I know, I've not updated in ages. Hopefully this will make it up to you. As y'all know, I intern at the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society. Awhile back, I discovered among the files the diary of a Confederate soldier.
I know almost nothing about this young soldier. He was from Alabama, his name was Robert Harris. I don't know his fate. I don't know his age. He is why I study history. I want to learn and share the stories that otherwise would be lost to the ravages of time.
I found a photograph of an unknown Confederate soldier in the vast expanses of the internet. Robert may have looked something like this.
Here, and nowhere else, is his story. (I am transcribing this exactly as it is written to preserve historical accuracy, clarity be damned.)
"Letters from The Army
Winchester July 18th 1861
Dear Sister
I was very much delighted to day on receiving a letter from you. It is almost impossible for me to express my feelings when I get a letter from home. But Dear Sister I must ask one kind request of you, and that is when you write write a plain hand. it nearly puzzles me to read your letters, and in fact there is a great many words I never can understand, and as Sister Kate use to say, I call them hard words and pass them by, and an other objection I have to urge is that you never have any news, not even the news of our Town, but I can account that you never leave the house to visit any body and no one to tell you what transpiring in town or in the country except Pa and Bud and neather of those are inquisitive. if you will give Bud the chance, I will (Here the page is stained with water. Some of the words are nearly impossible to make out.) assume* that he can gather some news that you (illegible phrase)-ld* have heard
of. I would like to hear all that's going about our little Town, and what changes has taken place since I have left. Sister you must visit more and try and make your self agreeable to every one and it is my humble opinion you would enjoy your life a great deal more than you do though it may seem a pleasure to you to stay close and allmost entirely secluded from Society. It is a brother's desire that you should through your self more in society, and play the agreeable as much you can, and I assure you that you will enjoy life better, see more of human nature, and make friends. Now Dear Sister this is my advice to you and perhaps it may be the last request that I will ever make of you, for there is no telling what day our enemy may carry if not through sickness, or some chance battle from our enemy may carry me away from this world of troubles. No doubt you will think strange of me, in advising you but would expect something new from the wars, but I feel it my duty to do so, and perhaps this will be my only chance I will even have. I am now assisting Dr. Abrahams in our
company Hospital, and have been since Dr. Pegram* was appointed assistant Surgeon over Division of the have had fight but our Regiment had no hand in it, though I would much prefered the fight than to have under gone the marches that we had to undergo. Sometimes we ordered to march with hardly a moments warning, no time to make any preperation whatever, not even time to prepare our meals that was the case/on/our last march that was to or near Martainsburg. We suffered very much for something to eat, and on that trip we had a very melancholly accident to befall one of our Company. Young Mr Baptist was accidentally shot and that mortally by the carelessness of young Nicholson of Uniontown he was shot through the Spine about midway the back, his lower extrimeties are parallized, poor fellow we had to leave him near the ground where the battle was fought, and at the mercy of the enemy. his brother the Dr stayed with him I have heard nothing from him since I left him. Dr Vaughan one of Pa's old acquaintances,
got a flag of truce from Gen Johnston to day, and will visit tomorrow. We have several old men, following our army, who have sons in our Regiment Judge Graham and Gen King from Marion, and Dr Vaughan and Mr Lane from our county we are making great preperations here for a battle, the town will soon be made impregnable, although our forces number about 13000 and the enemy about #50000 quite a difference, but judging from the prisoners we captured in our fight we can very easily whip them.
Gen Patterson commands the troops that we are to contend with and I understand the majority of his men are only three months Vollenteers two days ago about three thousand of his left him. Their time was up he Johnston opposed there leaveing and had a battle among them selves They fired one or two rounds at each other but as to what damage I am not able to say. You have very scant in the news papers, that condition of Federal troops half starved half naked, but it is all a mistake. They are better **t*ed,
and look as if they were better clothed than our men, and it is my opinion that there is as good fighting men in the Federal army as we have judging from those we have as prisoners. It is my opinion that if this war isn't ended in three more month it will be a second Revolution. But never once do I think they can subdue The South. It never excites me to go into a battle line for I feel as if I was doing a just cause, fighting for my mother and sister and my home. It will be perhaps a month before we will have another fight both parties wanting reinforcements. I am now in our Company Hospital assisting Dr Abrahams. The Dr is sick himself, and I have old Josh as my assistant. Ben Shields is sick with the Measles all the rest of the McKinley boys are well. Dr Abrahams and Dick Darden sends their respects to you. You must not expect letters often from me for I haven't got the money to pay postage. I borrowed a half from Dick to mail this letter through. Write soon,
My love to Pa Ma and Bud. And the negroes,
especially Rachel Your Brother,
JW Harris"
No comments:
Post a Comment