This is an original Soldier's letter from the Civil War that was written to his mother by Lewis Josselyn on March 30 at Alexandria. The cover was addressed to Cyrus Josselyn at West Hanover, Mass. The letter is a single sheet that was folded with writing on 3 pages done in pencil. The letters reads: "No. 27 Alexandria March 30 Dear Mother & I got your letter No. 42 quite a number of days ago but thought I would not answer it the days I got it for I had send a letter the day befor I got it and then I had considerable to do simce then. I was out a foraging when the mail cameand when I got itin I had barely time to roll up me things to be off when the regiment did for they had had orders to move back into the townwhile I was away, and after we got into our …show more content…
I had not had a thing to eat //// since morning for when I got in from foraging I did not get a chance to get my dinner. The next day I wrote to Sander. I got a letter from him the same time I got yours and yesterday I was going to write to you but I.... (page 2) had to go on picket. It was the first time I had been on for about eight months. I had a pretty hard day and night of it fi=or the wind blew like a perfect hurricane. Today I have been a washing my clothes which is something new to me for a good while for I had my clothes washed for me while I was there (At B po)but here I dare not put them out to be washed for we do not know when we will be off . though it looks some as if we should stay herefor most of the troops have left hereand most of the gunboats have gone up river. One of the Hospital boats run into a rock in the river a few mile up. The boat sunk partly down and two or three of our boys went up and took the sick off. I dont know as I can say that I wnat to see any more fightingbut I dont care much whether we stay here or not. If it was not for the fighting I had as lives go from here or not. April 1st... It is a year ago
Walking From Boston to New York I thought that we would never win the battle against the British. I couldn’t believe that I was going to go to war with the British. The British had so much more experience than we did, There were some people who didn’t even have one bit of experience with weapons. Surely, I was nervous about going to battle. The whole time getting ready I thought about how much I’d miss my wife and our three children Lilia, Bethany, and Lucas. I thought to myself one day I won’t have to write to them, I can see them and tell them stories about the war. Right now all I need to think about is battling the British and surviving at the same time. Therefore, When going to battle being intrepid we
This discovery may be referred to as the “who.” Specifically, this letter dating back to the American Civil War includes two specific names; “James H. Gillmore” and “Harriet.” James H. Gilmore’s name can be found signed after the conclusion of the letter, meaning he was the author. For research purposes, many resources online and in print may be consulted in order to make new discoveries based on a simple keyword. In this case, the name of the letter’s author. Online databases are particularly helpful, especially ones that focus on genealogy, as they contain millions of names to be matched with dates, locations, and people in an instant. Federal Census records cover the most basic information about people during this time. Found
Civil War soldier letter (Albert) A Jones, Co A 19th Reg CV (Connecticut Volunteers), In Camp Near Alexandria, 4 pages in bold and easy to read pencil, we left Litchfield Station, got to Philadelphia and marched to Soldiers Relief and had breakfast and dinner in one meat and coffee, got to Baltimore, went to B (altimore) Sol (dier) Relioef and dhad supplier and slept in the Depot, marched to Washington and marched into a building that smelled worse than our ?Hag Jsen? ever did, were so hungry that we managed to swallow their greasy ditch water that they called coffee and some of their bread and meat.
I choose to read this letter because it appealed to me because of the short sentences, it shows the toll the war has taken on the soldier, “We captured a good many prisoners while in Mo. and killed a good many.” However, this soldier’s does seem to be hopeful of leaving this war alive, and reuniting with his family, but is somewhat doubtful, “I would give anything in the world to see you and the children. I have no idea when I will have that pleasure,” Many soldiers, as they marched off to face the enemy, had left behind a wife or sweetheart, and to them they would compose sweet, poignant, and occasionally funny letters that give life and personality to the participants in this great national conflict This soldier seems to know that his fate in the war is that he might will die at some point, but the pictures of his wife and kids give him the bit of hope.
In conclusion, I searched to see if I could find a return letter from General Hunter to Henrietta but I was unsuccessful. If there was one, it isn’t available now to read. Unfortunately, I also couldn’t find any information on Henrietta. However, I did find information on General Hunter. He was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Lynchburg and he served in the honor guard of the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln. This primary source gave me an inside look of the affects the Civil War was having on not just the country as a whole, but individual people and
"Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so
My first days were not so bad, but when my friends and the dead were starting to pile up, I started to ask myself, in the end, is it worth it? So many of my friends that had enlisted died and with the constant artillery fire and bullets firing everywhere, the feeling of death is always near. I live in long trenches of the western front, life in the trenches are cold and horrible but better with your fellow soldiers. The conditions are inevitably muddy and dirty, but it sometimes reminds me of the times on our farm playing with the pigs. Sometimes, I hear and see rats scurry through the trenches, and believe that the trenches will always remain the same: dirty, damp, and unsanitary. In these kinds of conditions, problems occurs, such as “Trench feet” where a soldier’s foot is exposed to damp and dirty conditions in trenches for too long. I have seen too many soldiers that suffered to “Trench feet” and had their toes amputated. It’s a good thing that I always change socks and kept them dry! The land over the trenches, you can see all the massive bomb holes, the bodies of those decreased, and the destruction of war. The land used to be green fields and places that people used to live in. Soon eventually, even I will go “over the top” along with other soldiers in a big plan s and be brave like the dead men in No Man’s Land. Deep down, I feel like I’m just a little boy with a rifle, I’m scared, homesick, and not yet ready to die. Goodbye for now, I will try to write often, maybe next week if I am lucky enough to have another opportunity. I hope this letter reaches you as quickly as
Do not grieve, especially you mother, as your son is still alive. Forgive me for I have burdened the two of you with worry and left you letterless for nearly two weeks, but unfortunately, I barely have time to write. As soon as I arrived 21 days ago, the other recruits and I were put to work by the senior soldiers. Contrary to the simple upbringing you have given me, war has shown that power and position are the only things which can guarantee a person’s safety. At the battlefield, in order to prove myself to the other soldiers, I had to repair the broken trench all by myself, even when the shells with their splintering roar soared above my head, threatning to strike me and while I was at rest, the gruesome drills kept
The war is still raging on. There are many already dead, but it´s not getting any better. Many different challenges have fallen upon us in a variety of ways. We've faced many hardships, substantial problems, and varied difficulties. I’ll explain to you guys some of what is happening, I’m truly sorry if some of the imagery I speak about in this letter is too grotesque, but please read to your own discretion. I’m doing my best to come home back to you guys.
I finished the letter sending it but of course, I was not going to show up. I’m doing this for Mr. Stapleton not for Sir Charles. I know Sir
I hope all is well with you and your family through these trying times. It's been a while since I've been able to write, our lives have been in complete turmoil. The battles were so horrible, the soldiers desperately wounded. My son Louis was sent into battle this past May as a soldier in the Calvary Corps. He fought bravely at Cemetery Ridge but in the third day of fighting he was wounded. The Lord showed him mercy and he was taken to Seminary Ridge. The doctors were unable to save his leg. He is struggling to learn to walk with a prosthetic made of wood and metal. The battles here in Gettysburg brought such devastation. I've heard over 50,000 were killed including a local women killed while baking bread in her kitchen.
I thought the end of the war would be exciting, but I was wrong. In school they told us that the war was over and I was very nervous and anxious. During school that day I could barely focus on any of the subjects my teacher was talking about, especially social studies since all we were talking about was the war. I had been waiting for a very long time to see if my father had survived the war and today was the day that all of the troops would be coming home. My mother had been working long and hard at a shoe factory that my father worked at before the war. Everyday I would go home and no one would be there since I was an only child and my only company was my pet goldfish, Sir Bubbles the first. I wouldn’t see my mother until about 8 p.m. every night and she would always leave very early in the morning before I even woke up.
Life was not easy without my family. My life revolved around them, without them I fell apart. While I was walking that night during the time they were attacking, I saw many people running in terror from them. Some died, and some just simply cried for their losses. I just kept walking, I had lost 4 of my family members, but I wasn’t going to sob around. I knew I had to move on. If I didn’t, I would not be walking now. I could do nothing for my family, so I just kept walking, hoping to find a brighter
Ever since you have left for the war, my time back at the house has been quite arduous, especially for a woman like myself. Everyday, my slumber continues to be disturbed by the agonizing thought of you falling by the source of gunshots. I sincerely wish for you to return home to me, your wife, and your daughters for your formidable presence is greatly longed for. The agonizing thought of you dying by the hands of another man for the sake of this country haunts me at the times I slumber as well as awaken. Oh, if only you had not been so eager to enlist into the Union army, no matter how much wealth the government compensated to our family. Eight-hundred dollars simply does not make up for the lack of a father-figure in this family, especially
Today was one of the hardest days I have experienced in my lifetime. We dug trenches, moved equipment, and repaired broken equipment from sun up until sun down. To make this even worse, all day the wind blew fiercely towards our trenches forcing us to endure the horrific stench of the soldiers who have lost their lives in no man’s land. I feel so horrible for the families of those lost brothers of mine. They will never have the opportunity to give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers a proper burial. It can get depressing here in these trenches as I do nothing but stare at the sky for hours on end with no sign of life in sight. I try to keep my mind busy, but every still moment my mind goes back to my brothers I have lost. I try to justify