This letter was written by 37 year-old William Parker Zane (1826-1864) of Co. E, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry. This regiment was sometimes referred to as the “Corn Exchange Regiment” because the Philadelphia Corn Exchange Association furnished the bounty money and funds needed to raise the regiment. He wrote the letter to his German-born wife, Mary (Ault) Zane (1828-1910) and his two young girls—Virginia Georgiana Zane (1858-1933) and Kate Ambler Zane (1862-1957).

William enlisted on 11 August 1862 and was with his regiment until captured by the Rebels on 2 June 1864 during the Battle of Cold Harbor. He was taken to Andersonville Prison in Sumter county, Georgia, where he died of malnutrition (“scorbutus”) on 22 October 1864 after nearly five months imprisonment.

William was the son of Nathan Shenton Zane (1795-1855) and Hannah M. Stancliff (1791-1861) of Philadelphia.

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

Camp Warrenton
118th Regt. P. V., Co. E,
August 1, 1863

My dear wife,

I take the opportunity of writing a few lines to let you know how I am a getting along. I [am] well at present, hoping that these few lines will find you and the children all well. I received your letter on the 29th of July and was very glad to hear from you. I have had some hard marching for the last six months past and seen some hard fighting but as for myself, I got through clear without the first scare. We come very near getting into a fight at the Manassas Junction a few days ago but the rebs wouldn’t stand their ground. As soon as our men made a charge on them, they ran. The rebs is very good on a fire but when it comes to charging bayonets, they wil run. They won’t stand charging as well as our men will. But I don’t think we will have much more fighting—not for a month or so yet anyhow. Not till we get recruited up a little.

There is some of our men gone to Philadelphia to bring down some of them drafted men to fill up our regiment for it is very small at present. We expect to move from where we are at present but we shan’t move far. We expect to lay in camp till the conscripts come down.

I would be very glad to come home to see you all once more if I could get the chance but I would like to see the war ended before I come home so that I can stay for we are all very tired of Old Virginia. But as tired as we all are of it, we all feel very anxious of having the war brought to a close before we leave the State of Virginia so that we can go home and say that we have a better show at this present time of ending the war than ever we had because we never met with such good success since the war first started as we have since General Lee went into Pennsylvania. They have been coming over into our lines by hundreds and giving themselves up.

You said in your letter that you wanted to know whether I sent you a half a sheet of paper in my letter or not. I didn’t send you but a half a sheet because paper was very scarce where I was and I sent you a letter with ten dollars in that was only a half a sheet.

I must bring my letter to a close for it is time for me to get ready for dress parade. No more at present. I send my love to you and the children and tell the children that they must be good girls and mind what they are told. Give my best respects to Benjamin Ambler and family and all enquiring friends, if I have got any. Write soon and tell me whether you got the ten dollars I sent you. No more at present. I still remain your most affectionate husband, — William P. Zane