26th North Carolina Infantry | Spared & Shared 23

*Lt. James Berry Jordan, 26th North Carolina*

The following letter was written by 1st Lt. James Berry Jordan (1837-1899), a Confederate Prisoner of War (POW) at Johnson’s Island near Sandusky, Ohio. Jordan was a resident of Wake county, North Carolina, when he enlisted in late May 1861 as a 1st Lieutenant in Co, D, 26th North Carolina Infantry. With his excellent handwriting, he was soon after given the Adjutant’s job in the regiment. He was wounded in the hip at the Battle of Gettysburg and was taken prisoner. He was first sent to David’s Island and then in mid-September 1863 sent to Johnson’s Island which he humorously called his “Island Home” after 18 months of captivity there.

A week after this letter was written, Jordan went sent to Point Lookout, Maryland, and then to Ft. Delaware where he was released on 12 June 1865.

Jordan wrote the letter to Martha (“Mattie’) Elizabeth Fearn (1845-1936) with whom he would marry on 26 September 1866. Mattie lived with her parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Owen) Fearn in Milton, Trimble county, Kentucky.

Note: “James Berry Jordan,” born 8 June 1838 is the way his name appears in the family bible.

Transcription

Island Home
Sunday, [March] 12th 1865

My dear little cousin,

I had set apart this day to write to my brother, but will let him wait till Wednesday now and answer your very curious letter of the 38th ult. In the first place, I did not request Lieut. V. L. write you. Of course I didn’t—it was some other officer gentleman. As to objections, well, I do not seriously object provided you think you can write to us, but without any great inconveniences to yourself. But I greatly fear you will weary your little self too much, But if either is to be dropped, it must be him, and not I.

Now to satisfy your very natural curiosity. I think he is a foreigner, or at any rate, he has a very foreign look—especially out of one eye. He hails from Georgia. I am very much opposed to your making any inquiries from anyone in regard to myself. I promise you to answer any and all questions you may think proper to ask me and to satisfy your curiosity still further, I will state for your satisfaction that I am “Nu joven de large stato” and will send my photo, or do anything you wish if you will not enquire of Lieut. V.

Oh Mattie, I can’t write tonight. Everybody has gone wild upon the exchange question in our room. We have 35 men representing all of the Confederate States and all talking at once. Everyone seems to think they will start tomorrow. Everything else is forgotten in the excitement. I do readily believe I shall get off. I shipped that “ballad” several days ago but did not send the “air” as I did not know the name of it. I will try and get it yet unless I do leave.

Write to me quick for fear I get off before your letter arrives. The jewelry shall not be forgotten. Your devoted cousin, — James B. Jordan

I will write again as soon as the exchange fever has gone down.

The following letter was written by Bryant Green Dunlap (1833-1867) of Moore County, North Carolina, where he was practicing medicine prior to the Civil War. Bryant attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated in 1860. With the war, Bryant returned to his home in Chatham county to offer his services in the 26th North Carolina Regiment known as the “Chatham Independent Guards.” Enlisting in May 1861, Bryant was quickly appointed as regimental Quartermaster and transferred to the Field and Staff of the regiment. His tenure in this position was short-lived as he was unable to post the necessary bond for an appointment to a quartermaster’s position. After resigning from this position in February 1862, he offered his services as a private in Co. E (The Vance Troop) of the 5th Regiment N. C. Calvary (63rd North Carolina Infantry). On October 29th, 1862 he was appointed Hospital Steward for the 5th Cavalry and transferred to the Field and Staff of that regiment.

While serving in one of the field hospitals he helped treat the wounds of Col. John R. Lane of the 26th and other members of his old troop after the battle of Gettysburg. In June of 1865 he was reported as a paroled prisoner in Richmond, Va.; likely serving in one of the military hospitals in that city after its April evacuation. Dunlap resumed his medical practice in Moore County after the war; however a wartime injury caused his early death in 1867. He is buried in the Short Family Cemetery in Moore County, North Carolina.

Bryant wrote the letter to his friend, Richard Bray Paschal who was elected sheriff of Chatham county on 1854 and served six consecutive terms. In addition to his career as sheriff, Paschal served in the House of Delegates in 1865 and North Carolina Senate in 1866. Paschal’s diary is available on-line at the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. It includes accounts of Paschal overseeing the trade of enslaved people in Chatham County, a reminder of the duties assigned to the position of sheriff. Place names and people’s names, white and Black, are included in the diary. [See R. B. Paschal Diary Transcript Now Available]

See also—1865: John W. Ellis to Richard Bray Paschal on Spared & Shared 22.

Transcription

Goldsboro, North Carolina
October 9th 1862

Sheriff R. B. Paschal,

Dear friend, I have the pleasure of acknowledging the reception of your kind letter which came duly to hand. It found me with no particular news, having passed through no thrilling scenes not made no hair breadth escapes. I am not prepared as the most of the soldiers and in these times to interest my friends in a correspondence. But as I wrote to a young lady once, ” will presume that it is me you want to hear from instead of news that you want” and proceed to tell you something of my own life and how I enjoy it.

I am in tolerable good health. The most of my time I have spent since I left home has been attending to the sick and I am now in Goldsboro on my way to Garysburg with ten sick men in [my] charge. I am stopping with them at the hospital until the Battalion can get to Garysburg and be prepared to do something with them. I have been acting Steward of the Hospital ever since I came to Goldsboro, but I do not know whether I will hold my office any longer or not as we are going into a regiment and I do not know who will be our surgeon. There is no responsibility in the office and take it every way. I think if I can get the permanent appointment, I shall be satisfied to hold it.

One of our company died the other night. His name was John A. Phillips of Moore county—a son of Martin Phillips. He was a good soldier and clever man. He leaves a wife and six children to mourn the loss. He died with Typhoid Fever. We have some other sickness in camp and some hard cases of Typhoid Fever.

Well, you spoke of the association. I should have been highly ratified to have been there—especially with so many inducements to enjoyment as you promised me, all of which I am very fond of. And as you know a soldier’s life is by no means a life of luxury and ease, it makes the enjoyment greater when they have an occasional chance of refreshments and fair Ladies. But I must beg to differ with you in one case and that is Miss Mag Fox thinking anything of your humble servant. I imagined on one occasion that, nothwithstanding, “I was a youth unknown to fame and fortune,” that I would be bold enough to write to her. I did so and silent contempt was my only response. That is, she never answered my letter. I did not blame her for there is such a mania for letter writing with young men in the army that I was ashamed of myself after I did the act, and could not keep from feeling like a poor man at a frolic.

But enough of this. I hope I have convinced you that I am neither insensible to the fair ladies charms or to your good opinion of my living in her affections, but that my only response to the case is what the man said about the Bull—Can’t quite come it. As I shall be in Garysburg after this, I shall be pleased to get a letter from you at any time. Direct to Garysburg, Col. Evans’ Regt., Partizan Rangers. Care of Capt. Harris, and remember me as ever your friend, — B. G. Dunlap

Confound this paper