Monthly Archives: October 2011

31 October 1861: “You must not get fretted at any thing that happens”

Item description: Letter, dated 31 October 1861, from Robert W. Parker (2nd Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate States of America Army) in Cavalry Camp, near Centerville, to his wife, Rebecca Louise Fitzhugh Walker. In his letter, Robert advises “Duck” to … Continue reading

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30 October 1861: “thare have not bin nothin of eney a count sence i rote last”

Item description: Letter, 30 October 1861, from George W. Harris, a sailor on the U.S.S. Richmond (while the ship sailed in the Louisiana portion of the Mississippi River), written to his aunt in Philadelphia, Pa. Item citation: From folder 1 … Continue reading

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29 October 1861: “The news we get here in camp is very little we know of nothing that is going on except the orders we get from our officers…”

Item description: Letter, 29 October 1861, from John D. Hardin, a Union soldier at Camp Stoneman, Washington, D.C., about his daily routine and other matters. Item citation: From folder 1 of the Jesse C. Haney Papers, #2399-z, Southern Historical Collection, … Continue reading

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28 October 1861:”Since the commencement of the war of the Yankees and abolitionists on the Southern people, I have not been able to hear from you…”

Item description: Letter, 28 October 1861, from Joseph Bird, in Shanghai, China, to his sister, possibly in Bertie County, N.C. Bird was a United States Navy officer on a ship, believed to be the U.S.S. Saginaw. In the letter, Bird … Continue reading

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27 October 1861: “The sins most commonly committed are profaneness & gambling, both of which to a man of nice breeding offer no attraction at all, & are offensive to the taste of a gentleman.”

Item description: Letter, dated 27 October 1861, from Charles Woodward Hutson to his mother. Hutson details articles of clothing and other provisions that he would like sent from home (in order to prepare for the coming winter). He also writes … Continue reading

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26 October 1861: “there is about 70 Ships in the Fleet and as near as I can learn there is about 70,000 troops on board.”

Item description: Letter, 26 October 1861, from Emmett Cole, Company F, 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, to his sister Celestia. Written aboard the U.S. Steam Ship Vanderbilt, Cole describes his present conditions, at sea with the United States Navy fleet. Emmett … Continue reading

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25 October 1861: “THE SPIES of the Lincoln government are gone or cut off.”

Item description: An article from The Daily Journal of Wilmington, North Carolina, describing the efforts of the United States Navy and Union spies to capture ministers from the Confederate States of America, who sailed on the steamer Nashville, presumably for … Continue reading

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24 October 1861: “…I wish to buy twenty-two large, young and active Horses for the above service.”

Item description: An advertisement, published in The Daily Journal of Wilmington, North Carolina, on 24 October 1861, in which Captain Samuel R. Bunting seeks to purchase horses for the use of the Wilmington Horse Artillery. Item citation: “Having been appointed … Continue reading

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23 October 1861: “It is said several persons saw on Sunday morning last about 5 o’clock, a large balloon passing over this city at moderate speed…”

Item description: In its issue of 23 October 1861, the Hillsborough Recorder republished this item, which originally appeared in the Raleigh Standard. The story describes a reported sighting of a large balloon floating to the south over Raleigh, North Carolina. … Continue reading

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22 October 1861: “What an unhappy scamp is Peter – but pray dont be too hard on poor Laura – she was young & a fool”

Item description: Letter, 22 October 1861, from Jane Petigru North, Badwell Plantation, Abbeville, South Carolina, to her daughter, Jane Caroline “Carey” North Pettigrew, Bonarva Plantation, Tyrrell County, N.C. The letter briefly mentions Peter, quite possibly the slave who had fathered a … Continue reading

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