Tag Archives: 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment

11 May 1862: “I hope I shall not have to tell of another wholesale murder while I stay in S.C.”

Posted on 11 May ’12 by

Item description: Letter, 11 May 1862, from Emmett Cole, Union soldier in Company F of the 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, from Beaufort, S.C., to his sister Celestia. Cole describes camp life, including a musical performance to honor fallen soldiers and … Continue reading →

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23 February 1862: “[the General] issued an order that we should appear today with our hair cut short. we thought if we wanted us to shear our hair short he must set the example, for he is the most frizzly headed old scamp in the whole Brigade.”

Posted on 23 Feb ’12 by

Item description:  Letter, 23 February 1862, from Emmett Cole to his sister Celestia. Item citation: From folder 2 of the Emmett Cole Letters #5002-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: [Editor’s note: … Continue reading →

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5 February 1862: “…if they succeed in pulling up enough of the stoccade to let the old Wabash crawl through, you may bet your boots that old Pulaski’s Bomb proof Parapets will shake like a Michigander with the ague.”

Posted on 5 Feb ’12 by

Item description: In this letter, Union soldier Emmett Cole writes to his brother Edgar, who is at home in Barry County, Michigan. Emmett discusses his feelings about death, saying that “I am resolved whereever I may be to go without … Continue reading →

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26 January 1862: “but I would not go to the Hospital for it is just the same as signing a mans death warrant to send him there.”

Posted on 26 Jan ’12 by

Item description: Letter, 26 January 1862, from Emmett Cole, a Union soldier in Company F, 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, to his sister Celestia. Cole wrote from Beaufort, S.C., where he had gone to recover from the “chill fever.” In this … Continue reading →

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2 January 1862: “…yesterday was New Year down here in Dixie and one I shall never forget…”

Posted on 2 Jan ’12 by

Item description: Letter, 2 January 1862, from Emmett Cole, a Union soldier in Company F, 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, encamped at Port Royal Island, S.C., to his sister describing the Battle of Port Royal Ferry, fought on New Year’s Day … Continue reading →

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25 December 1861: “Today Being Christmas the Col has excused us from drill and we are trying to pass this hollyday as best we can.”

Posted on 25 Dec ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 25 December 1861, from Emmett Cole, a Union soldier in Company F, 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, encamped at Port Royal Island, S.C., to his sister Celestia. Cole commented on Christmas in the context of war, the Charleston fire, … Continue reading →

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17 November 1861: “we will soon have the Island fortified so strong that the whole south cannot take it.”

Posted on 17 Nov ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 17 November 1861, from Emmett Cole, Company F, 8th Michigan Infantry Regiment, to his sister Celestia. Written from Hilton Head Island, S.C., several days after the Battle of Port Royal. Emmett Cole of Barry County, Mich., was … 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.”

Posted on 26 Oct ’11 by

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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