April 2001 - Even More Letters Home
and Then Some
Once again I'm sharing letters written home. This month though, I'm also going to share with you a couple of poems written about the Civil War by friends of mine.
If you have any letter or poem you would like to share please feel free to send them to me bitsobluengray@aol.com I will file them, hopefully where I can find them again, to use in a future column. I apologize to any of you who have submitted letters which I've failed to use. If you happen to be one of those folks, just give me a "hollar" and I'll try to dig them out for next time (or you may resend).
I'm going to begin with a poem (the "then some" part of the title) by Frank Crawford who was my guest author back in July 2000 with his story "A Nasty Little Incident of War." Frank does a lot of Illinois soldier research and has written poems about many of the men using the information he has found about them.
John Ramsey
Co. B - 21st Illinois
By Frank Crawford
That was the sweetest
drink of water
I had ever experienced
in my entire life.
I
doubt, had I lived another forty years,
There would have ever been
A drink as satisfying for anyone
As that draught of fresh cool water was
To me.
The wet was a
salve
To my parched, split and bleeding lips.
The moisture
separated my tongue from the roof of my mouth
And the insides of my cheeks.
The cool spread from my stomach
Across my chest;
I could feel it being absorbed
By every organ in my body.
My every muscle, every fiber
Moved smoother,
With less pain, than I could recall for months.
My lungs inhaled more air
With each breath I took.
It became less painful
And more joyful just to breathe.
Yes, that first drink, from Providence Spring,
At Andersonville Prison,
In deep southern Georgia,
Was, without a doubt
The best drink
Of anything I ever took.
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Now that I have your attention, I'll get on with some letters. I hope you enjoy these "first hand" accounts.
First, I'd like to thank Joseph S. Hall, Jr. for submitting the following letter so it
can be shared with all of you.
Stephen Carpenter Hall wrote a letter home dated 26 May 1862 to his brother William Hall's wife, Marion. At the time, Stephen Carpenter Hall was a member of Burnside's Coast Division, 25th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers at Camp Bullock. This letter discusses four brothers that were with the 25th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. The Samuel that is being discussed was Samuel Judson Hall who was wounded 8 Feb 1862 at the battle of Roanoke Island, NC. He died 15 Feb 1862 and is buried in New Bern National Cemetery in New Bern, NC. The Susan mentioned at the bottom of the letter is Susan (Walden) Stone from Burrillville, RI. She was Samuel's wife.
The letter reads:
"Dear Sister,
I am seated to answer your letter after so long I had almost forgotten all about your letter. I have had a good deal of guard duty to do since I receive your letter and you know that I hate to write as bad as I would to eat a good meal of vitals. Well we are encamp about eleven miles from Newbern doing picket duty. We have to go on once in three days. It would be quite pleasant if it was not for the rain. It rains about every day. You spoke about Sam. As John took care of him he knows more about him than I do, but he had the nerve of being as brave as any of us. They said that when he fell they returned to help him off. He told them to never mind him, but go ahead and give it to them. I saw him quite often while he was sick. He always seemed in very good spirits and I was in hopes he would get well. Poor fellow, he must have suffered a great deal. I received a letter from George the other day. He said that he had heard that John had been wounded, but it is not so. Well we have a good time. It is very warm here. The mosquitoes and ticks are very thick. John sends his love to you all. Well give my love to Susan and keep a good share of it yourself and William. Well, good bye.
from your brother
Stephen Hall
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The following letter is from a book "Surry County (NC) Soldiers in the Civil War" by Hester Bartlett Jackson and I'm using it with her permission and blessings, so that both sides are being presented to you all.
This letter is from E.D. (Ezekiel) Freeman to his mother, Mary.
Jan 8, 1863
Headquarters near Goldsborough NC
My dear and affectionate Mother,
I avail myself of the earliest practicible moment to respond to your kind favor which I received by the perturbation of Capt. McGuffin. I was truly glad to hear from you and especially to learn that you were well. I have nothing special to write at this time. We all landed here safely last Sunday the 4th, this inst from our quarters the Breastworks in the Old Dominion. However we are left a few of our sick. Hugh has been pretty sick since we came here though I think he will soon be well again. Dear Mother, we are just lying here in the woods and only have our old tents to shield us from the inclemency of the weather, the excruciating keen and piercing winds of winter and the Hoary dews of Heaven pinch us closely and naturally incline to take a retrospective view and cause us often to mediate our comforts and happiness we once enjoyed with you Dear Mother at your own fireside at your own pleasant fireside many cold winter days no past and gone while mediditating on those pleasant times. I am often almost constrained to exclaim and roll back sweet moments roll back to me once more but alas I cannot see any present prospect of anything soon realizing this Joyful anticipation of future ease but I trust that a righteous God mite give us a helping hand and our efforts according to the ??? of our cause and succus will pearch upon our banners in every battlefield and be crowned with a glorius and honarable and lasting peace. The Dear Mother we will all march home with Laurels fresh upon our brows from the battlefield to enjoy peace with those we love most dear. The liberities for which we have been contending in battle array. Mother, I want you to send me a nice pair of fingered gloves and Have my name worked on them and a pair of socks also. Mother, don't pay for anything until you get it done. You understand me. I have with the exception of socks and gloves go clothes plenty. There is no chance to get a furlough. None. We expect to fight soon. We have 30,000 troops here at Kinston and 80,000 more at Wilmington.
Take good care of all you corn and don't sell a single grain at all and make all you can next spring. I have no paper or stamps to send you and I have not got any money to buy with. I have got two potatoes in the fire roasting and I am going to give half of them to Hugh Maxwell for writing this letter. I want you to write soon to me at Goldsborough NC and give me all the news.
I must close for I am just writing by a pine torch and it is getting late and it is as dark as two midnights together paved in all around with black curtains. I don't expect you can read half of it but I will do better next time. So I remain your dutiful son until death
Ezekiel Freeman to Mary Freeman
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This letter was sent to me by Frank Crawford. He begins with this short explanation. "There are 8 Redwoods in the US so it is hard to imagine where this letter originated. It was found in 1996 in the National Archives in Washington DC but I don't remember where it was located. Mr. Black, the commissioner was John C. Black who won the Medal of Honor at Prairie Grove, Arkansas while a member of the 37th Illinois. He was, at the time, being considered as potential material to run for Vice President on the Republican ticket."
Redwood,
April 23, 1888
Mr. Black, Commissioner:
Deer Sir - I've just got another one o' your postal cards telling me to go before the doctors and be examined. I've been getting these cards bout every new moon since I plied for an increase of my pension two years ago. I've been examined, and punched in the ribs, and sounded in the lungs and made to bend over the back of a chair and perform all sorts a monkey shines in my shirt tail, till I fee ez I orter hav a salery with an agent to go ahead and stick up bills
To begin with, you sent a couple of doctors up to Skin Creek, and it took em have an hour to find out that the reason why they couldn't find any circulation into my left leg was because it was made of wood. The next time you sent me a little cuss with glasses down to swampville and after fumblin me over long enough, he put my trus on hind side afor and said the pad was intended to brace up my spinal kolum. Three of four times after that you sent me odds and ends of doctors who coun't tell the difference between and epiletptic symtom and a biled clam, and the last time you sent me before a full board of surgeons down to the county seat. They came to the conclusion, might as I catch on, that something was wrong with my bladder. Now I have my opinions of a doctor who don't know the difference between a man's bladder and his bollux. It reminds me of the girl who asked her doctor's advise about her sweetheart because one of his kidney was a little bigger than the other one and it didn't hang down so fur. Perhaps this is all right. It may be fun for the doctors. It was fun fur me fur a while, but now that you order me back again to the first two doctors up to Skin Creek, and probably expect me to start on the same old circus over again, I'm going to kick like a brindle steer
Last summer, because of the friskyness of a pair of colds, my wooden leg got tangled and all chawed up to sinders in a mowing machine. I 'plied to the Surgeon General for a new leg, but he said that I'd only had the old one three years, and I'd have to wait two years more before the government could afford to make a hole in the "surplus" by getting me a new one. So I'm waiting and in all this interesting panarama of "examinations" I've been hobblin on one leg, and doin my best to prove that one of Uncle Sam's veterans, with one leg in the grave and the other damn near in, is better than a corpse by several percent. But hobblin' around in this way aint furst class fun fur a stiddy job. I've stood it fur a good while without grumblin and I suppose, furnished a lot of fun fur the doctors, paying my own expenses. Meanwhile my natural leg, the one I brought away safe from the Wilderness, has took to the rheumatiz till I'm almost sorry I did not drop it where I did the other one. And about the only hope my well leg can give me now, is to serve as a sort of rudder when I'm slidding downstairs on my arse.. Now, Mr. Commissioner, about the matter of increasing my pension, you may do just as you dam please. If you think that loosing one leg at the wilderness in 1863, blotted out the bullet through the body at Antietam in 1862, and if you think that the pension I have been gettin is full pay fur a set of busted insides that haint been in runnin order in more'n twenty years and never will be on this side of New Jerusalem, all right. If the government says so I'm a silent partner. But I'm a goin to tell you just between us that when the minie ball went through me at Antietam, it played the mischief with some of the important parts, and "if played fur keeps." it cut something all to thunder. I don't know wether it was my liver, or my lungs, my gizzard or my guts, and your pet doctors den't seem to know as much about it as I do.
The plain fact is, and thats what I am driving at, I'm physically broke up and busted from my single heel to my chin whiskers and I gut busted up at Antietam before my leg was lost, and the record says so. The wanted to discharge me for the first whole through my body at Anteitam, and I wouldn't let them. I was bound to stick till we busted the rebellion or till the Rebels busted me, with more bullet holes through my carcass, and I did. And now youve made me do as much marchin from piller to post in this hide-and-seek game with the doctors as would have took me from the Wilderness to the end of the war. If I wasn't good enough to march then, I'm damned if I'll do any more of it now, so you don't need to pay any more doctors charges fur me. You've been actually paying the doctors on the average about ninety six dollars a year for satvin off my claim, and thats more than you'd have to pay me if youd granted my increase at furst sight. You euchred me on my getting a cent of that ninety six dollars and now I am going to euchre the cussed doctors on getting any more of it. If I go before any more doctors for an examination you've got to do something more than send me a postal card. You'll have to haul me before 'em with a derrick.
Now I don't want to be sassy. I ain't built that way. But Mr. Black, if you expect to blossom out as a Vice-President of the United States by buckin against the honest claim of an old veteran with one foot actually in the grave and the other dam near it, your gettin down more hay than you'll have time to cock up. You'll make about as much at that game as the Surgeon General will be veto'in wooden legs.
Respectfully with a dam good memory
Unsigned
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I'd like to thank Ted Reznowski
for permission to use the following letter. No spelling or punctuation has been
changed, it is printed here just as it was sent to me. Following the
letter there is some information, provided by Mr. Reznowski, regarding the different folks and places
mentioned in the letter
Camp Abercrombie, Va Dec 7#1862
Friend Horace
I reseaved your letter and was very glad to hear from you I
and now will endeaver to answer it I am well at presant havent ben sick a day so
that I could not turn out with the Co we have ben out on picket 2 staid 2 days
each time had lots of fun the first time and had a very good time the last, but it
was prety cold, we was stationed on the leasburg turnpike at langles Hotell thare
is 4 men in a squad and each squad has a bush shanty to stay in when they haint on
gard, whare I staid was full of mice lots of game in the woods around thare see
foxes quales patridges squerils and the folks saz that thare is lots of possoms
and now and then a wild turkey. I lived on bred and milk while I was out thare
milk is 10 cts a quart here share was a battle some whare the last day that we
staid out I could here the canons roar all day long the next morning after we come
in it comenced to rain but soon changed to snow and continued to fall all day a
friday at night it froze up and now the ground is white and frozen very hard it
has ben very cold for the last 8 (or 3?) days and the wind has blowen a very gale
all of the while share is a good meny sick in the regement and some in our company
the hoosick boys are all well but Bradly and he haint dangeras sick one has ben
discharged and some more will be that is sick, we are goin to have new guns
Springfield Rifels the regt will remain whare it is this winter we shall have to
gard the Chain Bridge and preform picket duty Camp Cher got the best officer in
the hull Regt Cornerl Buel is a prety good officer but thare is them that is beter
we have had a good deal of feteag duty to preform in fortifying around fort Eathen
Allen and fort Marcey we have helped to build 5 new bateries and now end to the
rifal trenches Ian More ses that he is goin to write to you how mutch does Wood
paz them Johny Bulls a day you want to know how I stand it I don’t stand it very
well the work is so hard and the grub is so poor that I have gained 15 pounds
since I left home I waid when I left home 118 pounds and now I way 133 don’t think
that I can stand it unless I get a larger pair of pants for these that I have got
now is prety small for me, now what do you think about it (Gardiean) we have got
wedges tents thare is Fuller, Jim Johnston Joseph Whitney and my self in one of
them we have bought boards and built ours up 2 ft high and plased the tent on top
of that it is 8 ft long 7 ft wide (that is the sise of it whare it is boarded up)
with a wing on it 7 ft long 3 ft high 3 feet wide in side got 2 canves beds 2
sleaps on each one table 4 stools stove water pail broom wash dish and other
things to numerus to mention that is required to keep bachelor hall our house and
furniture costed $7.00 thanksgiven the regement had to themselfs for breakfast I
had fried onions and beaf stake bread and buter and cabbez for diner dident have
mutch of eney thing the chaplin preached a sermon in the forenoon and the rest of
the day was past in fixing up the tents I went over and see the 125 boys they all
look prety well Jesey Dunham was sick in Washington and Isral Keach was sick out
west the boys saz that they have had a prety hard time of it Captin Cornell has
resigned his office. I was over thare when he maid his fare well address to the
companey the boys was verey mutch disapointed in him well I shall have to bring my
letter to a close you read this you will do well fer it is riten in a hury I will
send a short note to in this to my folks pleas give it to them, tell John Darbey
to tell slack that I have writen to him 3 times and haint got no answer from
eather one tell John to tell Slack that I should like to hear from him and rite
whare to direct a letter to me. Pleas excuse the poor Spelling and riting write
soon and all of the news from your Friend G. A. Willis
Abercrombie - One of the many forts built to protect Washington DC from being
attacked by the Confederate army. The capital was encircled by these forts.
Horace - I am not sure exactly who Horace is. It could be Henry Worden Babcock.
The letter came through his family. Perhaps Horace is also a name for Henry. The
problem is that Henry was already serving away from home in the 49th Mass.
Infantry and this letter must have been sent to the Hoosick area, as G.A. Willis
sends with it a note for his “folks” and seems to be asking about things back
home.
Langles Hotell - On the map of Washington, there is in the NW just south of the
Potomac River, the town of Langley. Most likely this is a Hotel here located on
the Leesburg Turnpike.
Canons Roar - There probably was a battle somewhere near Washington during
November or the first part of December, to which this can be attributed.
Hoosick Boys - My ancestors were from originally the Adams, North Adams area of
Massachusetts. Letters during the war were directed to Hoosick Falls though, so
it seems they moved there. These could be boys from Hoosick Falls or Hoosick.
See below those that have been identified.
Bradly - There is one man who is the likely candidate for this Bradly. That is
Ephraim L. Bradley, Residence not listed; 40 yrs. old. Enlisted on 9/3/62 at
Hoosick, NY as a Private. On 10/6/62 he mustered into “C” Co. NY 169th Infantry.
He was discharged for disability on 1/24/63. He had enlisted for three years
(Source - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
Chain Bridge - The bridge on the map, at the northern end of the Potomac, where it
leaves the District of Columbia.
Springfield Rifels - The northern soldiers were all excited with this new rifle
that was quite an improvement over the old muskets.
Cornerl Buel - Cornel Clarence Buell was the commander of the fort of Abercrombie
from 10/01/62 to 02/01/63.
Fort Eathen Allen - Fort Ethan Allen, just south of the Chain Bridge.
Fort Mareey - Fort Marcy, NE by the Chain Bridge.
Jim More - I believe this is James C. Moore, residence not listed; 23 years
old. Enlisted on 9/7/62 at Troy, NY as a Private. On 10/6/62 he mustered into
“G” Co. NY 169th Infantry. He was Mustered Out on 7/19/65 at Raleigh, NC.
Promotions: Corpl. (Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
Johny Bulls - I am not familiar with this term. Maybe a play on the name “Johnny
Rebs”, if the animals were giving him a hard time.
Fuller - Probably Olney Fuller. Residence not listed; 23 years old. Enlisted on
9/6/62 at Hoosick, NY as a Corporal. On 10/6/62 he mustered into “C” Co. NY 169th
Infantry. He was Mustered Out on 7/19/65 at Raleigh, NC. Promotions: Sergt,
Private (Reduced to ranks) (Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
Jim Johnston - Probably James Johnson, residence not listed; 28 years old.
Enlisted on 9/462 at Hoosick, NY as a Private. On 10/6/62 he mustered into “C”
Co. NY 169th Infantry. He was discharged on 6/12/65. Promotions: Corpl. (Sources
- New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
Joseph Whitney - Probably Joseph Whitney, residence not listed; 39 years old.
Enlisted on 9/29/62 at New York City, NY as a Private. On 10/6/62 he mustered
into “C” Co. NY 169th Infantry. He was Mustered Out on 7/19/65 at Raleigh, NC.
Promotions: Corpl, Sergt (Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant -General).
125 boys - The New York One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Infantry. “A” company was
recruited principally at Hoosick Falls (see further here the regiment history of
the 125th).
Jesey Dunham - Jesse T. Dunham. Residence not listed; 26 years old. Enlisted on
7/5/62 at Hoosick, NY as a Sergeant. On 8/27/62 he mustered into “A” Co. NY 125th
Infantry. He was killed on 5/6/64 at Wilderness, VA. He was listed as: POW
9/15/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA (Paroled). Paroled 9/16/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA.
Wounded 7/3/63 Gettysburg, PA. Promotions: 1st Sergt 3/15/63 (Estimated day)
(Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
Isral Keach - Israel Keach. Residence not listed; 21 years old. Enlisted on
7/28/62 at Hoosick, NY as a Private. On 8/27/62 he mustered into “A” Co. NY 125th
Infantry. He was Absent, sick (date not stated). He was listed as: Absent, sick
Chicago, IL (date not stated) (At MO of Company). POW 9/15/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA
(Paroled). Paroled 9/16/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA (Sources - New York: Report of the
Adjutant-General).
Captin Cornell - Captain Dudley E. Cornell. Residence not listed; 25 years old.
Enlisted on 8/12/62 at Hoosick, NY as a Captain. On 9/10/62 he was commissioned
into “A” Co. NY 125th Infantry. He was discharged 11/19/62. He was listed as:
POW 9/15/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA (Paroled). Paroled 9/16/62 Harper’s Ferry, VA
(Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
John Darbey - John Darbey. Residence not listed; 28 years old. Enlisted on
10/11/64 at Kingston, NY as a Private. On 10/11/64 he mustered into “E” Co. NY
100th Infantry. He was Mustered Out on 8/28/65 at Richmond, VA (Sources - New
York: Report of the Adjutant-General). I believe this is most likely the same
John Darbey. At the time of this letter, he was still at home in the Hoosick
area. He later most likely enlisted and is this same John Darbey.
Slack - Person unknown.
G.A. Willis - The author of this letter. George A. Willis. Residence not listed;
20 years old. Enlisted on 9/6/62 at Hoosick, NY as a Private. On 10/6/62 he
mustered into “C” Co. NY 169th Infantry. He was Mustered Out on 7/19/65 at
Raleigh, NC. Promotions: Corpl. Sergt. 2nd Lieut 5/11/65 from company C to
company K (Sources - New York: Report of the Adjutant-General).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I'd like to close out this month's column with another poem, this one written by Frank Benway whom, like Frank Crawford, I got to know through the American Civil War History Special Interest Group in the Genealogy Forum on AOL. KEYWORD: Roots. Every 2nd Thursday, letters, songs and poems are read into the room. Frank almost always had a poem for us until his health prevented him from writing any longer or attending our Civil War Group. The following poem is one of my favorites of the over 30 he had sent to me and this is in honor of him.
UNKNOWN
by
Frank Benway
In neat long rows, The white
stones stand
With the names engraved upon them
But there are some, no names engraved
Just simple marked Unknown.
So next you visit your past kin
And when the visits done
Take the time to stop at one
That's just marked unknown.
He had a name and it was known
Was loved by those that knew him
Who mourned his missing
But no grave like you to visit
For it is marked unknown
For he was there alive and jolly
He was blue or maybe gray
There is no one to visit him
For they know not where he lays
For he is one named unknown
He may have had a sweetheart
Perhaps a wife with children small
They would love to know his resting place
But alas they know not where
For his name is now unknown
So when you take that moment
To lay that single flower
Some one some where will bless you
Your heart will fill with joy
Tears may come to fill your eyes
As you gaze at him unknown
When you turn to leave that grave
May his spirit rise to thank you
For you're just stopping by
To touch him with your saddened heart
This good soldier who now is named
UNKNOWN
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I guess that's about it for now, I hear the bugler in the distance, so it's time to post the pickets and blow out the candles.
If you have any suggestions for future columns, please feel free to email me at bitsobluengray@aol.com
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