5th New Hampshire Infantry - Wounded at Antietam

Item LTR-8204

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 4 pages, written in period ink.


Camp Cross Point Lookout, MD
March 23rd 1864

My own dear Wife,

I take this opportunity to write you a few lines to let you know that my health is getting better than it was. I have been sick ever since the boys went home on their furlough.

The reason why I did not write before in the first place I tried to get a leave of absence to some home and I thought I would not write until I got it. I was pretty sure of getting one and I thought I would surprise you a little. But I was disappointed and did not get one and then I was taken sick and I thought I would not write until I got better. You wrote me that you thought I had ceased to love you. Oh, Mary how could you think so. You should know me better than that. You should know that I can never cease to love you while I live. I cannot blame you for feeling bad on account of my not writing to you before and sending you some money but it makes me feel bad to think you should think I had ceased to love you. Don’t accuse me of that. It grieves me very much to hear that you are so hard up for money and it grieves me more to know that I cannot help you any at present. You must get Ezra to let you have what you want and I will send you the money to pay him as soon as we are paid which will be soon now. I don’t think it will be more than a week from now at the most before we get paid again. I would borrow some money for you if there was any to be got but I never saw the officers of the regiment so hard up for money before in my life. We have not money enough to pay our mess bills. Some of them have to borrow off the privates. Oh, Mary do forgive me this time for not writing and I will not be caught so again. Dear Mary. Do know there is better times a coming I promise you that. You shall never be so hard up again. If you can get through this, God knows how much I think about you. But I cannot help you at present but I can and will soon. I saw Robert Miller’s wife last Sunday. She looked as gay as a lark. She says she is going to stay here as long as he stays here. But I don’t think it much. There is not much news to write except that we had a very heavy snow storm here the 21st and 22nd of this month. I think it was the hardest that I have seen about here. I should think that there was nearly a foot of it. And the wind blowed very heavy and it was very cold. It blowed the snow into drifts. There was a drift I should think it was as much as 4 foot deep. It did not last long. I can’t think of any more at present. Kiss the children for me and keep one big one for yourself. Tell father to write. I wrote to him last December and have not received one from him since. Give my love to him and mother and Charley and grandmother and all friends. Don’t forget yourself. Good night. God bless you.

G. L. Hersum