All posts by Griff

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.

Rescue of USS Lehigh, USS Montauk, William T. Crane Sketches

1863-64: Allan McDougall Campbell to his Family

July 27, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

*An unidentified Union Navy Sailor (Ron Field Collection)*

These two letters were written by Allan McDougall Campbell (1835-1874), the son of Allan McDougall Campbell and Martha Matternley (1802-18xx) of Nova Scotia. At the time of the 1850 US Census, Allan was living under his mother’s roof in Westchester county, New York, his mother an apparent widow. At the time of the 1860 US Census, Allan was living in a New York City boarding house with his younger brother Donald working as a postal carrier. His brother Donald was working as a sign painter. It appears that Allan received his naturalization papers in August 1857.

It was in August 1863 that 29 year-old Allan enlisted in the US Navy. At that time he was described as standing just shy of 5 and a half feet tall, with grey eyes and auburn hair. He may have been the same Allan Campbell who served earlier in the Navy aboard the USS North Carolina, enlisting in August 1861. Both of the following letters were written while Allan served aboard the USS Montauk, a single-turreted Passaic-class monitor launched in 1862 and part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She may be best remembered as the vessel on which the autopsy of John Wilkes Booth was performed in late April 1865.

After he was discharged from the Navy, Allan returned to New York State, settling in Morrisania, Westchester county, where he found employment as a brick mason and married Annie Walker Fisher (1845-1938).

Letter 1

Iron Clad Montauk
Off Charleston, S. C.
December 3rd 1863

Dear Mother,

I received Don’s letter on Sunday I think it was, but could not get a chance to write till today for I have been made cook of our mess which takes most of my time. I took [the position] because it adds seven dollars and a half to my month’s wages and that you know is something [in] these times although I scarcely [have] any time to myself. The work is not hard nor warm.

I was very glad to hear from you. I wish you folks would write oftener for you don’t know how nice it is to get a letter here. Every mail that comes I stand coveting every letter that is called off. Do write—any of you. Don’t wait for an answer. Tell Johnny to write and tell me what the fire department are doing, &c

*Two sailors play the banjo and the bones.*

Mother, tell George to write something about his wife & Willie. Tell him they have found out that I play a little on the banjo and I was taken on board of the Massachusetts with the officers to buy a banjo from the young fellow that sent you my letter from Philadelphia. I seen him and bought the banjo from him. The chief paid ten dollars for it so we have music every night by order of the Lieut. There is a young fellow by the name of Charley Wicks—a regular comical genius. He plays the bones like sixty. The way they found me out was I heard a guitar in the officer’s room one night. The next night I asked one of the men to borrow it. The Chief, whose it was, brought it out. I sung the Duck Song which I had to repeat for the Captain & then for the Lieutenant and there was nothing but bothering all the time. We are going to get up a kind of a concert for New Years night so you see we are not without some fun.

December 4th. I had to leave off yesterday to get supper ready.

On the 18th of last month, we saw [Forts] Moultrie and Johnson firing on the [USS] Lehigh the first thing in the morning. She, being up on picket, had got aground during the night. The rebels discovering her fix opened fire on her. We were ordered up to tow her off. We went up and engaged Moultrie, and sent a boat under cover of our smoke with a line to the Lehigh. While going, a shell burst over it but fortunately hurt no one. The struck our deck once on the deck with a round shot right alongside the fire room hatch, doing no other damage, [but] making a dent in the deck and knocking a sand bag into splithereens.

*The USS Lehigh aground near Fort Sumter, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, December 12, 1863, p. 177.*

On the Lehigh, five men and one officer was wounded while on deck by a shell which struck the turret but none of them has died. We blasted away with our eleven inch till it broke down. We struck two of their large guns on Moultrie, knocking one of them clean over.

We hauled the Lehigh off and then dropped out of range. ¹ The [USS] Ironsides run up but did not go into action. I thought we was going to have a general engagement but was rather disappointed. There has been nothing much done since except making a feint on [Fort] Sumter one night while [Gen. Quincy] Gillmore made an attack on and captured one or two [rebel forts] on James Island. They still keep up an ever-lasting fire day and night on Sumter to prevent them from building anything inside. There is a duel going on now between [Forts] Gregg and Wagner on our side and [Fort] Moultie and Battery No. 3 on Sullivans Island on their side.

We had a grand salute fired on the first by the Ironsides and Wabash in honor of Grant’s victory but I have not heard the full particulars of it yet. We have not had late enough papers. I must stop. Give my love to all and don’t forget Ollie and Susey for I am your singular son, — Allan

¹ Allen’s letter claims it was the USS Montauk that rescued the USS Lehigh—not even mentioning the presence of the USS Nahant—but history has recorded that both the Montauk and Nahant came to Lehigh’s rescue and that it was a launch from the Lehigh that succeeded in attaching a tow line to the Nahant who in turn pulled them off the sandbar. The full story can be found here: The Sailors Who Saved USS Lehigh.

*The USS Lehigh in the James River. The Lehigh and the USS Montauk were sister ships.*

Letter 2

Montauk
March 8th 1864

Dear Mother,

You were talking about the different ones in those pictures looking like me. I recollect the time that [William T.] Crane ¹ took the drawing. We made the fire room look very nice, cleaned up the engine as bright as a new pin, but he did not take any drawing of it after all. The drawing of the turret is very good. it looks quite natural with the guns. I sleep right aft of the 11 inch gun now for I have to stand four hours watch in the turret every night to be ready to revolve if wanted. There are three of us that take turns at it. The turret chamber [drawing] is very well [done] too.

*William T. Crane’s sketch of the “Interior of the Turret of the USS Ironclad Montauk”* *published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper on 13 February 1864.*

The man sitting reading is one of the firemen who was there at the time. It looks something like him but the rest is not so good. The chief sent a drawing of our concert on Christmas night to Harper’s or Frank Leslie’s but they haven’t put it in yet, I believe.

*Under the turret in the USS Montauk; a fireman sits reading newspaper at right.*

I have but very little time to write now for I am cook again & hardly get a chance to wash and mend my clothes and you must excuse my bad writing for it is so dark that I can’t see the lines.

What is the country coming to? Gold worth sixty cents on the dollar? I suppose if we had some encouragement, it would come down. I believe there are some talks of raising our wages. Well i hope they do. I don’t suppose it worth my while my coming home for I may be just in time to be drafted. But I hain’t home yet, am I? Write and tell me all the news.

Give my respects to all the folks. Tell George Sherwood to look out for the Monitors and torpedoes. We have got used to them now but they won’t try them on these things. We have nets all around us about 15 feet out from the sides rigged out on the ends of spars. They go down as deep as the bottom of the ship so they can’t hurt us. Besides the guns in the turret, we have a 12-inch Howitzer on each end of the deck. Our captain is very strict. He won’t allow a boat to come near at night till he gets ready to let them. The first thing is to train that gun on that boat till I get ready. If he don’t stop when you tell him, blow him out of the water.

I believe we are to make an attack on Sullivan’s Island pretty soon so it looks like doing something.

*William T. Crane’s Sketch of a rebel encampment on Sullivan Island in 1863*

I hope this finds you all in good health for I am in excellent health and spirits. Weather is fine and everything is lovely and the goose is high. Give my love to all—the little, big, & Drumaday Campbells. And to you Mother. I am as ever your singular affectionate son, — Allan

¹ William T. Crane worked as a “special artist” for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated newspaper which published 244 of his drawings. In addition, under orders from General Quincy A. Gilmore, Crane drew a series of sequential views of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in the summer of 1863 depicting the stages of the fort’s demolition during a prolonged Union bombardment.

117th Illinois Infantry, Burning of Hopefield

1863: Thomas Henry Stones to Joanna G. (Edwards) Stones

July 26, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

The following letter was written by Thomas Henry Stones (1844-1921), the son of Thomas Stones (1803-1846) and Joanna G. Edwards (1807-1880) of Atlanta, Logan county, Illinois.

Thomas enlisted on 7 August 1862 as a private in Co. A, 117th Illinois Infantry. He remained in the regiment for three years, mustering out on 5 August 1865. At the time of his enlistment he was described as a 5 foot 6 inch tall single 17-year-old farmer with brown hair and black eyes. After the war, in 1867, Thomas married Elvira Cunningham (1848-1927) and lived out his days as a wagon-maker in McLean county, Illinois.

Thomas wrote the following letter in February 1863 while the regiment was on duty in Memphis, Tennessee. From there they would occasionally go out on scouts, looking in particular for bushwhackers who would fire on Union ships as they carried troops and materials up and down the Mississippi. The “little town” that Thomas describes having seen “in ashes” was most likely the village of Hopefield which Major General Stephen A. Hurlbut, commander of the 16th Army Corps headquartered at Memphis, ordered to be destroyed as he judged it to be “a mere shelter for guerrillas” who had attacked Union boats for several weeks above and below Memphis. It was destroyed on 19 February 1863.

*Members of Co. C, 117th Illinois Infantry; drummer William H. Ashley lays at right.*

Transcription

[Memphis, Tennessee]
February 22, 1863

Dear Mother,

I take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and I feel as well as I ever felt since I came into the army. I think that I can stand the hardships as well as any of our company. Our company went out on a scout this week. We had orders to take one days rations in our haversacks. That was soon done and then we was drawn up in a line and marched down to a boat and we got on board and sailed up the river some five or six miles and landed for the night and in the morning after looking around awhile we started again. We crossed the river and went about five miles and we surrounded a house and closed in and demanded a search of the house. There was no men folks at home [and] the women did not like it very well but all in vain. Our Lieutenant-Colonel [Jonathan Merriam] and Captains searched the house [while] the boys made a charge on the chickens and smoke house. They made a terrible charge on the chickens. I think that we got at least seventy-five hens and honey, hams, sweet potatoes, butter, milk, and other things in proportion and two mules. The officers came pretty near burning her house but they did not. The woman was rank secesh—she did not deny it at all. She said that she had three sons in the Secesh army. One is a captain and the other two are lieutenants. I think that she ought to be burnt out of house and home.

Our gunboat burnt a little town that day. I seen the town after it was laid in ashes. The women and children did look awful. I could not help feeling bad to see them without house or home. Oh how glad I feel when I think you are so far from the army and the destruction of everything. You can’t hardly imagine the destruction of everything.

We had some of a chicken that I saved the other day for breakfast. I thought it was the best chicken that I ever tasted in my life. I wish that I could only quit to take breakfast with you again but I think in course of time I will have that opportunity. We have not received our box yet. Gus will go up tomorrow and see if it has come yet. I have not received any letter from home since the 25 of January. I am looking very anxious for a letter. I would be very glad if you would write once a week. Write soon. Give my love to all. — Thomas H. Stones

25th Wisconsin Infantry

1863: Alexander Miller to his friend Edwin

July 26, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

*Alexander Miller of Co. D, 25th Wisconsin Vols*.

The following letter was written by Alexander Miller (1832-1864) who enlisted as a private in Co. D, 25th Wisconsin Infantry on 8 August 1862. Alexander was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, the son of Hugh Miller (1806-1880) and Mary Lockhart (1813-1876). He was married in 1855 to Sarah J. Phillips and with their first born child relocated from Pennsylvania for Wisconsin. Their route took them down the Ohio river to the Mississippi and and then upriver to La Crosse, Wisconsin. From there they went by stage to Burns and then by ox team out to Big Creek Valley near Sparta where they established their home.

Alexander was with his regiment all through the war, including the Atlanta campaign, during which time he became seriously ill in early July 1864. He was taken to the Division hospital in Marietta. Later he was taken to Rome, Georgia, where he finally died on 10 October 1864. He kept a diary during his time in the service and he made his last entry on 9 October, “I am dying. God’s will be done. Oh God, look over and protect my dear wife and children from all the trials and temptations of the earth and finally let them meet me in heaven where we shall never more be parted.”

The following day, after his death, someone wrote in Alexander’s diary, “Alexander Miller died at half past 3 o’clock this morning. He did not seem to be in any pain. We have lost from among us one who was a true Christian, a Gentleman, and a Soldier. Farewell. God’s will be done.”

Alexander’s letter of 16 August 1863, transcribed below, gives the “particulars” of the death of one of his closest comrades, David H. Campbell, also of Co. D. David died of disease on 14 July 1863.

*Alexander Miller’s Certificate of Service with his image in the banner above the words, “I love my Country.”*

Transcription

Helena, Arkansas
August 16th 1863

Friend Edwin,

I received your letter of July 31st last evening & make haste to reply to your enquiries although I expect you have heard the particulars before this as I wrote to Andrew Bradley all the particulars about our friend David’s decease. You ask what was the state of his mind, &c. His mind generally appeared calm. I have had considerable conversation with him on religious matters. He always expressed a strong desire & determination to live a Christian life & he showed his desire by his daily walk of conversation. I don’t think he was aware that he was so near his end yet I trust that all is well with him. He had been unwell for some months but wasn’t considered anything serious till the evening before his death when he took a congestive chill. It only lasted a few minutes. He appeared tolerably lively after he got over it but complained of being weaker in the morning. He walked to the hospital (about 20 rods) without assistance. He laid down on a cot. This was about 10 or half past 10 & about 12 M he took another congestive chill & passed away without a struggle.

David has been my confidential friend for several months & we were tent mates and bed fellows. He told me that he wanted Nancy Savery to have all his property in case of his death. He said he left a paper at Bradley’s showing what he wanted done with his property but I doubt it being of any use if his relations have a mind to take his property. But I hope that his wishes may be fulfilled.

David was much respected in our company. He was my most confidential friend. It pains me to think that our friendship is broken but God doeth all things well. May His holy will be done.

I received a letter from you to David dated the 17th of July (I think). The commander of the company reads all his letters, then gives them to me.

The weather is quite dry and warm here—about 90 degrees several hours a day. There is black clouds, thunder and lightning every night but they bring no rain and but little wind. The health of the regiment is very poor. There is only about 50 reported for duty. There is a few more that do light duty. Thomas Dunlevy ¹ is not very well but is able to be about. He is my present bedfellow.

I had a spell of sickness while we were in the rear of Vicksburg. I got to feeling middling well & went on duty last week but I felt myself failing again in strength so I have quit work again. I feel well so long as I can be in the shade & keep cool but the sun soon brings me down. It is about 10 a.m. I would like to be at Big Creek to meet you all at the Prairie School House. We are almost totally deprived of Sabbath & Sanctuary privileges here. Oh, how I wish we had a chaplain to preach the word to us & council with the sick. But I hope that there is better days a coming.

Give my respects to all enquiring friends. Write as soon and often as convenient for I would be glad to have correspondence with any of David’s friends—more so with you, because you are an old neighbor. Hoping this may find you all well, I now close. From your friend, — A. Mill

Co. D, 25th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers via Cairo, Illinois

¹ Thomas Dunlevy of Co. D, 25th Wisconsin Infantry, died of wounds on 23 July 1864.

Maryland Homefront

1861: Tabitha Duvall to John Goring

July 26, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

I believe this letter was written by 22 year-old Tabitha Duvall (1838-1920), the daughter of slaveholders Tobias H. Duvall (1806-1856) and Rebecca C. Onions (1808-1875) of Collington, Prince George’s County, Maryland. Tabitha’s younger brother, Tobias Duvall (1841-1915) enlisted in Co. C, 2nd Battalion Maryland Infantry and fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Tabitha wrote the letter to her “dear friend” John Goring (1839-who served early in the war as a private in the Co. A of the 1st Michigan Infantry for three months and then reenlisted as the Sergeant Major of Co. D (later a 2nd Lieutenant in Co. A) in the 1st Michigan Infantry (three year) regiment. During the Battle of Gaine’s Mill on 27 June 1862, Goring was wounded and taken prisoner. He was exchanged in August 1862 for Lewis S. Chitwood of the 5th Alabama Infantry, and was soon after transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps (VRC), 2nd Regiment, City of Detroit.

Goring was born in England and came to the United States sometime after the death of his father in 1854. He did not marry until July 1865 when he took Mary Elizabeth Reiger (1845-1906) as his wife, and worked as a life insurance agent in Detroit.

Transcription

*Addressed to Sergeant Major Goring, 1st Regiment Michigan Infantry, Camp at Annapolis, Md.*

Collington
December 13 [1861]

Dear Friend,

Your very welcome letter has been duly received and I assure you it was perused with great pleasure. I had almost come to the conclusion that you had been ordered from good Old Maryland to the fiery land of South Carolina but am pleased to learn that you are not in such danger as you would there be exposed to as they have the black flag floating. I should think the Federals would not receive much mercy at their hands.

I have read a few extracts from the President’s Message and like them very much. I see a part of the Cabinet & Congress are trying for emancipating & arming the slaves. What do you think of it? As far as I am able to judge, they will not do their country any good by it. Enough of politics for I abominate them although I cannot help speaking on the subject sometimes. ¹

I received a letter from Lizzie Duvall last week. She was very well & says they have had two regiments stationed on their farm since yours left but only remained a few days, burning all their fencing. Poor Uncle Duvall has had some heavy losses in his time & they seem to follow him up but I do not blame the soldiers. I expect I would do the same were I in their places encamped out & could not get fuel.

“The Soldier’s Return” (1848) song sheet dates to end of the Mexican War

I passed by the junction about two weeks ago on my way to Baltimore. I did not see anyone I knew except the Chaplain & Mrs. Wise. She went up to Baltimore on the same train I did. I kept a strict look out for a glimpse of you but looked in vain. Have you any relatives in Louisiana by the name of Goring. I am acquainted with a very elegant family there by that name. One of their daughters married Hon. Charles L. Scott who was a congressman from California & is now a private in the Rebel army. ² I am not acquainted with any Duvalls at the Junction nor did not know any were living there but there are so many Duvalls in Prince George’s County that I think if you were to call every other person you meet here Duvall, you would not make a mistake.

We are having some charming weather now and I hope it will continue warm for the poor soldiers’ sake for I know they will suffer this winter. I am practicing a piece of music called the “Soldier’s Return” on the piano & I hope soon to have the pleasure of playing it for my friends who have gone to the war. I must now come to a close. Accept the best wishes from your sincere friend, — T. Duvall

¹ The “war powers of the National government” to emancipate slaves were openly discussed in Northern newspapers as early as September 1861 but most editors cautioned against it for either one of two reasons (sometimes both) which were: doing so would only convince Southern states that it was Lincoln’s intent (as they claimed) to emancipate the slaves from the very outset of his administration. The second reason was probably the most widely adopted, which was to query the American public, “What is to become of the slaves supposing they are freed? Would it promote the welfare of the now struggling border States, if they were filled with roving bands of ignorant, untrained, partially irresponsible blacks? Who is to feed and clothe them, and educate their sluggish powers, and employ their reluctant services, and fit them gradually for self-dependence?” Arming the slaves did not become a topic for newspaper columns until a few months later when the “quarrel” between President Lincoln and Secretary of War Simeon Cameron was leaked to the media—Cameron taking the position that the former slaves ought to be armed and used against the Confederates.

² Charles Lewis Scott (1827-1899) was born in Richmond, Virginia. He went to California in the gold rush of 1849 and the entered a law office in Sonoma. He served in the State Legislature in the mid 1850s and then was elected to the 35th US Congress, serving until 1861. When the American Civil War began, he resigned his seat in Congress and joined the Fourth Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Infantry, of the Confederate Army, serving as major. He never returned to California. In 1861 he suffered a serious leg wound at the First Battle of Bull Run. The severity of his leg pain caused him to resign his commission in 1862, after the Battle of Seven Pines. Charles was married to Anne Vivian Gorin (1836-1862) in Mobile, Alabama, in 1857. Anne Gorin (not Goring) never lived in Louisiana as far as I can learn. She seems to have grown up in Mobile, Alabama.

64th Illinois Infantry, Libby Prison, Prisoner of War

1863: Amos Reeves to A. E. McClane

July 26, 2023 Griff 2 Comments

*I could not find an image of Amos but here is one of Henry Benjamin Davis who served in the 64th Illinois and was killed at Marietta, Georgia, in August 1864. (Ancestry.com)*

The following remarkable letter was written by Amos Reeves (1835-Aft1910) of Sterling, Whiteside county, Illinois, who enlisted as a private in Co. B of the 64th Illinois Infantry (“Yates’ Sharpshooters”) in November 1861. In his four-page letter to his cousin, Amos tells the tale of his capture along with James Fitzgerald of his company by Gen. Philip Roddey’s guerrillas in northwest Alabama on 29 May 1863. For the next several weeks the captives were shuffled under guard from one Confederate encampment to another while Amos says he tried “to make the best of a bad bargain.”

While a prisoner, Reeves learned that many of the rebels who guarded him were conscripts and had little interest in waging war. He says that he worked deceptively with his captors to gain favor whenever possible and to encourage rebels to desert, reassuring them that they would not be exchanged back to the Confederate army where they would be shot as deserters. Eventually Reeves and Fitzgerald were delivered to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, where Reeves claimed they remained but four days before being exchanged and delivered to Camp Parole in Annapolis and later to Washington D. C. where he wrote the letter in August 1863.

Reeves was eventually sent back to Illinois, reenlisted as a veteran, and then ordered to his regiment where he resumed service and mustered out on 11 July 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky. Apparently Fitzgerald had had enough, He did not reenlist as a veteran and mustered out on 31 October 1864.

It does not appear that Amos ever married. He was enumerated in the 1910 US Census and he was mentioned in The Rockford Daily Register-Gazette in April 1897 where he was credited with having invented a “shoe scraper and cleaner which can be opened and closed so that is it not dangerous when there are children around…it cleans both the sole and the side of the foot.”

[Note: This letter is from the personal collection of Richard Weiner and was transcribed and published on Spared & Shared by express consent.]

Transcription

*Addressed to Miss A. E. McClane, Sterling, Illinois*

Parole Camp, Virginia
August 11, 1863

My dear Cousin Lida.

Though far away and long silent, I often think of thee and memory and fancy bring many pleasing pictures to my mind, and though I see many dark pictures and gloomy clouds, the bright ones are the prettiest and I love to look at them.

It has been a long time since I have had an exchange of thought & sentiment with you though I have heard from you (I saw a letter Jennie sent to Stephen) and I always think you are among friends and enjoying life.

Well, my dear cousin, I am enjoying life. Life is as dear to me as ever though I remain in the army. I expect that you have heard that I have been making the Rebs a visit. So I have and had an interesting time of it though I was an unwilling guest. A sergeant of my company, Joseph Fitzgerald, and I were captured on the 29th of May and were robbed of our money, hats, and boots, &c. and we found ourselves among robbers, murderers, highwaymen, and that we would have to take things easy and not hoist false colors but keep our colors covered at times and then sometimes I could hoist before them the good old flag with all its glories and blessings and the pictures of the American Revolution, its heroes, the levers of justice, the cowboys and skinners, the tories and savages, and then I showed them their own perfidy and treachery.

But while I was with Gen. Roddey’s Guerrillas, I passed for a good Vallandigham man among the officers and most of the men and I found many of them that were conscripts and only wanted a chance to escape. They were ashamed of their crowd and as they had been told by their officer we made every deserter enlist or we sent them around for exchange so as to get one of our soldiers for them, they were afraid to come over. So I told them the truth and during the ten days that I stayed in their camp, there were over 30 of them deserted and went to our camp. Then I was taken to Tuscumbia, Alabama, where I stayed a week and found friends. Some of the men who were guarding us were good Union men and a good lady sent us a plenty of milk and some nice biscuits and butter twice and some ginger cake once. Then we were taken to Huntsville—Gen. Pillow’s Headquarters. From there to Chattanooga, then almost to Knoxville when the Yankees came in ahead of us and tore up the road and we had to go back, and then down to Atlanta, Ga., and from there to Augusta, Ga., then to Columbia, S. C., and Raleigh, N. C., Petersburg, and Richmond, Va. Stopped in Richmond in Libby Prison four days, then came by the way of the James River & Fort Monroe to Annapolis and from there to Washington D. C.

And here I found lots of friends (of whom I will tell in my next) and have been seeing the sights & learning all I could and trying to make the best of a bad bargain. I am sorry that I delayed writing so long and I wish I could give you a full history of my expedition.

Yours, — Amos

34th New York Infantry, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Chancellorsville, Mutiny

1862-63: Philip J. Crewell to Henry J. Crewell

July 26, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

*A pen & watercolor drawn from a tintype of Philip J. Crewell, Co. F, 34th New York*

The following letters were written by Philip J. Crewell (1840-1917) who enlisted for two year’s service on 1 May 1861 and entered Co. F, 34th New York Infantry as a corporal. The 34th New York Infantry, a two years regiment, were known as “The Herkimer Regiment,” and they served in the 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac. They saw action at Yorktown; at Fair Oaks, where they lost 97 men, killed, wounded and missing; they lost heavily in the 7 Days Battles; at Antietam, they lost 154 men, killed, wounded, and missing; and they also fought at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Philip was discharged on 30 June 1863.

On May 1, 1863, the day prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville, six companies of the regiment mutinied and refused to fight on the grounds that their two year enlistment terms had expired, although in fact this was still almost two months away. Brig. Gen John Gibbon, who commanded the division that the 34th New York was in, brought up the 18th Massachusetts and gave them orders to shoot the men of the 34th New York if they wouldn’t fight. The regiment reformed and served dutifully during the Second Battle of Fredericksburg two days later. On June 30, the 34th New York mustered out and the two year men went home, the remaining companies, who had signed up for three years of service, being transferred to the 82nd New York Infantry.

Philip’s first letter also contains an account of a mutiny that occurred in the ranks of the 34th New York Infantry—this one taking place a year earlier. Philip’s version of events appear markedly different than the official newspaper accounts which don’t quite tell the whole story. Philip’s second letter describes in great detail the Battle of Antietam and his third letter was written approximately three weeks before the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Philip was the son of John Crewell and Alida Luke of German Flatts, Herkimer county, New York.

Letter 1

Camp West Point,
or 3 miles up the Pamunky River from West Point to Richmond
May 12th 1862

J. J. Crewell,

Brother, I now sit down to answer your letter of the 6th. I was very glad to receive a letter from you and to hear from you all, Now as to the boys and myself, I have not been well for about 10 days but I can say that I am well today. My ailment was the measles working in my head. I had caught a very bad cold and it all seemed to work in my head till it broke and then I am all right in a day or two. The rest of the boys are in good health, hoping these few lines will find you all the same.

Now as to the warfare, there hasn’t any happened of late that I shall speak of more than we still mean to invade on after the rebels and get them out of existence as soon as possible. The show is now that they mean to make a stand 3 miles this side of Richmond but that will be of not much account for we have fources coming from three different ways on them and I don’t think that there will be much fighting for us to do. Our division is the third reserve adn the battle must be a hard one when we have to come in.

We move on towards Richmond today. There’s 60,000 ahead of us within but short distance of the rebels. The fight will soon open there. This thing has got to come to a close in short.

Now a little circumstance that has happened in the regiment. Last evening at dress parade, there was two companies that mutinied and stacked their arms. And now [I will tell you] the cause for it. In the first place, Co. A has held the right of the regiment ever since we have been in the service and Co. F is next. So Old Gorman ¹ thought he would make a change in the regiment because his son [Richard L. Gorman ²] was in Co. C—that is the color company and he didn’t know but what if we were brought into action that his son would be in a little more danger than the rest of the companies. So Co. A if they had to rank to the senior captain, we would be the 4th and Co. A that was held to the right of the regiment would be the 9th comany. The companies that have stacked arms are A and B and the officers are Capt. [Davis J.] Rich [of Co. D], Capt. [William L.] Oswald [of Co. A], Lieutenant [Benjamin H.] Warford. These are the three officers. The talk is that the officers will be sent to Fort Lafayette and the privates to the rip raps to Fortress Monroe. There they will have to handle stone till their time is out and not receive one cents worth of pay. They was offered their arms this morning again but would not accept of them.

That is all. Write soon and as often as you can. Sell my [ ] if you can no matter what the rest says. I will be satisfied. From your brother, — Philip Crewell

Hoping soon to all meet again.

¹ Willis Arnold Gorman (1814-1876) served as a Major in Gen. Lane’s regiment of Indiana Volunteers in the Mexican War where he was severely wounded at the Battle of Buena Vista. He was appointed governor of the territory of Minnesota in 1853 and later served in the Minnesota legislature. In the Civil War he began his service as the Colonel of the 1st Minnesota but was promoted to Brigadier-General of volunteers in September 1861 and commanded a Division that included the 34th New York during the Peninsula Campaign. According to Philip’s letter, the mutiny in the 34th originated from Gen. Gorman’s desire to have his son’s company’s letter designation changed which upset the seniority hierarchy of the officers in the regiment.

² Richard L. Gorman was 26 years old when he enlisted on 27 April 1861 at St. Paul, Minn., to serve as a private in the 1st Minnesota Infantry. On 1 January 1862 he received a commission as 1st Lieutenant of Co. C, 34th New York Infantry. Richard was promoted to Captain of Co. A on 24 June 1862. He resigned his commission on 2 March 1863.

Clipping from the Cincinnati Daily Commercial. Monday, 2 June 1862

Letter 2

[Note: The following letter is from the private collection of Keith Fleckner and was offered for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared by express consent.]

Camp Bolivar Heights, Virginia
Sunday, October 5th 1862

Brother,

Today I will try and give you a better description of the Battle [of Antietam] and the feelings of that day’s fight and the feelings of the 34th [New York Infantry] ever since they left their homes. Now as to the 17th day of last month, or ever since we left Tenleytown on the march to face the Rebels in Maryland, every soul of the 34th was anxious to once move to meet them face to face with the instrument of death in their hand. We all marched forward with a brave and willing tread, willing to grapple with our enemy at any moment. And so we marched forward till within sight of the butternut’s colored coats and there we laid whilst they were fighting for two days, and when they would throw a shell over in our camp, everyone was willing to face the messenger of death on equal footing.

So the next morning we were ordered to take eighty rounds of ammunition and every hand worked with a willingness to be ready at the time that we were to march. We all moved off together—some 30 thousand or more. We moved on, and about halfway between our camp and the line of battle, there was a stream of water of three feet deep that we had to ford, and every man moved forward getting wet up to his body, but not a word was spoken. Every eye looked forward to catch the first sight of the battlefield, for the earth was shaking with the heavy sound of cannon. Onward we moved and soon we came in sight of the enemy’s guns, and then we formed a line of battle and then pressed forward, passing over the battlefield where there lay thousands of dead.

Sedgwick’s Division was in front and Gorman’s Brigade on the left, and the left of that was the 34th—without any support whatever. Now they said that 34th was ordered by the left flank and that whilst attempting to execute the order under a most intense fire from their enemy’s lines. In the first place, we were marched right up in front, there being a heavy knoll between us and the enemy that is in the woods. We advanced to the brow of the knoll just so we could look down the other side, and there the enemy were, eight deep, laying with their faces down, within 15 rods [80 yards] of us. They lay there waiting to have us show our whole bodies, but we had too quick an eye and took our chances for the first fire. The order was given to hold low and so we did. We held in the face of the first line and the word was given, “fire!” when the whole line opened with one sheet of fire and lead which lifted them from the dirt, but to fall again, for our aim was sure. Them that was left run out of the woods, or attempted to, but a good many bit the dust.

We drove the whole line before us and they, seeing our left unsupported, they came back with five times our number, and then we held our ground till we were ordered back. When we left our lines, the rebels was within two rods of us, and had it not been for the knoll, they being coming up one side and we went down the other, or they would have shot every one of us. But their balls all went over [our heads], or the heaviest fire. Now, how could we have run so quick and held our ground till we fired 13 times, so that is the way we run.

Now, about the time we left home. When we left home there was some that said that Herkimer Country had got rid of all their loafers and thieves and that if they all got killed, or half of them, they wouldn’t be missed. But who has won the name of honor for that old county, and had her name among the highest? None but them that they call loafers. But when them loafers went to serve their country’s cause, they didn’t sell their lives for $2.00 and two but for $11 and no more. We have come and won the honor that they have to crow over, and we feel as though a share of that bounty had out to be ours. No more.

Your Brother, as ever — Philip Crewell

Good morning

Letter 3

Camp Falmouth, Va.
Thursday, April 10, 1863

Father & Mother, sisters and brothers,

As I told you I would write before a move or battle if I had the opportunity and so I will write one letter to you all for I can’t write any more in one than in the others. We were to move yesterday morning at six o’clock but a heavy rain set in which has kept back the move. But today it is cleared up very nice. We expect orders every day or every moment to march. We have eight days rations ready. give in my knapsack and three in my haversack. They have taken all our clothes that wasn’t needed but I was on picket so I hadn’t any chance to send anything. I would liked to of sent off my dress coat and also a blanket for I have too much to carry but when I throw them I will stay with them whether I get taken prisoner or not.

But the time will seem long before I shall write again as I have no paper nor ink nor any to take along. But it seems still longer for me to wait for a letter from some of you. I have looked with an anxious eye when the mail arrived to see if I couldn’t hear from you but [I was] disappointed as usual.

Oh how I dread this next coming battle. It is likely all we ever will go in but then there is so few of us and still we have to take our place as a regiment in battle and fight five times our number, and by all appearance, they put great confidence in winning the next coming battle and without we fight with the determination of either dying on the battlefield or else conquer our enemy, why they will think that we don’t mean to fight because our time is so near out. But if I have to fight so much greater the odds as we have in other battles, why I don’t think the Old 34th will be very apt to stand.

But, [what] is the use of me writing to have your minds if I am to be spared and get through all safe. Why it will be so we must trust for the best. But after the firsts of May. I think my fighting is done with. The damn pay master hasn’t been around yet nor will he till after the next battle is over with for fear if there is any of the Boys skins out and they court martial them if they have their pay, they are all right. But if we have any money coming, they can take it. But the bounty they can’t touch nor have we had a chance to touch it.

Well, I haven’t much to write. The wagon train is moving up to the right. The talk is that Stonewall Jackson is in the rear of us with 50,000 men. If so, we will have to fall back. But I think we will have to cross the Rappahannock again and then a death struggle will take place for the Rebels look at the next battle as closing the war in [their] favor or else [our] crushing them forever.

Now I know this will make you feel uneasy but trust in my next if I am spared to write that you may hear better news. Write soon and don’t wait so long. I will have to send this without my stamp for I have neither money nor stamps. No more. I remain your son and brother, — Philip Crewell

Antebellum Ohio, Whigs versus Locofocos

1845: John B. Hammer to James Clark Holbrook

July 25, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

The following letter was written by John B. Hammer of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, to his friend, James Clark Holbrook (1817-1895). James was married to Eliza Jane McDill (1822-1901) in May 1845 and we learn that he relocated to Randolph county, Illinois, sometime previous to the date of this letter. In the 1850 US Census, James was enumerated in Sparta where he practiced law.

I believe John B. Hammer was approximately the same age as Holbrook and may have emigrated to Hamilton, Ohio, from Pennsylvania, possibly with a brother named Logan Hammer.

Hammer’s letter speaks of the Hydraulic company in Hamilton, prospects for a railroad to be built to Cincinnati, and of the recent Butler count elections in which the Whigs defeated the Locofocos [Democrats].

Transcription

*Addressed to James C. Holbrook, Esqr., Sparta, Randolph county, Illinois*

Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio
October 27, 1845

Dear Holbrook,

Numerous conflicting & portentions of evil are the conjectures entertained particularly in the circle of your more immediate acquaintance here since your departure for the West concerning your hazardous adventure and final destination. The fact of their not having heard anything from you since your departure together with the anxiety they feel in your welfare, had led them to interchangeably indulge in such ominous surmises as (I hope all visionary & foundationless); perhaps he has taken passage upon one of those unfortunate steamers that has been blown to pieces by the explosion of the boiler & participated in the dire calamity of his fellow passengers, the horrible accounts of which the columns of our ephemerial journals are literally filled. I wonder if the old craft upon which he has taken passage has not been foundered by running afoul of one of those dangerous breakers who so much infest our western waters & render it rather a precarious undertaking to travel thereon. Or it may be he has been caught out of port in a storm and been shipwrecked upon some of the sterile, rugged coasts of the Mississippi. But notwithstanding this difference of opinion of what may have been your fate, yet we are unanimous in this—that either some sad mishap had befallen you during your journey or else you have proven remiss in your duty in not writing. I therefore assume the responsibility of addressing you a few lines & if you are safely moored in the haven of your anticipated destination, to awaken you if possible to a sense of your delinquency in not letting us hear from you.

As I was confined to my room by illness at the time you took your leave of our village, I am consequently unaware of the occupation you have determined upon pursuing in the West—whether lawing, teaching, farming, or preaching—all of which laudable professions I believe you have considerable knowledge and some experience. However, having heard nothing to the contrary, & knowing that the profession of the law stands first in your estimation, I suppose your efforts will be directed in this line. But it whatever occupation you may deem most conducive to your feelings and interest, may fortune smile & your every effort be crowned with its merits and reward.

I still remain at the office of the old firm, Bebb & Reynolds. Things here have assumed within the last twelve months quite a different aspect for though the old office & those familiar objects by which I am immediately surrounded remain unaltered & the same, yet that almost total revolution, or rather annihilation that has been effected among its once jovial inmates has forced upon me the conviction of the truth of the old adage that man is the creature of circumstances. This seems to be more particularly the case among the fraternity of this old office…I stand almost companionless & alone forming the centre and circumference of our numerous and once happy circle. In this condition, bowed down by the spirit or ennui, I turn with the mingled emotions of pleasure and regret to gaze upon the once cheerful hearth around which we were wont to while away the leisure hours of the cold winter evenings; but which is now cheerless, desolate, and forsaken. With pleasure as it serves as a memento to awaken afresh those moments—yea hours—of happiness which it was once our lot to enjoy. With regret upon the reflection that those scenes can never again be renewed, I have the consolation of having the moody reflection dispelled by an occasional personal intercourse with some of our old companions—particularly Drayer and Ebenezer, known to you perhaps as well the trite appellation of the Eunuchs of our fraternity.

Upon the subject of general news, I have but little to say as there is nothing at present transpiring in our town that would attract the attention of the most careful of observer. Business of all kinds is unusually dull and the complaints of the lawyer, the merchant, the mechanic, and the husbandman greet your ears upon all corners of our streets.

There is, however, some excitement here upon one topic (particularly among the stockholders of the Hydraulic company) & that is concerning a railroad which has been some time under contemplation connecting Hamilton and Cincinnati. The engineers have already viewed several routes, & present indications speak favorably of its ultimate completion. The Cincinnatians are warm on the subject. The Hydraulic fever, I understand, is also up in Rossville; there being some talk of constructing a water power there similar to that in Hamilton. I think this excitement is but momentary & will die with its object unaccomplished. ¹

The weather here at present & for two or three weeks past has been transcendentally beautiful—we having what is called the genuine Indian Summer—the most beautiful season of the revolving year. The health of our towns is improving rapidly; the frosty mornings contributing to abate to a considerable extent the chills & fevers so prevalent here a short time since. Deaths are seldom to be heard of—but one happening among our adult inhabitants at least of which I have heard since your departure—viz: Jacob Mires.

The Ohio elections of which I suppose you have already heard is cheering to the friends of law and order (the Whigs having a majority of 24 on joint ballot in the Legislature). The Whigs of our town and vicinity have had some capitol fun with the Locofocos here upon the occasion of our election last Tuesday. As an unusual occurrence here, there was little or nothing said about either men or measures previous to the election—at least in the ranks of the Whigs. Stokes as usual had been copious and pathetic in his appeals to the democracy (notwithstanding the silence of the Whigs) to turn out to a man and save the country from ruin. They came to the polls more than ordinarily elated with the reflection of their anticipated triumph. All went swimmingly on until about 2 o’clock p.m. when the Whigs, in pursuance of some preconcerted plan of a few who were fond of fun, came pouring in from all directions in such numbers as to terrify & utterly confound the Locofocos. Stokes broke gasping for breath for his office for a new supply of tickets. Oliver mounted a swhiched poney standing hard by and ere the shouts of hurrah boys, or, “By God we are beaten!” had died upon the breeze might be seen sending his way at the top of his cargers speed for the black bottours and Wilkins vociferated “To arms! to arms! The Coons [Whigs] are upon us in an unguarded moment,” while upon the opposite corner of the Public Square might be heard as the echoes of his lion-like voice, the shouts of Old Rolly to rally! “Rally! friends of democracy & save the liberties of your country from the subverting hands of whiggery which is about to grasp them.” In a few moments, all was confusion & uproar, and in all directions might be seen the dismayed leaders of the Locofocos urging their almost bewildered serfs to the onset.

Scarcely had our ear caught the first tolls of the town clock as it was striking 4 when down went the window & put a stop to the flood of Whig votes which were still pouring in. Something like order & harmony was now soon restored among the rabble. But when the returns began to come in from the contiguous townships & where the formerly received a majority of from two to three hundred was now but 27 not a loco could be seen; & a glimpse of one of those infernal critters would have been worth all the menageries in the country. At seven in the evening, office holders row presented a dismal and ominous appearance; with bolted doors and barred windows. Everything assumed that death-like awful silence which is witnessed on visiting at the silent hour of midnight some old deserted grave yard. While around the dimly burning lamps within might be seen in small groups the terrified inmates with pencil in hand eagerly calculating the results of the election. Their majority was reduced some 6 or 7 hundred in the country—a consequence of failure to turn out on the part of the locos rather than any boost in the whig vote.

I heard from Calve Campbell a few days ago; he is at Germantown & flourishing finely. J. B. Drayer ² sends his everlasting compliments & his best wishes for your success. He told me to say he was in good spirits notwithstanding he is the defeated candidate for State Attorney. He got at last term of court here some 4 or 5 new cases which came very acceptable as his only case was just disposed of.

Give my respects to the partner of your hopes & joys, &c. and to all the little Holbrooks. I remain yours in friendship, — John B. Hammer

N. B. I forgot to mention that my health is unusually good at present—better than it has been for a long time previous.

P. S. Answer soon. Drayer was the Whig nominee for State Attorney and of course was beaten. Rather a bad beginning in the political arena.

¹ “By the mid-1800s, Hamilton had become a significant manufacturing city, producing machines and equipment used to process the region’s farm produce. Completed in 1845, the Hamilton Hydraulic System spurred one of Hamilton’s greatest periods of industrial and population growth from 1840 to 1860. Hamilton Hydraulic was designed to be a system of canals interlocking with natural reservoirs to bring water from the Great Miami River into the city as a power source for future industry. Four miles to the north of Hamilton, a dam was built to funnel water into the Hamilton Hydraulic System along with two reservoirs to store extra water for the new system. The Hamilton Hydraulic System was a high risk/high reward project: while the City of Hamilton did not have many businesses that would need the power when construction began in 1842, if it could be successfully completed, the power generated by the system would bring in more industry. The gamble proved to be a successful one as the project attracted many businesses to the area, including the Beckett Paper Company in the late 1840s.” [City of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio.]

² John Breitenback Drayer (1823-1891) was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and lived in Butler county, Ohio in the 1840s. He was a lawyer who moved to Henry county, Iowa, prior to the Civil War and was Captain of Co. H, 30th Iowa Infantry from 23 September 1862 to 23 March 1863 (6 months).

Battle of the Crater, Elmira Depot for Drafted Men, Trading between the Pickets

1864-5: Emmett H. Waller to Lucy F. Waite

July 25, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

*I could not find an image of Emmett but here is one of Madison Walts who served with Emmett in Co. I, 14th NY H.A. (Photo Sleuth)*

These letters were written by Emmett H. Waller (1843-Aft1890) who enlisted in late December 1863 at Burke, New York, to serve three years in Co. I, 14th New York Heavy Artillery. He was mustered into the company officially on 4 January 1864. At the time of his enlistment, he gave his birthplace as Pierrepont, St. Lawrence county, New York, his occupation as “mechanic,” and he was described as standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, with blue eyes and dark hair. A note in the muster roll abstracts claims that he was on detached duty from the regiment, serving as a clerk in the headquarters of the 1st Division, 9th Army Corps.

Emmett was the son of Asabel Waller (1799-1876) and Jerusha Dorothy (1804-1881) of St. Lawrence county, New York. Emmett’s father earned his living as a joiner and also served as the postmaster in East Pierrpont.

After he was discharged from the service in 1865, Emmett moved to Muskegon, Michigan, where he worked he opened a business under the name “Waller & Beerman” selling pianos, organs, and sewing machines. Emmett did not marry Lucy to whom he sent “a hundred kisses” to close the following letter. He did not marry until 1881 when he took Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Houghton as his wife.

Letter 1

Emmett wrote this letter from Elmira, New York. It was sent on official stationery of the “Headquarters Depot for Drafted Men” which was operated almost as rigidly as the prison sited there for Confederate soldiers. By this late date in the war, drafted men had to be watched closely to make certain they did not desert as many of them were there involuntarily. Rigid rules were laid down to keep draftees in camp while they were being organized and drilled for assignment to Union regiments.

*Addressed to Miss Lucy F. Waite, Russell, St. Lawrence county, New York*

Headquarters Depot for Drafted Men
Elmira, New York
April 3rd 1864

Your letter was received safe and sound and I was glad to hear from you so soon although it pained me very much to learn of your illness. You said if you had been a soldier you would have been reported unfit for duty. Yes, and I would have done your fatigue duty for you and all the time if I could have the honor.

Livey, I am afraid you work too much and too hard. You must not work so as to hurt yourself as you are well aware that you are not able to and you ought to be very careful—not do any heavy work such as lifting.

As to my ride home on Monday, I had a very pleasant time and all the time wished that Lucy was along with me. Yes, and that I could have introduced her into my father’s family as a member and to know that she was mine. Yes, my heart was in enough [word missing], I will bet you. You know that and you remember that tree or little knoll where I kissed your lovely face. You will remember about that, I presume. I speak of it often enough to have you…

Since I was at home or since I came [here], we have had a foot of snow fall in one night and the next night all gone again so I did not have time to get a sleigh ride.

Since I have got back, am having very nice times. I just made out Telegrams and Special Orders for the A.A.A. General and issue the passes to all soldiers on detached service. The passes have to be recorded making a good deal of work. It commenced with the 31st of March, all soldiers found in this city without a pass from my signature are put in the guard house. We all have to wear our uniforms now. An order—No. 16—reads thus: “All soldiers found in the city without the prescribed uniform, the patrol guard are ordered to arrest and confine in the guard house.” I did not like it much when I made it but it was the old Colonel’s orders. I will close. I have written so much of the last few days, I am tired. It is not a very long letter but I write so much oftener than you do, that you must excuse. I hope when this reaches you, you will be a great deal better and able to be around enjoying yourself.

— E. H. Waller

You must answer this as soon as time will admit and oft oblige a friend. Hundred kisses to close with and a smiling countenance is read your answer.

Letter 2

In Camp Fort Haskell
January 28, 1865

Lucy,

I have written you so often of late and have received no answer. I well know the reason—or at least think this it, that you were offended at the photograph I sent you entitled “excuse my back, sir.” The reason I sent it was this. It was given me and I thought it a very comical picture and still not bawdy. I sent it with the idea that you would laugh at the novelty and think, yes, and know, that I meant no evil intent. You have often told me that I was gentlemanly in conversation, never used vulgar language, and God knows I never thought of wrong in your presence, nor any other, but that of true devotion. I have often thought, yes, and hourly, that had I not sent it, I would give hundreds of dollars and then the thought has entreat my mind can it be that she has only been waiting for me to do something for you to say farewell.

Oh! I fear for myself what my end will be here. I am in the land where the enemy’s missiles fly thick and fast, and since I came, I have not felt the least fear of. I do not care it seems whether I lay my bones here or not. Were I dead, my mind would be at rest and you would not be troubled with my declarations of love. You would feel at rest that you were freed from a troublesome trouble.

I have been on picket 24 hours and on fort guard 4 hours only since I joined this Regiment, but visit the picket line every night to trade with the Johnnies and visit. The Johnnies meet us half way and often come into our lines—called picket pits, we promising them that they may go back and we let them too. [But] sometimes our officers finding them in our pits, keep them. This is wrong when they had the promise to go back. There was a Lieutenant of theirs come over last night and stayed by his own request. They are deserting very fast. They reported last night that Charlestown was taken by our folks; also that we took Gen. Joe Johnston. I have not invested much stock in this yet; perhaps it is true. I will close now and go down and see the Johnnies and have a chat. Then on the morrow if nothing happens, I will finish this. It is now 10 o’clock eve. Goodbye.

Good morning, Lucy. I left you last eve to go down and see the Johnnie Rebs and met four of them at our picket pits. They had cartloads of tobacco and wanted hard tack bread meat coffee knives and almost everything but tobacco. They say they will starve in a short time. Their only hope now is that they be a settlement and cessation of hostilities. They have the story now that there is an armistice of 80 days. The most of them say they are only waiting for their pay which they expect to get on or before the 15th day of March. Then they can buy things with their money and desert to our lines. We have various rumors—first, that we are to be relieved and move to the left; others that we are going to New York; and others that we are to go to Baltimore. I think we shall stay here and fight just when there is any fighting to do.

I was over to see Alvah Beach’s grave the other day. It is only a few rods from here. Many of the 14th boys are buried around these works. It is but a few rods from here where our regiment made the charge on the 30th of July at the great explosion [see Battle of the Crater] and this very ground was fought over. There are dead you can see their bones laying between the picket posts on top of their knapsacks just as they fell. It is horrible—horrible! The boys tell me that there was some of them lay there for 3 and 4 days wounded and unable to walk or crawl that had to lay there and starve to death, they hearing them groan all the time, but darst not go after them. One boy had a brother in this place. He heard his groans for 3½ days [and] finally could not endure it longer. He got a long rope and threw it to him in the night and succeeded in getting him and saving his life. He had his thigh broken.

*Becker Collection 22484 detail. “Siege of Petersburg — Charge into the Crater.” Andrew McCallum, artist.*

I am not well now. Yesterday I went to the doctor for medicine. I cannot speak a loud word on account of a severe cold on my lungs. The doctor excused me yesterday from all duty. Gave me 4 quinine powders to take one every three hours. I did take one every three hours and threw them in the fire today, I did not go near him and tomorrow he goes home on a furlough. Just as well. Doctors in the army are a nuisance.

I received a letter from home this week saying my Mother had gone to Ogdensburgh on a visit. My brother’s wife who lives there is very sick. Her old complaint consumption. I fear she will go this time to her long home. I will close for this time and wait an answer. — Emmett

Co. I. 14th New York Heavy Artillery, Washington, D. C.

21st Iowa Infantry, Iowa Homefont

1862: Rachel Maria (Crossman) Bolles to Lorenzo Bolles, Jr.

July 24, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

This letter was written by Rachel Maria (Crossman) Bolles (1823-1886), the wife of Lorenzo Bolles, Jr. (1822-1869). The couple were married in 1852. For both Rachel and Lorenzo, it was their second marriage. Lorenzo’s first wife, Ann Aurelia Ellsworth, died in 1852 after 7 years marriage. Fachel’s first husband, Pliney Merrick Sibley died in 1844 after two years marriage. The Bolles’ children included Mary Lucretia Bolles (1850-1931), Lorenzo Bolles (1854-1944), Carrie M. Bolles (1856-1940), and Anna Sophronia Bolles (1862-1938).

Rev. Lorenzo Bolles was a Methodist minister. At the time that Rev. Bolles enlisted as the chaplain of the 21st Iowa Infantry, he was serving as a minister and financial agent for a group of eastern Methodists who were planning to move wholesale onto 1,000 acres they had purchased in Iowa as a group. They had made arraignments for a “Colony House” where people could stay with their families until their farms or businesses were created and then they would move, allowing the next group of settlers a place to come to. A financial panic ended the project in the late 1850’s with only the first group of settlers making it to Iowa.

[Note: This letter is from the personal collection of Mike Huston and was transcribed and published on Spared & Shared by express consent.]

Transcription

*Addressed to L. Bolles, Jr., St. Louis, Mo., 21st Reg. Iowa Volunteers, In the Field*

Sand Spring [Iowa]
December 31st 1862

My very dear husband,

Your dear, kind, long-looked for, and much wished-for letter of 19th was received last Friday eve. I read it three times before going to bed and again in the morn. I don’t know but I should have read it again but Harriet hadn’t laughed at me. I presume I shall read it several times more before I get another. That is the way I usually do. It is a little like talking with you to read over your letters. Oh, how I do want to see you this eve. I believe I should kiss you a thousand times. That you would enjoy, no doubt.

I do home that you will come home as soon as spring if it is only for a few weeks. It would be a great comfort to us all thought it would be very hard to have you go back.

I rejoice that the time of Emancipation is so near at hand, but the Lord only knows what the result will be. I hope it will bring the war to a close soon.

We are all quite well now. I have some cold. So has the babe, but we are both getting over it. Carrie is not as well as she was before being sick. She looks pale. Her skin is yet low. I am very choice of her—perhaps too much so though I let her go out to take the air every pleasant day. I feel the need of your council when the children are sick.

It has been very warm and pleasant for two weeks past. People are planting. I haven’t got our house plastered yet. Marsh got some lime off Mr. Spence but Mr. [Mylo] Byington could not work it. Martin brought me some today that was left of their house so perhaps it will be done if Mr. Byington does not go East. Mr. George Boing is here now. I suppose it will be decided whether he goes or stays. Mrs. [Anna L. Isham] Byington’s sister is to be married this week and come out here on a visit.

I haven’t seen Mrs. Byington for a long time. She has not visited me since you left. Has called several times. I sometimes think she has been talked to by our neighbors until she don’t like us as well as she used to. I was invited down there to a party two weeks ago but did not go. Parties are getting to be quite common though there is a certain few invited. Mrs. [Mary] Hubbard gave one last week for those that she thought had been slighted (this week she is have the other set). Her guests were Mr. Campdell and wife, Mr. [William Henry] Sherwood and wife, Reed and wife, Yarion and wife, Ompstead and wife, Mrs. [William] Haslem ¹ and myself. She give me my choice to go in and visit with them or wait until the other set. Said she wanted very much that I should go then but if not, I must next time. I thought I could select my one company so I just stayed at home and shall do so this week if I happen to be invited but I don’t expect to be. Those parties have already caused some hard feelings.

Mrs. Battles was here last Sunday. She is feeling anxious about Benny. ² He was in the battle at Fredericksburg. The other two have got their discharge and gone home. The wife of one of them was buried ten days before he got home. ³ Harriet has a letter from Lid. Her father wants you to write him what you are doing and what you think about the war and he will have it put into the Palmer Journal.

I enclose to you Mr. Claflin’s kind letter. He directed to St. Louis, then crossed it and directed to Sand Spring, Dubuque county. Mr. Spence said he was going to write to you last week.

The children intended to write this week but their letters are not ready so they must wait until next time. Carrie is delighted with her letter. She shows it to everyone that comes in. She thinks all the world of her father and I expect our little Annie does for she always laughs when we talk to her about you. She has got to be a great, fat girl. It makes my arms ache to take care of her. She has found out since she was sick that it is more pleasant to sit in lap than in the cradle though she is pretty good and as sweet as a rose. What would you give to see her. I wondered how you and Huslam get along keeping house. Do you keep clean? Wonder if you ever wash your clothes or starch your dicky. I should like to spend the winter with you if I could but if you can come home and stay with me next summer, I will not complain. Mrs. Haslem got a letter from her sweet heart this eve. It seems to do her much good to get a letter as it does me.

How do you like your new situation. Suppose it is pleasanter than hospital service. What is your pay now? What was it in the hospital? I can think of a thousand things that I want to say to you that I cannot write but I must close with much love to you from us all. May Heaven’s richest blessings rest upon you and your labors. Take good care of your health and keep out of danger if you can.

From your affectionate wife, — R. M. Bolles

¹ Private William Haslem served in Co. K, 21st Iowa Infantry.

²Benjamin (“Benny”) Battles (1839-1913) was the son of Otis Battles (1810-1890) and Sally Burt (1814-1882) who lived at Sand Spring, South Fork, Delaware county, Iowa at the time of the 1860 US Census. Benny enlisted in August 1861 in Co. G of the 18th Massachusetts Infantry. He was engaged with the Regiment in 1862 in the Peninsula Campaign, including the Siege of Yorktown, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Shepherdstown, and Fredericksburg. He was wounded in the right hand at the battle of Fredericksburg on Dec. 13, 1862 and hospitalized at Judiciary Square Hospital, Washington, DC for two weeks before being furloughed home. He was discharged due to disability with a Surgeon’s Certificate at Boston, MA on April 1, 1863.

³ The Battles other sons who served in the Union army included Otis L. Battles (1833-1906) and Nathaniel M. Battles (1836-1870). Otis was married in 1856 to Samantha Ann Barrows (1835-1911). Nathaniel was married to Celia A. Goodwin (1841-1862) who died on 13 October 1862 at Wareham, Massachusetts. Nathaniel—a cabinet maker—served in Co. H, 29th Massachusetts. He was discharged for disability on 21 October 1862.

Antebellum Mississippi, Natchez, Slavery

1838: E. H. Fletcher to Jonah Spaulding

July 23, 2023 Griff Leave a comment

The early date of this letter makes it more difficult to confirm the identity of its author but my hunch is that E. H. Fletcher was the son of Col. Robert Fletcher (1786-1865) and Nancy Sprague (1788-1853) of Kennebec county, Maine. He seems to have been a young man, probably in his early 20s, looking for “facilities for making money” in the grip of the Financial Panic of 1837.

Fletcher wrote the letter to his friend, Dr. Jonah Spaulding (1778-1870) of Somerset county, Maine.

What’s most interesting about the letter are not only the author’s direct observations of the Mississippi river valley but his discovery that the Mississippi cotton plantation slaves were “kindly treated” and apparently were “happier and much better off than the poor people at the North.”

Transcription

*Addressed to Jonah Spaulding, Esqr., Bingham, Maine*

Natchez, Mississippi
March 16, 1838

Worthy Friend,

In looking over my journal, I find I have not written a word to you since I left home. I now hasten to accomplish the delightful task, but not without experiencing the sharpest pangs of ingratitude for neglecting it so long. I hope you will condescend to excuse me this time, and I will be more punctual in future.

After leaving the beautiful valley of the Kennebec and turning my back upon all that was near and dear to me, I was resolved to see the far famed western country—also the southern, before I returned. I was anxious to see with my own eyes what I had heard so much about. I therefore bent my course towards Illinois by the way of New York, thence up the Hudson river, and so on across Lake Erie, and Michigan to Chicago. After staying a few days in Chicago, I traveled in various directions about the country, making all the enquiries of a greenhorn from Yankee Town, and getting what information I could in relation to business, lands, and healthiness of the country. I was very much pleased with all, and the facilities for making money I consider to be far superior to those of Maine, and I was surprised to see with how much less labor it requires to cultivate the soil there than in Maine. I can assure you, it gladdens the heart of a New Englander who has there emigrated for the purpose of bettering his fortune and being sure when he sows and plants of harvesting something.

They are deprived of many comforts, tis true, such as schools, good roads, but they are every day improving. What can a young man do in Maine without a capital, I ask? And I will answer—nothing. Then let him emigrate like his forefathers to a country where he can.

After spending a few weeks very agreeably traveling about the country, I left Chicago, traveled by stage to Peoria on the Illinois river, there took a steamboat for St. Louis where I safely arrived, and spent one week cruising in that vicinity, then took passage for no particular place down the Mississippi River. I arrived safely at Natchez, and like the location of the town, and having an agreeable situation offered me in a store, I accepted and here I still remain.

Natchez is a small city—population about 6,000. Is situated on the eastern bank of the river, 300 feet above the level of the river and 300 miles above New Orleans. It is surrounded by large cotton plantations which extend throughout the state. Country level and I need not say the soil is fertile. Here is a chance for our good Abolitionists at the North to look into the condition of the slaves. They are generally kindly treated and I candidly believe they are happier and much better off than the poor people at the North. As for the society, it is not so good as it might be. It is composed of all classes of people from every part of the world. Young men who come here are too apt to get into the general train of dissipation though I hope your friend is an exception to that general routine.

As to the healthiness of the southern country, I do not think it so healthy as New England but with care and prudence, I do not apprehend much danger.

I have an agreeable situation and am contented and happy as you could reasonably expect. I am confined to the store for the most part of the time. My salary for this year is $1,000 and boarded. My employers are first rate business men, all of which is rather pleasant you know. My health never was better. The weather for the past winter has been warm and agreeable. I have not seen a flake of snow since I left the North.

A man in this country can make money much faster than at the North, or West, if he has his health. I think there is a much better chance for enterprise.

Well, I understand there has been quite a change in our little village since I left. My young associates are mostly married. Besides, there has been a great reformation among them. I hope it is all for the best. As for myself to have a firm belief in the universal salvation of all mankind is a source of pleasure greater than I can here express. I look forward anticipating the greatest of pleasures in once more visiting my relations and friends, having the pleasure of again shaking the friendly hand with you, and finding all in health and prosperity. I must now close my hasty scrawl by earnestly soliciting you to write me as soon as convenient. My respects to your family. Also Doct. Zackr and all the friends. It is now 12 o’clock at night and I must bid you good night.

Respectfully, — E. H. Fletcher

I cannot write all I wish to for want of room. Business is quite brisk with us. I hope you enjoy a good sleigh ride occasionally. I think I would, give me a chance. The genuine depression in the money market is still continuing but must be easier soon.