Letter to and un-known Civil War soldier: Chelsea, Apr. 7, 1862 Dear Nephew, For a few moments I am again to write you a few lines. We have not been very well. We have had bad colds and some sore mouths, but we hope this will find you in good health and good spirits. Mary, Adeline, and Frank have just gone from here. They are all well. I have got…

The battle took place in and around the town of Fredericksburg from December 11-15, 1862. Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside maneuvered his army near the town and awaited the arrival of pontoon boats to cross the river. During this critical delay, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia dug in on the high ground outside of town and awaited for a battle that Burnside would surely be…

John Zimm, with a forward by Michael Edmonds, isthe editor/author of This Wicked Rebellion: Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers Write Home. Zimm is interview concerning the Civil War letters collected and preserved by Civil War era historian Edwin B. Quiner and his daughters. Click here for interview!

The letter is signed by “Wm J B…..” and dated “October the 5 : 18 and fast asleep.” The author tells us he’s writing from camp near the Rapidan River in Orange County, Virginia. The writer is most like William and in the correspondence he mentions a letter from his cousin John Lyons and gives Johns’ address in care of the 48th Mississippi Regiment, Poseys’ Brigade, Andersons’ Division (official records…

On April 11th, 1864 Union soldier Joseph Harris wrote a scathing assessment of some Northern newspapers to his friend or associate Cornelius Pervin. But not just an attack on the newspapers, but challenging his friend on his apparent “Copperhead” political disposition. The content is excellent as it addresses several political themes that are to this day debated about historians. How did the idea of the war transforming into what Harris…

Soldier letters of condolence are often very moving reads. This morning we entered into the archive one such letter that was worth highlighting. Here it is: Sir Enclosed please find $2 – a small amount advanced me by your brother when we came to this place. Henry also gave me his old blouse and overcoat. The former I wear at present, and both I shall take with me home. The…

Private Miles K. Lewis was born in Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut. He left home at 15 and moved to Dutchess County, New York, the town of Amenia. He enlisted into the 150th Regiment of New York Volunteers (Infantry). He enlisted as a Private on September 11, 1862 in Company A and server over three years. In this letter he is 2 miles from the center of Atlanta, Monday, July 25th,…

As we know Civil War soldiers were some of the most prolific writers in the history of modern warfare (if you want to call the Civil War the first modern war or the last Napoleonic I don’t care!). As a collective they wrote easily hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of letters home. Some regiments had their own newspapers and published their own pamphlets. But also, countless soldiers wrote home to…

The Missouri Digital Heritiage Civil War Resources is so vast and so massive that it would take more time than I have to go through it all. It is one of the largest online FREE archives that I know of and contains 500,000 digitized Civil War records! It is organized into specific collections of family and individual letters and holdings, as well as specific newspapers and other documents. Specific topics…