This 1864 Civil War Letter was written by Sgt. John Whitcomb Piper (1820-1903) of Co. L, 4th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery.
It is a delightful read and offers a sustained view of Washington D. C. from the perspective of a non-commissioned officer not commonly found during the civil war.
Serving as the company’s commissary sergeant, Piper was permitted to cross the Potomac in and out of Washington on nearly a daily basis seeking provisions and running various sundry errands for “his boys” in Company L.
He used the opportunity to visit places of interest in the city and wrote home regularly (as in this 1864 civil war letter) and faithfully to his wife in Lynn, Massachusetts, of his daily “tramp.”
I have just returned from the city, ate my
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I have been in the city most of the time today. I have been to Adams Express Office — sent home for one man 120 dollars and got 120 more changed for another — and then I commenced looking round the [city].
I went up to the Post Office and put in a [letter] for you and got a regiment letter for one of our men. And then I went into the Patent Office again and walked around it. It is a splendid building. All the floors are marble and the great marble pillars that are in the building is a nice piece of work.
The number of clerks that are employed in that building is enough to people a small town but I don’t suppose that I shall interest you much by talking to you about these nice buildings. It will not make your little brick house appear any better.
But I will [give] you a little of our street talk now.
As I was going up 4th Street, I saw a lot of men under guard and I was hurrying on to overtake them to see what the trouble was [when] I met a woman who hailed me and commenced conversation. She asked if I knew who those men were. I told her I did not but presumed they were bounty jumpers and they were taking them to some safe place. She said if I had started to run away, they would not take me
This letter was written by Confederate Soldier J.C Morris to his wife in a camp near Lanjer, Arkansas on May 10, 1863. Morris served in the 21st Texas Cavalry, Company F. Morris’s rank is unspecified, however because the letter is fairly well written he was likely educated and was therefore likely a higher rank such as a Sergeant or possibly even an officer. In the letter, Morris describes killing and capturing the “Yanks” with minimal loses. He writes “ We captured a good many prisoners while in Mo. and killed a good many.” As a result of his unit’s successes, Morris at the time was likely still hopeful that a Confederate victory was possible. He writes of the Unit’s triumph against Union forces in the line “The yanks boasted that we would
Many battles flew passed by James’s eyes as one by one he fought and succeeded. Despite the amount of attacks he and his men withstood from the Union, they were all still proud to say that “I served under James Longstreet”. After the war, James had published his 800 page memoirs to later then marry a 34 year old woman by the name of Helen Dortch. His family was not pleased with this marriage but she defended the Longstreet name until she had died. “Longstreet also died many years later in the year 1904 on January 2, only a few days short from his 83rd birthday”
On December 15th 1756, I rushed in excitement to Mount Vernon, Lt. Colonel George Washington’s current steading, where he has agreed to meet me and answer questions for the Philadelphia Messenger. It took many knocks until his servant finally answered the door. “Mister Washington sir! That reporter is here!” the servant yelled up the stairs. Soon after Mr. Washington came down and beckoned me to come into the meeting room for the interview.
Although the online documents claim that his militia was disbanded after they “experienced light action” Conwell later rejoined late in the summer and was deemed the captain of Company D, Second Regiment, Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. Aside from this excerpt regarding Conwell’s military service, the remaining sources and articles provide no additional information in connection to the remainder of Conwell’s service as well as other missing details from his personal life which proves to be an enormous pitfall of the exhibit. In spite of neglecting some of the more historically relevant information, the exhibit tends to focus on the byproduct of Conwell’s life and the legacy that he left
Hook? People wanted a faster way to communicate so Samuel Morse took the problem into his own hands by creating a telegraph or morse code. The way the alphabet was arranged in certain dots are streaks, they documented which Eenglish letter was used the most and based it off of that. The telegraph was a key item in the Ccivil Wwar because Abraham Lincoln could talk straight to the generals and not having it take weeks. Thesis?
His dreams to study law were shattered when American blood was first shed at Lexington, so he made an effort to devote to the cause and enlisted in the Continental Army (Tallmadge 6). His old friend, Captain Chester of Weathersfield, offered him the position of Lieutenant in one of Connecticut’s six-month
I read the book Virginia's General, Robert E. Lee and the Civil War. The book was
James M. McPherson, author of For Cause and Comrades, uses more than 25,000 unaltered letters and closely 250 private journals from Civil War soldiers—both Union and Confederate—in his attempt to explain what possessed these men to endure the roaring, gruesome chaos of war. What better way to express the motivation behind fighting than words straight from the pens of the men who were physically there and experienced the Civil War to its fullest? I personally feel as though McPherson succeeded in his explanation of the different driving forces that kept each man going during these difficult years of battle. The Wall Street Journal describes McPherson’s work as “an extraordinary book, full of fascinating details and moving self-portraits.”
In “Letters of a Civil War Nurse”, written in 1863, Cornelia Hancock’s account of the Civil War gives readers an account of the suffering and hardship of soldiers through the point of view of an Union nurse. This document written by Cornelia Hancock is an account as a nurse who went through the Battle of Gettysburg and the after effects. Through a series of letters written to her loved ones, Cornelia wrote what nurses went through during the times of war. At the time women were expected to be good wives; with Cornelia Hancock’s effort she was able to help soldiers and contribute to the idea that women are capable of much more than being good wives; women can be apart of war. With her background as a Quaker and her family history, Cornelia Hancock was able to contribute greatly to the war effort even though she was originally denied to becoming an union nurse.
History is usually written by the victors of war. The Civil War is no different. We often hear stories about the famous Iron Brigade and its tenacious fighting ability or of the “fighting” 69th Irish Regiment of New York but many historians have overlooked the epic sacrifices Southern soldiers endured. Sure, everyone has heard of Robert E. Lee or “Stonewall” Jackson, but the men under their command are the reasons for their fame. Many times, the men from a certain geographical region are grouped together, whose combined regiments formed brigades. This paper is a tribute to the men of North Carolina who, gave their lives fighting for the Confederate cause; with a focus on the 28th Regiment of North
The years of 1861 through 1865 are known as the Civil War. This was a time of bloodshed, broken families, and a torn nation. The United States of America had become the depressing picture of a war and politically torn nation. The number question whenever we as humans arrive to a bad scenario is, “How did I end up here?”. The causes of the Civil War were all based off of two different economic and political ideas, the acts made by the government concerning the differences, and morals.
The American Civil War began over 150 years ago, eventually preventing a permanent disintegration of the then-existing United States. Though fractured, the country mended itself following the war and moved forward with incremental steps of maturation and a vision of social justice among many other imperatives. That process continues to this day and moves beyond as the need for justice changes. At the time of the American Civil War, the United States as it existed at the moment was less than a century old and had only 34 states. It was a still a young country and in development, not reaching the fifty-state level until the mid-twentieth century.
The North and South differed greatly economically. The southern communities were still lagging behind, relying on slave labor to keep their plantations producing. They made their money through farming and plantation work. There were a few that held a majority of the money. These people were the elite plantation owners. Pierce Butler, for example, owned Butler Island and was one of the wealthiest plantation owners. The South also followed the Culture of Deference. They believed that God put them in their places on purpose and that they should follow as He had planned. They relied on the bible to justify slavery. The northern communities, on the other hand, wanted change. They were
The battle of Bull Run ended today. Northerners, like myself, know it as Bull Run but the Confederates know it as Manassas. This battle is giving me bad thoughts about the outcome of this war. This was a Southern victory and the Confederate army looks high in spirit and high in confidence, compared to the hurt, tired, and disappointed North. The great leadership of the Confederate generals won this battle. Their plans and attacks were no match for the Union ones. I hope the North can do something to rebound from this great loss, maybe there will be a second battle.
Throughout the rest of 1862, I fought in many other battles. We lost some and we won some. I lost friends and I gained friends. I lost hope and I continued to do so. The longer I fought, the more worried I became about my future. I frequently asked myself if I would ever see my wife and children again, let alone asked myself if I would live another day. Everyday was scary, watching soldiers die and imagining what their families will be like once they receive the news. The year 1863 has been my worst yet, well so far. I suffered a minor injury to my leg at the Battle of Chancellorsville just a few months ago, but I had a quick recovery. In that case, I returned to fighting for the union. Everything seemed to be back to normal, but then I got