The following letter was written by Theodore A. Tucker who enlisted in September 1861 to serve three years in Co. L, 23rd Pennsylvania Volunteers (“Birney’s Zouves”). In March 1862, not long after this letter was penned, Companies L, O, P & R of the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry were transferred to the 61st Pennsylvania under the command of Major George C. Spear, who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. These became companies D, G, H & I and these four companies continued to wear the distinctive Zouave uniforms for a time.

Theodore was wounded in the left arm during the fighting on 12 May 1864 near Spotsylvania Court House and transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps in January 1865. Theodore’s brother Thomas O. Tucker and served in the same company. He was wounded at the same time as his brother on 12 May 1864 but did not survive. He died on 27 May 1864.

Theodore wrote the letter to his older brother Robert Tucker (1823-1901), a carpenter who resided in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Robert was married to Lydia A. Miller (1830-1907) and the couple’s oldest child was Ida Leanore Tucker, born in 1854.

In another letter by a comrade of Theodore’s in Co. D, 61st Pennsylvania on 28 February 1862, Samuel Fell wrote: “Our marching was a false [alarm]. The order was countermanded about 11 o’clock. The cooks was just commencing to cook when the order came to stop for we was not a going. If you wanted to hear a lot of fellers growl and grumble, you ought to [have] been here when they heard it but Theodore Tucker and I told them in the afternoon that they would not get off as long as we was in the regiment for it is just our luck to get in a cussed regiment that never goes anywhere nor sees anything. But if we ever did get a chance, we will make up for lost time if we don’t run against a bullet or bayonet too soon. But Theodore says that we are such hard boys that a bullet or bayonet can’t faze us.” [See 1861-63: Samuel C. Fell to His family]

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

Col. D. B. Birney’s Zouaves
Headquarters 23rd Regiment P. V.
Camp Birney, Maryland
January 20, 1862

Dear Brother,

I sit down to let you know that me and Tom is well at present and hope that these few lines will find you in the same state of health. Our company was out on grand guard last night and it rained all day and all night but we had a good deal of fun, Me and the orderly Smith Dean from Abington went out to a farmers and took supper and we had some good buckwheat cakes and you had better believe they went good. Then we stayed and talked till 8 o’clock in the evening and then we went back to the boys and they said, “Where the devil have you been?” and then I told them and they felt bad because they didn’t get none. But I told them that I would go and get them some next day and so I went upstairs in a barn and went to sleep.

We have moved from the old camp about two miles up towards Bladensburg and Colonel Birney is Brigade General and we have a new Colonel by the name of [Thomas H.] Neill. Today is the first he drilled the regiment and the boys like him very well. He is a good looking officer and has a good voice and I hope he is as good as our old one but the boys all hate to lose Birney. But we hope that we shall get in his brigade and then we think that we will go ahead. We think as soon as the roads get so we can move that there will be a movement made to Manassas once more and if they do, they will never stop tIll they take Richmond and then the rebels are gone up the hill.

The roads is so bad that four horses can pull half a cord of wood on the level and it would be impossible to move the army. They couldn’t get the artillery along.

Tell Lydia and Ida that I send my best respects and tell mother that I can’t find anything to write—only that I am well and I send my respect to all enquiring friends. So I must close by saying goodbye. From your own brother, — T. A. Tucker

Write soon.