James William Andrew Ford (1843-1900), a watercolor painting based on CdV in LOC.
These two letters were written by James William Andrew Ford (1843-1900) who served the Confederacy as a Lieutenant in Co. G, 20th Virginia Cavalry. This regiment was raised in northwest Virginia (present day West Virginia) in August 1863 and operated frequently in the Shenandoah Valley. Ford was captured by Union forces near Washington D. C. on 13 July 1864 during the Battle of Fort Stevens. He was confined at Fort Delaware until after the war ended.
Prior to joining the 20th Virginia Cavalry, Ford served in Co. C, 12th Virginia Cavalry. His home was in Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, West Virginia. He was the son of David Jefferson Ford (1807-1881) and Mary Ann Byrd (1818-1860).
These letters were sent to the Bestor family of Baltimore, Maryland, and were found among the Bestor family archive of letters, privately held. See—1861-65: The Bestor Brothers of Baltimore.
Letter 1
Directed to John Rollin Bestor, Baltimore, Maryland
Officers’ Barracks, Division 37, Fort Delaware May 24th, 1865
Friend Bestor
Your letter of the 21st inst. reached me yesterday. I was very glad to hear from you. Pleasant reminiscences of the past were recalled to mind and not soon to be forgotten. I pray the day will soon hasten when our prison doors will be opened & permitted to step forth once more a free & independent man. I am not one of the very small minority at this place who have refused to take the Oath of Allegiance. It was offered twice–before & after Johnston’s surrender. The 1st time I emphatically refused as I could not conscientiously take it so long as a vestige of our Army remained East of the Mississippi. But the last time I yielded, being convinced that the cause I so much loved had become, beyond a doubt, hopeless. There are a few here that still refuse & are waiting to hear what Uncle Kirby thinks of the “times.” They are mostly from the Trans–Mississippi Department.
You spoke of getting your friends to use their influence to get Capt. A. & myself out of this hateful place if I could tell you how to proceed. My God, it fills my soul with very joy to think of it. How grateful I would be. I could never repay the kindness. [But] I am at a loss to tell you how to proceed. A few are leaving here nearly every day whose friends succeed in procuring an order for their release from the Pres. or Secretary of War at Washington. Mrs. Rhodes of your city came here in person on the 14th inst. with an order for the release of Lt. [James Edward] Cobb of Texas 1 & Lt. Finley of Va. She went to Washington & had an interview with Gen. Grant with whom she was acquainted. I think the best plan would be to procure the influence of some friend in Washington, to see the President & arrange the matter. Write very soon & let me know what can be done. Remain in Baltimore & go home with me. Love to John. Your Friend Truly, — J. W. A. Ford, 20th Va Cavalry
As regards the “charges” I know of none whatever against me.
I will be compelled to stop 2 or 3 days in Baltimore & will be glad to call on you.
1 Lt. James Edward Cobb (1835-1903) served in Co. F, 5th Texas Infantry. He was wounded and captured in the attack on Little Round Top at Gettysburg. He was then confined at Fort McHenry, Johnson’s Island, Point Lookout, and Fort Delaware. He was with Ford as one one of the Immortal 600 and then returned to Fort Delaware where he was finally paroled in May 1865.
Letter 2
Officers’ Barracks, Division 37, Fort Delaware May 31st, 1865
Dear Bestor,
Yours of the 29th, Monday Morning, reached me yesterday. Would have answered last night but thought I would wait for the promised one, which came this evening. As you directed, Jack & myself have written the letter to President Johnson & directed to your Ma, which you will find enclosed with this. I think it covers all necessary legal points. I will send by Capt. J. Hinagan [?] of S. C. who has promised to deliver promptly if he goes to Baltimore. If not, he will mail in Philadelphia. He leaves in the morning at 5 o’clock. The order for his release came this evening.
This morning 50 odd left, representing all the States South, but mostly from Missouri. They having signed a petition in a body & sent to Gen. [Ethan Allen] Hitchcock in Washington who procured an order for their release which arrived yesterday. 1 I had the pleasure of sending a letter home by a gentleman who will pass through Lewisburg. Have you heard from Western Virginia since your arrival in Baltimore? I mean in that portion which our Brigade figured? If so, through what channel? I am exceedingly anxious to know, as I have not been able to get a line since my return from Ft. Pulaski. You can imagine my anxiety.
You wish to know who represents our Brigade–Lt. Col. [Joseph R.] Kessler, Capts. Lerty & Jack, Lieuts. Lawrence (of Lerty’s Battery), Sifalls (McUcal’s Co.), [William W.] Boggs, [Wilson] Queen & myself of the 20th. Have you ever heard where the Brigade capitulated? I am crazy to get all the news. I feel as if I was buried alive here in this miserable place. The only paper we see is the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Taps will beat in a few minutes. I must soon close but before [I do] let me thank you kindly for the zeal & energy displayed in trying to effect my release. I shall ever be indebted & hope I may soon have an opportunity of reciprocating the kindness & expressing my gratitude in propria persona. Capt. A, & myself thought it unnecessary to write separate letters to Mr. Johnson. Don’t you think it will answer jointly? Please keep me posted as regards the application & answer this scrawl immediately. Remember me kindly to [your brother] John. Your friend truly, — Ford
I am very much obliged for the stamps. Capt. A. wishes to be remembered to all.
1 Gen. Ethan Allen Hitchcock was the Commissioner of Prisoner of War Exchange in Washington D. C. from November 1862 through November 1865.
The following letter was written by Capt. James Randolph Apperson (1836-1903) while being held a prisoner at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island, Delaware.
A biographical sketch of Apperson was found in the West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia which reads: J.R. Apperson was born in Hanover, Virginia June 24, 1836, son of William and Elizabeth J. (Harris) Apperson. His parents left his native county [Hanover county] in 1854, and came to Randolph county, (then) Virginia. In 1861 J.R. Apperson enlisted in the Confederate army, Co. F, 31st Virginia Infantry, and in 1863 he was commissioned captain of Co. D, 26th Virginia Cavalry.
On October 2, 1864, he was made prisoner, near Port Republic, and taken to Fort Delaware, and held until the close of the war. During his active service he was three time wounded; once struck with a sabre.
In Pocohontas county, February 27, 1868 he married Sarah M. Kee, and the children of their union are: Minnie M., born May 21, 1870; Charles R., November 28, 1875; Quintilla M., February 26, 1877. Sarah M., wife of Mr. Apperson, was born in Pocahontas county, December 5, 1843, daughter of William and Ruth D. (McCollam) Kee, natives of this county. J.R. Apperson has been a resident in Pocahontas county since 1870, is merchant and artist, and is at this time postmaster at Marlins Bottom, at which place he is erecting one of the finest residences in the county.
T R A N S C R I P T I O N
November 7th 1864
Mrs. J. Eliz Bestor,
Dear Madam, I have again made application for a permit that you might send me that book, but I was unsuccessful. I am very sorry that I have put you to so mutch trouble as I have. It was not my intention to do so. It can only come by mail. Consequently I cannot expect you to send it, since you have already had much trouble with it. I equally as much obliged to you as though I had have gotten it, though I would have glad to have had it, since prison live is very confining. Today is one of the dreary ones, as it is raining. Nothing to attract the mind. Consequently, a reflection upon times past & gone soon arrises which must make one feel sad. I never knew what discontentment was until since the 2nd of October. I have not gotten a Letter from any of my friends whom I were acquainted with yet. Please to excuse my half sheets of paper as stationary is scarce.
From your most Obt. Servt, — Capt. J. R. Apperson
Prisoner of War, Fort Delaware, Division 34
Write as often as convenient. I’m blessed to be favored with your letters. Yours, &c.
The following letter was written by Samuel M. Spengler (1841-1906) who served the Confederacy as a private in Co. F, 10th Virginia Infantry. He enlisted in 1861 and was promoted to corporal in April 1862. He was detailed as clerk in his regiment in February 1863 but taken prisoner at Spotsylvania Court House on 12 May 1864 and taken to Fort Delaware on 20 May 1864. He was not released from there until he took the oath of allegiance on 15 June 1865.
Samuel was the son of Cyrus Spengler (1816-1890) and Mary C. Redmon (1817-1883) of Woodstock, Shenandoah county, Virginia.
Samuel addressed his letter to Mrs. Jane Eliza (Brown) Bestor of Baltimore, a Southern sympathizer with two sons serving in the Confederate army. In the letter, Samuel mistakenly identified Mrs. Bestor as the sister—rather than the mother—of one of her sons who had been nursed by the author’s mother in Virginia. He asks her for money while in prison in Fort Delaware.
T R A N S C R I P T I O N
Fort Delaware [Delaware] 3rd October, 1864
Mrs. Jane Bestor,
I wrote you on the 20th Sept. since which time I have not heard from you.
I rec’d a letter from my Mother (Mrs. Mary C. Spengler) several days ago, who resides in the town of Woodstock, Va. My mother states that your brother has visited our family frequently during the past summer. In July last, he was at my Father’s house several weeks sick.
During his stay there, he learned of my being a prisoner and gave your address to my Mother, requesting her to send it to me, & in the event I should need anything, to call upon you. I am at present in most dependent circumstances & if you will have the kindness to send me a small sum of money, I shall feel under lasting obligations.
I have no relatives living north of Virginia from whom I can ask any aid. Hoping to hear from you soon. I am very respectfully your friend, — Sam’l M. Spengler
N.B. Address: Co. “F” 10th Va. Infty. Division No. 3, Ft. Delaware, Care of Capt. [George W.] Ahl, Acting Asst. Adjutant General 1
1 Capt. George W. Ahl commanded a Battery of Heavy Artillery at Fort Delaware. The men in the battery were mostly former Confederates who could prove the Confederacy had forced them to fight. Many of these prisoners said they never wanted to join the rebel army. For some, it was a matter of Confederate service or jail.
Group photograph of Captain George W. Ahl and twelve officers in front of Ahl’s residence at Fort Delaware. All but one of the individuals is identified. Those pictured include: Hall, Mlotkowski, McConwell (?), Kesley, Burton, Young, Carter, Ashton, Kerr, Ahl, Rinecki (?), and Hawkins. Photo by Gihon & Rixon, Phila. [Delaware Historical Society]
Capt. Henry Wyatt Wingfield, 58th Virginia Infantry
A schoolteacher before the War, Henry Wyatt Wingfield (1829-1902) enlisted as Private, Co. H, 58th Virginia Infantry on 5 September 1861. He was appointed 3rd Lieutenant on October 15th, and elected Captain of his Company at the Army reorganization in May 1862. He was wounded in action near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in May 1863 on the Chancellorsville campaign, but returned to command the Regiment again in July 1863. He was absent at Patrick County, Virginia, in August and September 1863 – noted as deserter – and again due to illness in May 1864. He had married in January 1864 to Carrie Letitia Brown (1837-1910), and was in command of the 58th through most of June and July 1864. He was captured at Winchester on 19 September 1864 and prisoner at Fort Delaware until being released after War’s end on 17 June 1865. He returned to Hanover County and was a surveyor and later Professor at Randolph-Macon College. He died at his birthplace, “Marl Ridge”, in 1902. [Source: Antietam on the Web]
Letter 1
Fort Delaware, Delaware October 8, 1864
Dear Madame,
Your kind letter of the 28th September was received yesterday and I hasten to reply. I was never attached to Ashby’s immediate command but have been with him repeatedly up and down the Valley of Virginia. I have been caught without even a change of clothing as I had my horse to the rear at the commencement of the fight and as I have no friends upon whom I can call for assistance, my chances for obtaining them are gloomy. I am willing to do anything honorable to obtain them. The kind people of Baltimore have already taxed themselves heavily to aid their friends and since I have been with abundance around me, it is hard for me to throw myself upon the charity of friends. Let me hear from you again and if you think you could furnish me some few articles, I will send you an order as it is required before you can send them to me. With sentiments of great esteem, I am your friends, — Henry W. Wingfield
Letter 2
Fort Delaware, Delaware October 24, 1864
Dear Sister,
Enclosed I send you a permit approved by the General commanding for the following articles—viz: 2 calico shirts, 2 overshirts, 2 pair drawers, 2 pair socks, and one overcoat. I am fortunate in having so near a relation at this time in Baltimore as I am in much need of the articles and we can only receive them from relations. Be kind enough to have the articles placed in a box and the permit pasted on the top of it and direct it to me, Division 34. I am sorry to have to make such a demand upon you with your large family but I will make it good some day. I hope you can furnish the articles without much inconvenience. With regard to the drawers, please select cotton and not Canton flannel as the plain are preferable. Please let the overcoat be heavy and dark. Samuel M. Spengler is, I learn, a prisoner in the private’s barracks. If you conclude to write to him, you had better endorse “Private’s Barracks” on the back. As ladies are not generally posted as to the exact height of gentlemen, I will give my height. I am 5 feet, 9 inches high. I am not very fleshy now, weighing only 150. Write whenever you can do so conveniently. Your brother, — Henry W. Wingfield, Capt.
A watercolor of Charles Anderson Raine in later years.
Charles Anderson Raine (1841–1902) was a Confederate soldier from Virginia who was captured during the American Civil War and held as a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island. The diary he kept while a prisoner is housed at Washington & Lee University Special Collections and Archives (Identifier WLU-Coll-0574). The description of that diary reads as follows:
“According to Raine’s opening inscription, this leather bound pocket diary was a gift to Charles A. Raine from fellow Fort Delaware prisoner Lt. Henry C. Cromwell of the 10th Kentucky Cavalry on August 4, 1864. Raine had just arrived at Fort Delaware as a Confederate prison of war. The diary is written in both pencil and ink. The first twenty pages are Raine’s notes on various subjects of English history. After a gap of blank pages, Raine’s diary entries begin on January 1, 1865 and continue until his release on June 17, 1865. The final paragraph of the diary section details his journey home to Virginia. Entries vary in length, averaging a few lines per day, and detail the weather, Raine’s physical and emotional state and the miseries of prison life, news of fellow prisoners, preaching and religious exercises in the barracks, letters written and received, parcels and money received, news concerning the war and prisoner exchanges, and thoughts on his imprisonment and the future. Notable entries include the news of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender and his entries mentioning debate topics and results by a debating club formed among prisoners. The next section of the book includes a letter draft to a friend, a number of pages of poetry, miscellaneous literary excerpts including a page of notable lines of Shakespeare, and some accounting records that may be post-war. The final section of the book includes autographs, addresses, and some personal notes from sixty-three fellow prisoners. The diary also had within it a number of loose items including letters received, poems, notes, etc… written by him and other authors during his imprisonment and in the post-war years.”
When Raines was 55 years old (in 1897), he wrote a brief autobiography at his children’s request. In it he described his war years as a member of Co. E, 23rd Virginia Infantry—part of Stonewall Jackson’s foot soldiers. In describing his capture in May 1864, Raines wrote that he with other prisoners were marched to Fredericksburg, then to Acquia Creek, then to Point Lookout, Maryland, for 6 weeks, “undergoing all sorts of indignities…by the Negro troops (ex-slaves) who guarded us.” Finally they were moved to Fort Delaware, reaching there in late June 1864.
Of his experience at Fort Delaware he wrote: “Recollections of prison life at Ft. Delaware can never be blotted from my memory. To the kindness of Southern sympathizers in Baltimore and elsewhere within the Federal lines are many of us indebted for the only comforts we had. We were both clothed and fed by these good people. The scanty and unwholesome allowances of rations – wormeaten beans, tough beef and half risen hard bread – were barely sufficient to sustain life. I feel and hope that all of my children will ever feel a debt of deepest gratitude to Mrs. Ann [should be Jane] Eliza Bestor and Miss Alice Kay Howard of Baltimore for their kindness to me in furnishing clothing, books and writing material, without which I could not have lived.”
Raines remained in Fort Delaware until after Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia when he took the oath of allegiance and was released. [See C. A. Raine’s Autobiography]
Raine wrote the letters to Jane Eliza (Brown) Bestor (1820-1885), the wife of John Rollin Bestor, Sr. (1813-1867). This Baltimore couple had twin sons who served in the Maryland Guard that became Co. B, 21st Virginia Infantry. Eliza seems to have corresponded with numerous Confederate soldiers seeking information about her sons. The Bestor brothers’ letters have been transcribed and may be found at 1861-65: The Bestor Brothers of Baltimore.
Letter 1
Fort Delaware, Del. Aug. 3, 1864
Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor
My dear friend, it gives me pleasure to acknowledge yours of the 29th ulto. which reached me yesterday evening. Please allow me to express my deepest gratitude for your proffered kindness. I shall ever feel under obligations to you, and should it be the will of our Divine Master to permit me to return to Dixie again, it shall be my most pleasant duty to make the acquaintance of your sons, and extend to them the use of my purse, and hospitalities of my home.
I am in need only of a few articles of underclothing at this time, and will in obedience to your request ask to be supplied. Please send two grass linen shirts and two pair drawers of the same material. Also colored socks and handkerchiefs. At the same time, please send a small reference Bible and a Presbyterian Prayer Book. It may be necessary to state that you may have something to guide you in selecting some of these articles that I am very tall (6 feet 2 inches).
Prison life is by no means pleasant, yet there are many things to render us comfortable and happy. We feel that our walk with God is closer and that we enjoy a sweeter communion with our blessed Redeemer. We are organized into a Christian Association and enjoy many sweet privileges. Only one page is allowed me at a time. Hoping you will let me hear from you again, permit me to subscribe, dear Madam, your friend & humble servant, — C. A. Raine
Please allow me to add another article of which I am greatly in need and for the want of which I really suffer—that is chewing tobacco.
Letter 2
Fort Delaware, Del. Sept. 21st 1864
My dear sister,
I wrote you several days ago, but fearing my letter has been miscarried, as the time which has elapsed is sufficient for a reply, I write again. I told you in my letter that Gen. Vance was still here in reply to your inquiry made after him. He is well, and is actively engaged with many other good men in doing all he can for the spiritual good of young Christians and in directing those without the ark of safety to the “Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world” by christian exhortation at our daily prayer meetings. Would that I could tell you how much has been accomplished in bringing souls to a knowledge of the truth as it is Christ [but] the space I have will not allow it. There is great feeling and anxiety on the part of many of our brother officers on account of their sins. God is surely working among us. Allow me to ask on behalf of those who are deeply convicted an interest in your prayers, and your friends who may feel interested in the conversion of souls to God.
I have nothing new that I can write you. We are all anxious about a general exchange. I believe it is the only topic. Some sick and wounded have been sent off in the last few days, as we learn, to be exchanged. I would feel grateful for the loan of fifteen or twenty dollars as there are many little articles which would add greatly to my comforts and in fact many indispensables which I cannot obtain otherwise than with money. Send it by letter. My love to all of my relations. I asked you in my last letter for your photograph. I repeat the request. Write soon and believe me. Yours affectionately, — C. A. Raine
The following letter was written by Capt. Emmet E. DePriest of Co. H, 23rd Virginia Infantry (a.k.a., “The Richmond Sharpshooters”). Emmet began the war as the 3rd Lieutenant of Co. H but “the first three officers listed on the roll were either discharged, resigned, or not reelected. The most junior officer, Emmet E. DePriest, a young, 21 year old, third lieutenant was elected captain in 1862. His service records indicate that he was an able leader but sickly. He was cited for gallantry in 1861 at the action at Carricks Ford (Joslyn 1995:86) but in 1862 he wrote a letter to Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, Christopher Memminger, seeking a job as a clerk due to poor health stating he could not survive another winter campaign (DePriest 1862). He served briefly as a recruiter in 1862, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and suffered from neuralgia in Richmond hospitals in March, 1864.”
“DePriest’s future took a dramatic turn when he was captured at Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. He was held as a prisoner-of-war at Point Lookout then transferred to Fort Delaware in June 1864 (Joslyn 1995). During his confinement, DePriest was sent to Charleston, South Carolina to be used as a human shield along with other Confederate officers known today as the “Immortal 600″ (Stokes 2013). This action was ordered by Edwin Stanton, Union Secretary of War, in retaliation for Confederate forces placing 600 Union prisoners in the line of Union artillery firing on Charleston. He was then transferred to Fort Pulaski where fellow prisoners died of dysentery. While he was being transferred back to Fort Delaware in March of 1865, he escaped (Joslyn 1995:86).” [Source: The Richmond Sharpshooters, Co. H, 23rd Virginia Infantry]
DePriest wrote the letter to Jane Eliza (Brown) Bestor (1820-1885), the wife of John Rollin Bestor, Sr. (1813-1867). This Baltimore couple had twin sons who served in the Maryland Guard that became Co. B, 21st Virginia Infantry. Eliza seems to have corresponded with numerous Confederate officers seeking information about her sons. The Bestor brothers’ letters have been transcribed and may be found at 1861-65: The Bestor Brothers of Baltimore.
T R A N S C R I P T I O N
Fort Delaware, Delaware July 26th 1864
Mrs. Bestor,
Yours of the 24th came to hand last evening and it affords me much pleasure to give the desired information. Colonel Fitzgerald 1 has been sent to Charleston, South Carolina, with a number of other officers from this place. Capt. Saunders and Adjutant [C. A.] Raine are here. Anything you may desire to send them can be sent by express. Lieut. J. W. Jones who is my 1st Lieutenant is not here. He was killed, I am afraid, on the 10th of May for there has nothing ben heard of him since. Mr. W. C. Tompkins is a prisoner at Point Lookout, Maryland. Mrs. McFarland can give you more information in regard to him than I can. Thanks for the news you gave me from my family. It is all that I have heard since being a prisoner.
How is [your boys] Rollin and John? I suppose you have heard from them lately. Hoping this has given the desired information. I am yours to command, — E. E. DePriest, Capt. 23rd Virginia Infantry
Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor, 166 North High Street, Baltimore
1 Colonel John P. Fitzgerald served in the 23rd Virginia Infantry. The regiment fought primarily under General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley and later as part of the Army of Northern Virginia. He survived a serious wound at Antietam but was captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and taken to Fort Delaware. He was among the 50 field officers (of a larger number of 600 Confederate officers) selected to be sent to Morris Island to be used as human shields. Fitzgerald survived the ordeal and the war.
Robert Brank Vance (1828–1899), elder brother of North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance, began his Confederate military service in 1861 by raising a company known as the Buncombe Life Guards and becoming colonel of the 29th North Carolina Infantry. His regiment served in East Tennessee, participated in the defense of Cumberland Gap, and accompanied General Edmund Kirby Smith during the Kentucky Campaign of 1862. At the Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro) in December 1862, Vance distinguished himself in combat, losing his horse to an artillery shell. His service earned him promotion to brigadier general on March 4, 1863. Following a prolonged illness, he was assigned command of Confederate forces in the mountainous region along the North Carolina–Tennessee border, where he conducted raids against Union supply lines. On January 14, 1864, after capturing a Union wagon train near Knoxville, Vance and most of his command were themselves captured by Federal cavalry.
Following his capture, Vance was held in several Northern prisons, including facilities in Nashville, Louisville, Camp Chase in Ohio, and finally Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island. During his confinement at Fort Delaware, he was photographed in May 1864 alongside several prominent Confederate prisoners, including Brigadier General Meriwether Jeff Thompson. His eventual release was aided by the Reverend Nathaniel G. Taylor, a Union sympathizer whom Vance had previously held prisoner in Tennessee but had treated kindly and released. Through Taylor’s intervention, President Abraham Lincoln granted Vance a special parole permitting him to purchase clothing and other necessities for fellow Confederate prisoners. In March 1865, Lincoln granted Vance a conditional pardon, allowing him to return home to North Carolina on the condition that he take no further part in the war.
Vance wrote the letters to Jane Eliza (Brown) Bestor (1820-1885), the wife of John Rollin Bestor, Sr. (1813-1867). This Baltimore couple had twin sons who served in the Maryland Guard that became Co. B, 21st Virginia Infantry. Eliza seems to have corresponded with numerous Confederate officers seeking information about her sons. The Bestor brothers’ letters have been transcribed and may be found at 1861-65: The Bestor Brothers of Baltimore.
Letter 1
Fort Delaware, Delaware July 22nd 1864
My Dear Madam:
I was surprised and grieved yesterday to learn that my letter of thanks for your beautiful presents had never reached you. Such things are mortifying but, in a case like mine, cannot be helped.
The package came some days after the departure of our friends –Generals J[ohnson] & T[hompson]—and I wrote you promptly. I ask the privilege of again returning my grateful thanks and to assure you how highly I appreciate such acts of kindness. The handkerchiefs, knives & forks are really very tasty. What must I do with the articles for Gen’s J[ohnson] & T[hompson]? If you have a surer opportunity of sending the articles to them, I can return them to Baltimore. Please advise me on that point.
I hope your sons John Rollin & Rollin John are safe and well. I would express my feelings more fully in regard to those patriotic boys, but I find that notes thus embellished are apt to go by the board. God bless you, madam, for your thoughtful kindness in providing for me in prison. I trust that you may be rewarded by the silent plaudits of the heart.
Your obliged and obedient servant, — Robert B. Vance
To Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor, Baltimore, Maryland
Letter 2
Fort Delaware, Delaware August 10, 1864
My dear Madam,
I am in due receipt of your favor, touching the articles of Genl’s [Edward] Johnson & [Jeff] Thompson, and write to say that I have concluded, unless you direct otherwise, to take the things thro’ for those gentlemen. You have doubtless seen the pleasing news of their exchange. If that happy state of affairs should keep up, your humble friend will jog along some of these days, and then I know that it will be pleasant for Genls Ed [Johnson] & Jeff [Thompson] to know that they were unforgotten.
Every time I think of your kindness to me—a stranger—my gratitude grows stronger. I hope the day will come when I can testify thereto more fully. Now the will must be taken for the deed. Chance may throw those sons of yours where I can serve them, and I shall not forget. What is for us, who are yet here, in the future we cannot tell. It does appear as if both Governments wished to exchange—at least for the last day or two. I begin to think it & you know it is seldom that two fail in anything desirable.
God bless you Madam. Your friend, — Robert B. Vance
To Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor, Baltimore, Maryland
Letter 3
Fort Delaware, Delaware January 10, 1865
Mrs. Eliza J. Bestor
My dear madam. The months have come and gone, carrying with them the holidays. But I am still here—a reluctant guest of Uncle Sam’s. I desire to hear from you again and to learn how you fare these war times. Have you any late news from your sons? It has been nearly four months since we have had flag of truce letters and I presume that you have met the same difficulty.
I judge you have seen an account of the capture of Gen. Ed[ward] Johnson. He is at Johnson’s Island. What had I better do with his articles in my hands? Perhaps you may have an opportunity of sending them to him. If so, I can forward them to you, or if you think he will be permitted to receive the things, I can express them direct.
I hope that you had a pleasant Christmas and are entering upon the new Year with prospects of happiness and pleasure. Our old friend, General Jeff [Thompson], is operating in Missouri. A physician lately from the Trans Mississippi Department gave us a number of interesting facts concerning him which I cannot write you, but you may know them as quite characteristic. Gen. Johnson is unfortunate. I feel for him greatly.
I hope to hear from you soon and remain most truly your friend, — Robert B. Vance
Letter 4
New York February 11, 1865
My dear friend:
I received a note from Gen. Edward Johnson at Fort Warren & sent the handkerchiefs, knife & fork to him. He asked for your address which I sent him. I have not as yet learned whether the articles had reached him or not. Hope though that all is right. I expected to see you all in Baltimore while Genl. B. was there but did not get my parole in time and had to join him here. I regret that I could not in person express to you my grateful appreciation of your delicate attentions. I am not certain now whether I will remain here during my parole or go to some of the Western prisons. I am anxious to go to Rock Island, Camp Morton, Camp Douglass, &c., and have made application to do so.
If I go, it will be early next week, this being Saturday night. Lucius [Heylin Smith], Capt. Charlton [Hunt Morgan], 1 & others of my mess are, in all probability, gone on exchange, as their names were on the rolls when I left the Fort [Delaware]. Hoping for many blessings to crown your path, I am, devotedly your friend, — Robt. B. Vance
1 Capt. Charlton Hunt Morgan was a brother-in-law of Gen. John Hunt Morgan, and a captain in the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment. He was confined in 1864 at Fort Delaware.
These letters were written by Meriwether “Jeff” Thompson (1826–1876), one of the more colorful Confederate commanders in the Trans-Mississippi theater. A native of Virginia who settled in St. Joseph, Missouri, Thompson worked as a surveyor, engineer, businessman, and served as mayor of St. Joseph before the war. He was married in 1848 to Emma Hayes, the daughter of a Baltimore artist. An ardent secessionist, he was elected brigadier general of the Missouri State Guard in 1861 and became famous for his operations in the swamps and river country of southeastern Missouri, earning the nickname “Swamp Fox of the Confederacy.” Although commonly styled a Confederate general, Thompson’s brigadier-general rank was actually in the Missouri State Guard; he never received that rank in the regular Confederate Army. His wartime service carried him through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana, including a brief stint commanding Confederate river vessels.
Thompson was captured at Pocahontas, Arkansas, in August 1863 while attempting to raise a new command. After confinement in St. Louis and at Johnson’s Island, Ohio, he was transferred to Fort Delaware, the formidable Union prison on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. Thus, when he wrote this letter in March 1864, the once highly mobile “Swamp Fox” had been a prisoner for more than six months. At Fort Delaware he became a prominent figure among the Confederate officers, writing poetry and helping organize entertainments to relieve the monotony of captivity. He remained there until his exchange in August 1864, after which he returned to the field, commanded troops during Sterling Price’s Missouri campaign, and ultimately surrendered his command in Arkansas in May 1865. He died of tuberculosis in 1876—a disease he probably contracted while in prison. [Sources: Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Civil War on the western Border (KC Public Library)]
Thompson wrote the letters to his Baltimore relative, Jane Eliza (Brown) Bestor (1820-1885), the wife of John Rollin Bestor, Sr. (1813-1867). This Baltimore couple had twin sons who served in the Maryland Guard that became Co. B, 21st Virginia Infantry. Their letters have been transcribed and may be found at 1861-65: The Bestor Brothers of Baltimore.
An interesting aspect of this particular letter is that it was three pages in length. Most prisoners were limited in their correspondence to one page—for both outgoing and incoming letters. “Supposedly, all letters were examined by censors and any letter over one page was considered to be contraband and therefore not delivered to the prisoner. This rule led to prisoners using every square inch of the page to write their messages. At times the letters greater than one page were removed from the cover, and the empty cover was sent to the prisoner. When General M. Jeff Thompson was imprisoned on Johnson’s Island in September of 1863, he took steps to eliminate the one page rule. He struck a deal with those censoring the letters. Long letters were to be read by the censors in the evening rather than during the day. Thompson would see that they received two and one-half cents per page for each page read. The censors agreed, but the matter had to be kept secret. This worked well as the censors were able to make several dollars more per day than their pay. However, the scheme fell apart when a prisoner complained to the prison commandant that he had to pay a dime tax to receive a four page letter. After the matter was investigated, the long letter mail was stopped.” Perhaps Thompson struck such a deal at Fort Delaware as well for his are the only letters I’ve seen that exceeded one page. [Source: Letters to and from Confederate Prisoners]
[Editor’s Note: The image of Thompson in the header is based on a photograph in the Library of Congress.]
This image of Confederate officers held at Fort Delaware was taken in April 1864. M. Jeff Thompson is seated second from right. The Rev. Isaac W. K. Handy, a political prisoner held at Fort Delaware wrote on 30 April 1864, “The photographer has been the great man of the day. The artist tried his skill, with a group embracing the paroled officers, [Henry] Brogden and myself, making fifteen in all.
“The company did me the honor to give me the central position with General [Robert] Vance on the right, and Gen. [Jeff] Thompson on the left—the others seated on either side, or standing in the rear, with Bailey [Peyton] Key, the orderly, on a blanket in front.
“Something was said about bringing a couple of Rebel ladies into the picture. Gen. Jeff [Thompson] good humoredly suggested, that it was ‘bad enough to introduce a preacher into such company;’ and so the ladies, beautiful, and thoroughly ‘secesh,’ will be more appropriately daguerreotyped upon the hearts of certain distinguished heroes, for whom their visit was more especially intended.”
Letter 1
Fort Delaware, Delaware March 4th 1864
My dear Madam,
Your kind note of the 2nd inst. reached me this day and I hasten to thank you for your interest in my comfort and welfare. I am very pleasantly situated here, having many more privileges than are generally granted to Prisoners of War. But still any or all of the little matters that go to fill up a good housekeeper’s pantry are most acceptable as Uncle Sam only furnishes us with a soldier’s rations, and without the exercise, that gives the appetite to enjoy such food, it is not very tempting. There are a few other things that I need but I can purchase most of them from the sutler.
I wrote to Mr. George R. Frick to ask some lady friend to send me a pillow. I have not received it yet and if he has not sent it, I would be onliged to you for one. Mr. Pat Reilly of the Elden Hall on Lafayette Street has occasionally send me a box of eatables when I was at Johnson’s Island, but I have received nothing since I have been here. 1 I will try that my friends in Baltimore shall know each other or I may “feasts and famines” too often.
Do you know Mrs. Thompson’s step mother? I remember your cousins as well as if I saw them only yesterday, though many years have passed since we met. If I remember tightly, Charley studies Dentistry under Dr. Camp, his brother-in-law, after they left Harpers Ferry. I would be much pleased to hear from all of them.
Mrs. Thompson is now living in St. Louis and if you would write to her, she would be pleased to hear from you as she has no correspondent in Baltimore and I know she would like to hear from her relatives. Address her Mrs. Emma C. Thompson and she will get the letter as I write to her nearly every day and she send to the post office daily. She has our only living son with her but the two oldest girls are in the Convent of the Sacred Heart near New Orleans and our baby is at St. Joseph with my sister.
Shortly after I was captured, an article was published about me in which I was represented as having spoken very disrespectfully of my wife. I have heard that the Baltimore papers published it but never published my answer to it. You may have seen the article I allude to and I therefore send you the answer that you may know the truth. You can show it to Emma’s other relatives and friends who may have seen the first article.
I hope to hear from you often as I am here alone and have plenty of time to read and write letters. Should some little articles that I have written for not be sent me, I will let you know what they are.
Very respectfully, your cousin, — M. Jeff Thompson, Brig. Gen. M. S. G. [Missouri State Guard], Prisoner of War
To Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor, Baltimore, Md., No. 166 North Hight Street.
We have been married 16 years this very day—4th March.
1 Patrick Reilly was the proprietor of Eldon Hall, a well-known restaurant and dining saloon in Baltimore. It was located at 75-78 West Fayette Street. Reilly sold it in 1888.
Letter 2
Fort Delaware Del. April 5th, 1864—Tuesday night
Dear Cousin,
The Box reached me safely today, and I am delighted with the pants and coat, and everything else sent.
Today has been too inclement to go to the barracks to distribute the other clothes, but tomorrow I hope to be able to get down. The collars were the style I wear exactly, and I now have enough to last me through the war, and the steel collar will do to wear where washing is difficult to be done. I received several things from New York today and am now well supplied with clothes. I gave my old clothes to the “pile” to be distributed tomorrow. I can only have a valise full of clothes on hand with a probability of getting them through when I am exchanged, and therefore when I get anything that suits me better than what I have, I give away what I swap for.
Martin’s bundles will be properly delivered. He was present today when the boxes were delivered and was sent away empty handed because my boxes were not examined, and I had not received the letter until after he had gone back to the barracks. After he was gone, we found the bundles and they will be delivered to him tomorrow.
Brogden did not report anything as being for me but as I often eat with him, it answered the same purpose when he received boxes. But now I am not permitted to visit the Political Prison and therefore cannot eat with him now. Brogden now has a parole of the Island, and is much in my room. He is a very nice fellow, and I am quite fond of him.
The fresh oysters you sent are soured, and I have tried the experiment of pickling one can, but the others had to be thrown away. I regretted it much as I am passionately fond of them, and these looked so large and fine that I felt tempted to risk the cholera morbus on them. The Cove Oysters are nice, and I stewed and ate one can of them by myself today. The tomatoes are my next favorite dish to oysters, and I will try them tomorrow.
My messmates all send their thanks to you for your sympathy, and also for the eatables. We have ten now besides Bail! (our orderly) in the mess, and I am the housekeeper or chief of mess. So I have my hands full of business.
I suppose you allude to Major Simon’s sister. Did her Father receive a letter from me shortly after I came here? If he did not, I will write again, just for the pleasure it will give Gus some of these days, when he knows that I told his Father what a brave and efficient officer he was.
I sent Miss Lou one of my Photographs last night which will replace the mad L [?] one you gave away. If you would like to have one of the others, I will send it to you, as I have two of them left.
You must cheer up about your Jewels, and thank God and be proud that you are able to do so much for your country. I know it is hard—very hard—to be separated from them when they are in constant danger, but if you are uneasy and unhappy about them, it may unnerve their arms and then they would be truly in danger. I wish my girls were all boys and old enough to be in the ranks. I would be very proud of them.
Since the creation of the world there has been wars, and there always will be wars, and the bravest and the best will do the fighting and sacrifice their lives for Liberty, Glory, Religion, or honor, and brave sons should have brave Mothers, and you must trust your Jewels in the hands of God, and abide His will.
Give my kindest regards to all friends and relatives. I will write again soon.
Your Grateful Cousin — M. Jeff. Thompson
<missing scans>
Letter 3
Fort Delaware, Del. April 21st ’64 Thursday night
My dear Cousin,
Yours of the 18th reached me yesterday. I am very glad you have heard from the “Jewels” and hope that you will be contented for a while and not be borrowing trouble when the reality may come at any moment. You are right about not wanting John to live in Richmond when he can be in the field and should I have an opportunity, I will advise him to remain with his command. I am quite intimate with Gen’l Breckenridge and may visit him when I get through to Dixie, when of course I will see the boys. I wrote to Breckenridge tonight to go by the Boat, which leaves here tomorrow with the sick Rebs for City Point. I almost wish I was sick so that I could go through with them.
John is evidently the kind of man for the cavalry, but it is well that he has his more cautious brother with him. If I knew exactly when I was to be exchanged, I would let you write some long letters to take through the lines, for it is surely poor satisfaction to write one page to a son who is in constant danger.
Gen. Robert Brank Vance. On 14 Mar. 1865 Vance was given a full pardon and allowed to return to North Carolina on condition that he not fight again.
I hope Cousin Lou has recovered from her cold and is ready to write me another long letter. We will have a photographer here on Saturday and I will have some pictures taken of my present appearance and will send you one. I will wear Gen’l [Robert Brank] Vance’s uniform for my old uniform is in Arkansas, and my new one from Alton has not yet been sent me. I will probably get it before I leave—at least I hope so.
You must present my regards to black Mamma and tell her I am glad to hear that she is “sound on the goose question,” for it speaks well for her judgement.
All the news we now receive is encouraging for us and I think the next ninety days will see our last dark days, and that all will be bright thereafter. God grant it, for I am heartily tired of bloodshed, and if the war lasts over three months longer, there will be no more quarter given, and then the most terrible sights the world ever saw will be enacted. Fort Pillow will be a bright spot in the dark scenes which will soon come. We must not, and will not and cannot be conquered, and it is a big job to kill all of us.
Remember me affectionately to all friends and let me hear from you often. I hope you have written to Emma.
Your affectionate Cousin, — M. Jeff. Thompson
Let some of the girls send our little orderly a pair of no. 6 boots.
General Robert B. Vance is seated third from left; M. Jeff Thompson seated 2nd from right. The 15 year old “boy”orderly” seated on the ground in front was Bailey Payton Key of Tennessee. He must have been the orderly referred to in this letter.[Delaware Historical Society Collections]
Another scene from Fort Delaware showing Rev. Isaac W. K. Handy (1815-1878) preaching to fellow prisoners around 1863. Seated L-R: Lt. J. N. McFarland, Capt. G. L. Roberts, and Capt. W. F. Gordon; Standing L-R: Rev. Isaac W. K. Handy, Capt. J. H. Dye, Lt. Wash C. Shane, Lt. T. S. Armistead, Capt. J. J. Dunkle, and Lt. J. T. Mackey. Rev. Isaac W. Handy (1815-1878) served Presbyterian congregations in Delaware, Missouri, Maryland, and Virginia. During the Civil War, the Union Army detained him at Fort Delaware for fifteen months for refusing to deny allegations that he made statements against the American flag. While at Fort Delaware, he preached every day and conducted Bible classes, contributing to the conversion of over seventy Confederate officers. (Presbyterian Historical Society).
Letter 4
Fort Delaware, Delaware May 13th 1864 Friday morning
My dear Cousin,
Lately our correspondence has dropped off but you must not blame me for I have had great trouble lately, and then the intense interest which we all feel in the battles now going on in Virginia is sufficient excuse for neglect if even I had not my great private trouble.
I feel every confidence in our success in Virginia but many thousand brave men must bite the dust and grief will overspread our lane even though victory shall crown our arms. You have probably heard of the great calamity that has befallen [my wife] Emma for I wrote To Adeline and she has probably told your mother who has told you. I hope to be more cheerful in a few days and will write to you again. In the meantime, do not stop writing to me for I am sure I can encourage you about your brave boys who are just where they ought to be. Love to all.
Yours affectionately, — M. Jeff Thompson
To Mrs. J. Eliza Bestor, Baltimore, Md.
Letter 4
[Editor’s note: These two scraps of a letter are clearly in Gen. M. Jeff Thompson’s handwriting but I don’t know if they were associated with any of the earlier letters or just the remnants of another letter.]
….be filled with pride and satisfaction instead of forebodings for McAleer did not write more encouragingly than we all feel, for our prospects are bright, and though many brave and gallant men have to “bite the dust,” in the next sixty days, yet we are sanguine and I pray that I may be exchanged in time to bear my part of the heat and burden of the day.
There is no occasion for you to do anything but pray and wait and surely you will not be banished for doing this, even though Lew Wallace is in command. He is a…
…you allude to. I was intimate with [paper torn (PT)] church and belonged to the same societies [PT) I go South. I will write to [PT].
Give my respect to Mr. Bestor [PT] ladies. I wish I could send you [PT] They are contraband of war in Baltimore [PT] and I hav sent them to my lady friends [PT] you often and I will always pray [PT]
to Mts. Eliza Bestor, No. 166 North High Street, Baltimore, Md.
The following letter was sold to a client of mine stating that it was penned by a Union soldier named “Frank Prior” to his father, “Capt. Samuel Prior, Jr.” but I am unable to see a signature and I cannot identify the Prior family correspondents. It’s possible this information was simply made up but on the outside chance it’s true, I pass on the “provenance.”
The letter describes an August 1864 incident pertaining to the Major Reybold, a steamer operating on the Delaware River, in which a number of Confederate prisoners were transported by her from Philadelphia to Fort Delaware. After dropping off the prisoners, it was discovered they were one short which triggered the whole fiasco.
The Major Rebold was built in 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware. She was the first iron vessel to see service on the Delaware, plying between Salem, New Jersey, and Philadelphia until 1906. During the Civil War she was retained on the river on account of Fort Delaware and was for a long time the only steamboat running below Wilmington, carrying thousands of troops and prisoners to the fort.
The Major Reybold, ca. 1908. She remained in regular service until 1906.
Transcription
Steamer Major Reybold August 15, 1864
Dear Pa,
Your very welcome letter was received Friday evening. I was glad to hear you had found the boat so soon. By what Captain Loomis (who was on board of us Friday in Philadelphia) said, I was afraid you would have trouble finding her.
We were fired into by a gunboat from the Fort on Friday evening. The way of it was this. We landed some forty-five prisoners there that evening and after we had left, they found out that there was one short. They fired two musket shots to attract our attention but there being a very stiff breeze from the eastward, we did not hear them. They then ordered their gunboat which lay at the East wharf after us. It was high water and we were running directly across and by the time the gunboat got under weigh, we were pretty well over.
She fired a blank shot at us as she left the wharf but it was not heard on board by us owing, I suppose, to the wind and the noise of the machinery. They then fired three more shots—the last one, which was a shell, exploded about twenty-five yards from our stern and was the only one which was heard or seen by anyone on board.
The Daily State Gazette, 22 August 1864
Captain and I were in the office and did not know anything about the firing until some of the passengers who saw the shell explode came and told us. Captain came out immediately and ordered the boat to turn around and go back. We were then in “Hinchman’s reach,” We went about and run back. When we got to mouth of creek, we were met by a small boat from off the gunboat with an officer in charge who ordered us to proceed to Ft. Delaware at once, which we did. When we got there, we were informed that the man had got away in Philadelphia and that they were very sorry they had caused us so much trouble. It seems that when they found out that there was one man short, they did not even wait to ask the officer in charge where he was but sent the boat immediately after us. After she left, they found out where the man escaped and tried to recall her but could not for the same reason I suppose that prevented us from hearing.
The idea of the boat shooting at us with the intention of hitting us as the Lieutenant in charge of her says he did, is preposterous and should be reported from his actions. When he boarded us, I should say he was drunk and that may have been a reason for his firing at us. If the shell had struck us in the saloon, it would have caused a great loss of life in there at the time.
Thomas Bond has a claim against you of $32 for hay. Shall I settle it? We told John Mulford about it and John told me.
The following letters were written by Joseph Stras Peery (1839-1925), the son of Harvey George Peery (1801-1869) and Rebecca Williams (1805-1890) of Tazewell county, Virginia. After receiving an elementary education in Tazewell, he attended Emory and Henry College.
At the start of the Civil War, Joseph enlisted in August 1861 in Co. G, 45th Virginia Infantry at Gauley. He was promoted to sergeant by April 1862 and commissioned a lieutenant by July 1862. He was captured at the Battle of Winchester on 19 September 1864 and sent to Ft. Delaware shortly after. On the date of his release, 17 June 1865, he was described as standing 6 feet tall, with blue eyes and light hair.
In 1868 married Livonia Ravina Brown. His post war occupation was farmer and merchant. He died 7/7/1925 at Glade Spring, Washington County, Virginia at the age of 87.
These letters, like others Joseph wrote from prison, were strictly censored. They were not allowed to discuss what was going on inside the prison nor share their attitude about events occurring outside. Rules required that all letters be written on one side of the paper and they could only be sent to relatives in the North or to relatives in Union-occupied southern states unless under a flag-of-truce. If correspondents were not actually relatives, letters were often addressed as “dear cousin.”
Letter 1
United States Military Prison Fort Delaware, Delaware February 1st 1865
My dear cousin,
Your kind and interesting letter was received this morning and was certainly glad to hear from you once more. I was just wondering what could be the matter that you did not answer my last. Had attributed it to frozen streams & bays. Never dreamed of you visiting the sunny land of flowers. I know you must have enjoyed yourself finely. couldn’t help it. I am glad you had the opportunity of seeing your Brothers. Hope that peace may soon be declared and that all may have the privilege of enjoying freely the society if friends and relations and the comforts of home.
Have had two letters from home lately—one from Mother, 9th December, All were well at that time. Also one from Sarah to Frank. Everything seemingly doing well. Little Bobbie had gotten almost entirely well. Sarah’s letter was very short. So much so I almost became offended. I’ve written to Maggie and I know she’ll give me all the news. She is always so precise in every little item of news.
I received a few days since a letter from R. S. B. He is very kind and offers anything that he is able to do for us. He has already done much tending to the wants of Brother J[ames] and therefore I think it would be ungenerous and unkind in us to ask more. I received the money you sent and am indeed very grateful and feel under many obligations to you. As regards the clothing, we have just applied for permits to send to an old business friend (in Baltimore) who wrote us a few days ago to do so. I will let you know how we success. I don’t know how to express my gratitude for your kind offers rendered more dear to me for certain reasons which I hope some day to be able to explain.
We have very hard fare but very good quarters. Don’t get too much to eat. Frank sends his best love to you. You must not laugh at my ill composed scroll for you must remember I’m in no secluded spot noted to the purpose. Be sure and write often. I am very fond of reading letters. Excuse all mistakes and accept this the kindest regards of your devoted cousin, — Joseph S. Peery
Letter 2
Fort Delaware, Delaware March 29, 1865
Dear Cousin,
According to your request, I write again on the reception of your kind letter. It is pretty much as you said—nothing to do, but you know that no one is apt to be fond of writing unless they get answers equally in number to letters written. Now I think you must be a long time answering my letter—so long I’d given it up—that you did not intend doing so. Consequently I wrote you another and sent you a ring, the workmanship of a prisoner. A very poor thing it was. However, I thought you would value it as it was from your lovely cousin. Well, I was very agreeably surprised this morning with a letter from my dear sister. I’d written home and complained of sister Sarah not writing. She claimed that she was not indebted to me in that respect. One thing I know—that is, I’ve written to her often enough but it may be that she has never received any or but few.
Mr. Brittain had been at home, only for a short time, ten days. Would leave the day she wrote, the 6th of March. All were well. I intend writing soon. Will give them your message. As to me forgiving you for not sending such as you mentioned, I don’t think that there is anything to forgive for I am already indebted to you more perhaps that I’ll ever be able to return. We are all well and getting along as well as usual. Get “hard tack” twice a week for dinner, something new of late.
Frank sends much love to you. Noe I don’t want you to delay answering this letter. Never trouble yourself about those articles mentioned. I received a few lines from a friend at Johnson’s Island. James was well and I expect he was thinking like myself—that you was not very prompt in reply. I shall expect to hear from you soon.
Believe me as ever your devoted cousin, — Jo. S. Peery
