—a.k.a. Harris Light Cavalry. He was captured on 3 November 1863 at Stevensville and eventually taken to Andersonville Prison in Georgia where he died on 27 July 1864.
The Harris Light Cavalry suffered heavy casualties at Beverly Ford and Aldie, Virginia, in the early phase of the Gettysburg campaign while the Army of the Potomac was en route to Pennsylvania. It was not engaged at Gettysburg, being stationed at Westminster, Maryland, instead, so one has to wonder as to the validity of George’s letter which describes his having been momentarily taken a prisoner in the cavalry fight on 3 July 1863 at Gettysburg when his horse was shot out from under him as Kilpatrick’s 2nd New York Cavalry attacked the rear of Lee’s infantry. It was in this attack, where Kilpatrick continuously charged the heavily fortified Confederate right flank, suffering heavy losses, that he earned the nickname “Kill-cavalry.”
Transcription
Headquarters Harris Light Cavalry Camp at Warrington Junction August 3, 1863
Dear Cousin,
I received your letter some time ago and I was very glad to hear from you. I suppose, Eddy, that you expected to hear from me a good while ago but since we came out of Maryland, we could not get any paper nor envelopes and while we was in Maryland, I could not get time to write because we did not stop in one place long enough.
Eddy, I did not tell Mardin in my last letter how I was taken prisoner. I was taken at Gettysburg. We made a charge and I was along Gen. Kilpatrick and we charged onto some rebel infantry and I had my horse shot and they took me prisoner, took my arms away from me, and started to go to their rear when our cavalry came down upon them again and I jumped over a fence and got away from them so I saved myself from going to Richmond, I believe, but that was the hardest fight we ever had. It beats Bulls Run and Fredericksburg all to nothing because we got whipped, I suppose, at both of those places.
Eddy, I have but little news to write to you. Oh, I must tell you one thing. I went yesterday about five miles to get my picture taken and I when I got there, the darned artist had gone and pulled up stakes and left for Washington, I guess, to get more things, and if he did, he will be back and if he does, I will get my face taken. But I want you and Mardin and Frank to get yours taken and send to me.
Tell Frank that I should like to hear from her very much indeed. Give my love to her and to all of your folks. Where is Eugene now? I suppose that he will be drafted, won’t he? Eddy, I suppose you will be out here before a great while, won’t you? I suppose it is pretty dull times in __worth at the present time, is it not?
Well, Ed, I must close now so goodbye. Please write soon. Please accept this from, — George M. Warner, Esq.
Give my love to Father. Ed, send me some stamps please.
This letter was written by Clarissa (“Clara”) Dwight Marsh (1834-1899), the daughter of Henry Marsh, Jr. (1797-1852) and Sarah Whitney (1796-1883). Clara’s father was an 1815 graduate of Williams College and lived in Dalton, Massachusetts from 1821 to 1840 where he was a lawyer, a merchant, a farmer and wool grower, and a wool dealer and manufacturer. In 1840 he moved with his family to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he lost his savings with the failure of the Ashuelot Manufacturing Company. In 1843 he went to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1846 to Sandusky City, Ohio, and in 1850 to St. Louis, Missouri, engaging in the mercantile and produce business. He died of cholera in June 1852 but had managed to put three sons through Williams College and afforded his daughters, Clara, and Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Willard Marsh (1829-1882), some outstanding educational advantages as well.
How Clara might have looked
Lizzie “was educated at Maplewood, Pittsfield, Mt. Holyoke and Bradford Seminaries, and spent her life in teaching. She had a school in St. Louis and at Batavia, Illinois, and afterwards taught in private families in Pittsfield, Mass., Batavia, N. Y., and Hudson, Wisconsin. At the latter place on Lake St. Croix she made her home with her life-long friend, Susan (“Sue”) Ellen Lockwood (1830-1915), the wife Charles Wendell Porter and the daughter of Judge [Samuel Drake] Lockwood of Batavia, Illinois. She died at Hudson, Wisconsin, on 23 April 1882.”
Clara attended the Cooper Female Academy in Dayton, Ohio, in the early 1850s. She married Samuel Watkins Eager, Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1857.
Clara does not state her destination in this letter but she was clearly heading east—or up-river—on the Illinois river on her way from St. Louis to LaSalle, Illinois, where we learn she expected to catch the Illinois Central railroad to Chicago and from there to points East. Most likely she was going east to the Cooper Female Academy in Dayton, Ohio. In those days, young ladies did not travel alone so she was probably being escorted by the “Mr. Rice” who is mentioned in the letter.
Transcription
Steamer Belle Gould 1 Illinois River July 13th 1853
My dearest Mother,
I thought you might like to hear how I had got along so far though I have not yet come to a stopping place. I am afraid you cannot read this, there is so much motion to the boat, but perhaps [brother] Waldo can decipher it. I have enjoyed much thus far & my eyes are not worse though I have looked out on the water a good deal. I have been up in the pilot house all this afternoon for this morning I nearly smothered in the cabin.
Last night we ran onto a snag & tore the guards on the bow of the boat—rather a narrow escape they say. I did not feel alarmed though I knew what was going on. You will see it in the papers before you get this. We shall hardly get into LaSalle for the morning train as the snag detained us last night, though we may if there is no delay at Spring Creek bar.
I hope you do not get very very lonely. I will write every week and I want to hear from you. The boat is stiller now, as you will see by the writing though this is by no means elegant. Now for the motion again.
Mr. Rice is very polite &c., and please tell Mr. Eager that I like Mr. Packard 2 very much. He let me steer a little ways this afternoon. He offered to take this letter back. Goodbye. Love to all—Waldo, Charlie, Henry, & remembrance to Mr. Eager and Mr. Webb. Tell Mary and Ann not to get sick. Goodbye Mother darling. God bless you. With lover as ever, your affectionate Clara
1 The Belle Gould was a side-wheel steamboat built in New Albany, Indiana, in 1852 for the St. Louis-Keokuk trade. She ran the Illinois River in 1853 and was the first steamboat to arrive in Peoria. She was snagged and sank at Island 25 below Cairo, Illinois on 3 March 1854.
2 I believe “Mr. Packard” may have been Capt. Bryant Rogers Packard (1821-1869) who was a steamboat captain residing at 1409 Papin Street in St. Louis, Missouri.He named his daughter “Belle Gertrude Packard (1858-1864).”
The following letter was written by Elijah Nye Harvey (1842-1903), the son of Enoch Dole Harvey (1811-1888) and Mary Hubbard Nye (1812-1859) of Lake Mills, Jefferson county, Wisconsin.
Elijah was a blacksmith by trade when he enlisted as a private in the 3rd Independent Battery, Wisconsin Volunteer Light Artillery on 22 August 1862 for three years service. At the time that Elijah wrote this letter in late March 1864, the battery was on garrison duty in the defenses of Chattanooga. They later moved to Murfreesboro and had garrison duty there until mustering out in July 1865.
Elijah wrote the letter to his younger brother, William Riley Harvey (1845-1917).
[Note: This letter is from the private collection of Greg Herr and was transcribed and published on Spared & Shared by express consent.]
Transcription
Addressed to Mr. W. R. Harvey, Lake Mills, Jefferson county, Wisconsin
Chattanooga, Tennessee March 25, 1864
Dear Brother,
I have been looking for a letter for a long time but it does not make its appearance as yet. Your 4 papers reached their destination on the 20th so I made up my mind that you were still on earth. I was very glad you sent them and like the paper very much.
We have been having a hard snowstorm. On the night of the 22nd, the snow fell so fast that on the 23rd, it measured 10 inches on the level. It also snowed last night but today, it has melted, and rains occasionally. I am in my tent today and have the blues in the highest degree. I have got tired of living, such a life. and being a slave for shoulder straps.
While I work hard all day at thirteen dollars a month, citizens are hired to do the same labor and receive $60 a month and don’t work any harder than I do and are no better workmen. Sometimes I think I will never raise a hammer again while I am in the army, but on the other hand, if I intend to work at my trade after this (which I do), it will be better for me to keep in practice. I get along with my work first rate but have lots of it to do. I don’t have time to much extra work at present but have 2 or 3 old colored friend that I always take time to work for and they always pay. Nothing pleases a Nigger more than to have a white man to trade with, and I have come to the conclusion that they are good customers.
Old Cap leaves the Battery in a few days, if reports are true, for Gen. Johnson’s staff. Livingston has resigned and we have the prettiest set of officers (over the left) you ever saw. Lieut. Colburn is a fine officer but he has charge of this train and nothing to do with the Battery.
I hope you will write often as you can and remember I am always anxious to hear from you. With love to all, I remain as ever yours truly, — Elijah
The following letter was written by Frederick P. Rowe (1842-1907), the son of John N. Rowe (1807-1880) and Sarah Electa Wilson (1813-1889) of Hurley, Ulster county, New York. At the time of his enlistment, he was described as a 5 foot, 10 inch tall farmer, with dark eyes, dark hair, and a dark complexion.
Frederick mustered into Co. A, 120th New York Infantry on 22 August 1862 as a private. He was mustered out of the regiment on 3 June 1865 as a corporal. According to muster roll records he was taken prisoner at Gettysburg on 2 July 1863 and was sent to Camp Parole at Annapolis to await exchange where he wrote the following letter in May 1864.
At Gettysburg, the 120th New York fought in Humphrey’s division. It became involved in the disaster of the second day’s battle on the Union left, but like the rest of the 3d corps, it fell back in good order to the second line, fighting as it went. Its casualties in this battle aggregated 30 killed, 154 wounded and 19 missing; total, 203. Eight officers were killed and 9 wounded in that battle.
Transcription
Addressed to Mr. Chauncey Rowe, West Hurley, Ulster county, New York
Camp Parole Annapolis, Maryland May 7th 1864
Dear cousin,
I now sit down to answer your welcome letter which I received the other day. I have neglected writing on the account of cleaning house. I have had my house painted and it makes lots of work for me. I have a barracks all alone by myself and I have got to keep that clean. The reason that I took it was because it was getting rather warm weather and there was so many in the old barracks that it wasn’t healthy.
There is a great many soldiers that dies here. There was 15 buried yesterday. They was those that just came from Richmond. There is more or less buried every day. I wish that those boys that is in Georgia was here. It think that they will see pretty hard times down there this summer for the weather is so warm there in the summer and they will be half starved. It will be doubtful if they ever get back. I hain’t heard from none of them since they left Richmond. That is the last that I heard from them. We expect to be exchanged every day and sent to the regiment. Then we will see a little harder times than we do here.
We have had very nice weather here for the last 4 or 5 weeks past. The apple trees has been in blossom a good while. They are out a planting their corn down here. They have to pay for oats one dollar and forty cents a bushel and for corn they pay 10 bits an ear. I think if you had to pay that, you would think that the world was coming to an end. Everything is in proportion. If this war keeps on a great while longer, I think that the poor [soldier] will have to go to the poor house. I do hope and pray that the war may be soon settled. I suppose that you all have to work very hard this summer. I think that wages is very high.
They are drafting every colored man in this place. Thy look wild down here because they are a drafting. I hope that they won’t need no more after this summer. There has been two or three negro regiments got up in the State of Maryland. I think that they will make very good soldiers. I hope so.
I have written you all the news so I shall have to close. Give my love to Chancy and Mary and all the rest. Please write just as soon as you get this. This is from your affectionate cousin, — Fred P. Rowe
The following letter was written by William J. Rowe (1840-1904), the son of Jacob and Jane (Campbell) Rowe of Kingston, Ulster county, New York. William enlisted at the age of 22 on 9 August 1862 to serve as a private in Co. B, 120th New York Infantry. At the time of his enlistment, William was described as a 5 foot 11 inch tall farmer with gray eyes, brown hair, and a dark complexion.
I could not find an image of William but here is one of Gordon B. Swift who also served in the 120th New York Infantry (Photo Sleuth)
He was taken prisoner at the Battle of James City, Virginia, on 10 October 1863 and eventually taken to Andersonville Prison in Georgia where he died of disease on 13 June 1864. He was buried in Grave No. 1940.
During the time that William was with the regiment, they fought in several important battles, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomy, and Cold Harbor. During its service the 120th New York Infantry lost by death, killed in action, 10 officers, 87 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 54 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 3 officers, 181 enlisted men; total, 14 officers, 322 enlisted men; aggregate, 336; of whom 69 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy—including William.
William wrote the letter to his cousin, William Rowe (b. 1840), the son of William and Margaret Rowe of Hurley, Ulster county, New York.
Transcription
February 28, 1863
Dear Cousin,
I now take my pen in hand in order to answer your kind letter which I just received. We are both enjoying good health at present and I hope that when this reaches you, it will find you the same. I enjoy a soldier’s life very well but I think I like home the best. You wanted to know how I or what I had to sleep on. You don’t think Uncle Sam would have his brave soldiers sleep on feathers, do you? No siree horsefly. We sleep on mahogany sofas and have pie and cake and sweet meats. But the best thing we get is pork and hard tack. We get coffee and sugar too.
You talk about girls. There is none out here where we are now but I saw lots of them at the Battle of Fredericksburg. I saw a fine black wench there that weighed about 300. I think I shall go in for her if I can get her. That is all the nice girls that I have seen since I have been out here.
The weather is rather unsettled out here. It storms most every day. The most of the boys are well now but they have been quite sickly. I don’t think we will stay here long. We have been building corduroy roads for the army to move. I think I am able to stand the blunt and get home yet.
So no more at present. From your affectionate cousin, — W. J. R.
Write as soon as you get this. Yours truly, — William J. Rowe
The following letter was written by Samuel Ware (1835-1864), a 27 year-old farmer from Conway, Massachusetts, when he enlisted and was mustered into service on July 10, 1862 as a private in Co. H, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry. Samuel was the son of Willard Ware (1799-1845) and Anna Edson (1811-1891). He was married to Jane Elizabeth Payne (1836-1909) in 1855. At the time of the 1860 US Census, Samuel and his wife were enumerated in Buckland, Franklin county, Massachusetts. The couple had two children—Lucy War, born 19 September 1857, and Mary Ware, born 8 February 1860.
Samuel was taken prisoner at Parker’s Store on the Orange plank Road in western Spotsylvania county, Virginia, on 29 November 1863, Samuel was held a prisoner at Belle Island in Richmond, VA prior to being transferred to Andersonville where he died of diarrhea and scurvy on August 10, 1864 after nine months of captivity.
In the following letter, written from Belle Island where he was being held a prisoner, Samuel lets his brother-in-law, Alonzo Payne (1839-1886) know that he was well and but hungry and requests a box of victuals be sent to him. Confinement on Belle Isle would have been particularly brutal in the wintertime. As was customary with prisoner of war letters, it was limited to one page in length.
Belle Isle Prison on island in James River opposite Richmond, Virginia
[Note: The photocopy of the letter was sent to me for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared by Lin Robinson who is Samuel’s g-g-granddaughter.]
Transcription
Addressed to Mr. Alonzo Payne, Conway, Massachusetts
Belle Island, Richmond, Virginia January 14, 1864
Dear Brother,
I write to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines will find you the same. I am a prisoner. I am used well except I don’t get enough to eat and I want you to send me a small box. Don’t put anything in it that won’t keep one month. Some meal, pork, sugar, tea, salt, dried apple, drief beef, cheese, butter, crackers, &c.
Send to my wife that I am well. Please send the box as soon as you get this. Direct as follows: Samuel Ware, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, Belle Island, Richmond, Virginia.
In the following 1839 lawsuit, the plaintiff Reuben Holton, brought suit against the defendant, Charles Patterson, for having made his unwed daughter Abigail pregnant, thus depriving him of the services of his daughter—and servant. Yes, under New York law, and apparently the English courts before, a parent was entitled to their child’s services, and compensatory damages were often awarded for the loss of services of the person seduced. Evidence that the defendant offered to marry the child seduced was not to be taken into consideration in mitigation of the damages. A defendant’s only recourse in fighting the suit would be to show that that the child was not seduced but was unchaste and promiscuous in her intercourse with men. [New York Law of Damages]
Transcription
Superior Court of July Term of the 6th Day of August 1839 Schenectady county
Reuben Holton, Plaintiff, in the suit by John C. Wright, his Attorney, complains of Charles Patterson, defendant, by declaration & not by [ ] according to the statute of a plea of trespass on the case. For that whereas the said defendant contriving & wrongfully & [un___] intending to injure the said plaintiff & to deprive him of the service & assistance of Abigail Holton, the daughter & servant of him, the said plaintiff heretofore to wit, on the seventh day of November 1838 at Duanesburg in the County of Schenectady & on divers other days & times between that day and this…debauched and carnally knew the said Abigail Holton there and then and from thence for a long space of time to wit, hitherto being the daughter and servant of the said Reuben Holton, where the said Abigail Holton became pregnant & sick with child & so remained & continued for a long space of time, to wit, for the space of nine months.,,from the day & year mentioned hitherto became & was unable to do or perform the necessary affairs & business of the said Reuben Holton, so being her father & master as aforesaid, & thereby hem the said Reuben Holton during all that time lost and was deprived of the services of his said daughter & servant [and was] forced and obliged to and did unnecessarily pay, lay out, and spend divers sums of money…one hundred dollars in and about the nursing & taking care of the said Abigail Holton…To the damage of the said plaintiff of two thousand dollars…
Spared & Shared 23 