Tag Archives: Massachusetts

25 October 1862: “On board these two steamers are three thousand soldiers with arms and accoutrements. We are the same as defenceless.”

Item description: Published letter, dated 25 October 1862, written by Corporal Zenas T. Haines, Company D, 44th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The letter is an excerpt from Haines’ account, Letters from the Forty-Fourth Regiment M.V.M.: A Record of the Experience of a … Continue reading

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24 October 1862: “Last night, about nine o’clock, we passed through Vineyard Sound, and saw the last of Old Massachusetts, of which we shall probably see nothing for nearly a year.”

Item description: Portions of “Leaves from a Diary Written While Serving in Co. E, 44 Mass., Dep’t of No. Carolina,” an account, written by John Jasper Wyeth of Co. E, of the experiences of the 44th Masachusetts Infantry Regiment. The … Continue reading

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10 April 1862: Drawing, “Passing Bridge on Trent River”

Item description: Pencil drawing, dated 10 April 1862, by Herbert Eugene Valentine of Salem, Mass.  Valentine served as a clerk in the U.S. 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, spending time in New Bern, N.C. Valentine made numerous drawings of the places … Continue reading

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18 March 1862: “I stuck to it til a vile ball struck me on my brest plate the brest plate glanced the ball away it gave me quite a clip but did not hirt me…”

Item description: Letter, 18 March 1862, from Jeremiah Stetson, from New Bern, N.C., to his wife Abbie F. “Happy” Stetson, in Hanson, Massachusetts. Jeremiah Stetson was born in Pembroke, Mass., on 27 June 1810. At the outbreak of the Civil … Continue reading

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3 March 1862: “…in hopes soon to hear that this trouble will be settled so we can go home.”

Item description: William B. Alexander was born in Plymouth, Mass., around 1832. He worked as a carpenter in Boston before enlisting with the Union Army as a second lieutenant in Company B of the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, April 1861. … Continue reading

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20 February 1862: “…we can easily tell when a shell comes from a rifled gun as it comes whistling all sort of tunes…”

Item description: Letter from Henry L. Sturges, a Massachusetts soldier serving on the United States Navy steamer “Mount Vernon,” to an unidentified friend. At the time of the letter, the “Mount Vernon” was operating in the waters near Wilmington, N.C. … Continue reading

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21 November 1861: “1 Woolen Blanket 2.95″

Item description:  Henry K. White, 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, lists the cost of several clothing items, necessary during the onset of winter in Massachusetts. Henry K. White was mustered into the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on 21 September 1861. He served … Continue reading

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14 October 1861: “Enlisted in the 27th Regt Mass Vols Co I, made visits & got ready for camp”

Item description: Entry, dated 14 October 1861, from diary of Newton Wallace, Company I, 27th Massachusetts Volunteers. Wallace was born in Holland, Massachusetts, and was twenty years old at the time of his enlistment. [Editorial Note: Wallace and his regiment … Continue reading

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25 June 1861: “I can’t say anything about the people for are but the Negroes left on our landing here. Men that had property to the amount of $100,000 left all and went to Richmond and Yorktown.”

Item description: Letter from J. M. Drake of Company A, 4th Massachusetts Regiment, at Camp Butler, Newport News, Va., to his father, telling of his hopes that his company will be discharged soon; detailing the wrongs done by U.S. Army … Continue reading

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