The following letter was written by William C. Guest (1839-1875) who enlisted as a private at Sodus, New York, on 9 September 1864 to serve in Co. C, 160th New York Infantry. He survived the war and was discharged on 1 June 1865 in Washington D. C.
Regrettably there is no family tree information on this branch of the Guest family that I could find on-line. The letter was addressed to “Dear Father” but the envelope was addressed to James A. Guest who was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, in 1831 so he would be too young to be the author’s father. My hunch is that James was an older brother who had previously served in the Civil War in the 26th New York Battery and was, by May 1865, working as an express agent in Belle Plaine, Iowa, where he was enumerated in the 1870 census. Sometimes letters and envelopes get mixed up, or sometimes a letter from one child gets forwarded to another. James’ military records indicate that his parents were Henry Guest and Rachel Beadle of Seneca county, New York.
The 160th New York Infantry was organized and later recruited from the counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Ontario, Allegany, Erie and Wyoming. By the time William enlisted (or was drafted) into the regiment, they had seen action in the Department of the Gulf, the fall of Port Hudson, and the Red River Expedition. By the fall of 1864 when William joined them, they had returned to the East and specifically to the Shenandoah Valley where they fought with Gen. Sheridan against Gen. Early’s men. They sustained many casualties in the battles of Opequan and Cedar Creek.
William’s letter tells us about the trip to Washington D. C. to participate in the Grand Review in May and, while enroute, witnessing the Lincoln Funeral Train not long after it had left Washington on its way north to Baltimore on 21 April 1861. He also refers to the remains of John Wilkes Booth being on the gunboat Montauk at the Navy Yard.
[Note: This previously unpublished letter was graciously made available for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared expressly by the Sic Parvis Magna, Gratias Lesu Collection.]
Transcription
Camp Stoneman
Near Washington D. C.
May 1, 1865
Dear Father,
Your kind letter was received some time ago by Jimmie while we laid at Summit. The 4th of April we broke camp at Summit Point and went up the Valley above Winchester where the whole division assembled in a line of encampments. We remained there for four day and all of this time the cavalry was up in the Valley ahead of us scouring the Valley. They went up as far as Mount Jackson and only met with a few guerrillas and captured six of them which I had the chance of seeing as they passed along the pike, And at this time I had the chance of seeing the largest force of cavalry I ever witnessed including the 22nd New York and seeing some of the Lyons boys as they passed along in the column. I should think the column would extend in distance from one end to the other four miles distance including the whole line of them.
After remaining up there the four days, we was all ordered back to Summit Point and remained there 4 or 5 days and then was ordered to report to Washington. We all came by railroad stored and packed in the cars for 24 hours. Jimmie and myself and a number of others rode on top of the cars and slept there all night, and the weather rainy and misty. We had the pleasure of seeing the funeral train of our lamented President Lincoln. It passed us as our train stopped to wood and water between the Relay House and Washington, the road being double tracked.
Day before yesterday Jimmie procured a pass and visited Washington. He with John Layton who is there at the Campbell Hospital visit the places of interest and curiosity of Washington.
We are doing very heavy picket duty on this side of Washington. Orders are no persons are allowed to pass out or in with a pass [unless] signed by Gen. [Christopher C.] Augur or Secretary [Edwin] Stanton. It seems that Booth, the murder[er] is captured and his remains lie in state on board of a monitor [USS Montauk] in the Navy Yard at Washington. 1
Everyone seems to have the impression that the war is over and that we will see our homes [in] less than three months. Good feeling manifested here at the news of the surrendering of Johnston. It makes the boys in the regiment still talk more stronger about going home. Jimmie received a letter from Marier Jones. She said all was well and that John [was] there and his leg was very fast improving but some lame yet. Also last night Jim received a letter from Mrs. Lyman. All [were] well but Mr. Lyman. He had the rheumatism very bad. Also that Neu__ Vanderbilt was living with his wife in [the same] house with his mother and worked her farm this summer and also that Sanford works their farm again this season and that Mrs. Brown’s girls were living with her this summer. Also that Mr. Brown had been there to visit them. And also that Charley Rozell was clerking it for Owen Klink somewhere in the army for an army sutler.
Jimmie is still Orderly of this company and is well. He is today busy making out his pay rolls of this company. We now have four months pay due us to to today—the first of May.
With my love and best wishes, I remain your son, — William C. Guest
Co. C., 160th New York State Vols., 1st Division, 3rd Brigade, 19th Army Corps, Washington D. C.
Our regiment is very small. It only contains 250 men and it left Auburn with 840 men. We have a full view of Washington from this camp.
1 Readers are referred to another letter I transcribed in 2021 that was penned by Henry Washington Landes who served as a guard aboard the USS Montauk describes witnessing the autopsy of Booth performed onboard. See Henry Washington Landes Letters & Diaries.
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