111th Pennsylvania Infantry

Item LTR-7564

Description

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


USA General Hospital, Chester
June 24th 1863

Miss Rose Barnes

Dear Miss,

Your letter of the 14th is duly received. I was glad to hear from you and the family and to hear that you were all in good health. I am well and hope that these few lines may find you all enjoying the same blessing. I am very glad to hear that Katy and Patty is grown to be such big girls. I hope that the time is not far distant when I shall have the pleasure of taking her on my knee again. I am sorry that Sheffield has been so unfortunate for so many accidents to happen in it. But as for deaths there is nothing strange nowadays.

Well Miss Barnes, what does John Whitman think of the rebs now? Has he gone to show them up to when he lives. I suppose the rebs coming into the state caused a great stir in your part of the county. For it has in this for the past 7 or 8 days. There has been nothing going on here but raising companies to go and protect the border. The company that I belong to was called out and we went as far as Harrisburg and was sent back again. As all that belongs to this company is not counted fit for any hard service. Such as throwing up fortifications. The most of us being wounded men but if there would have been any fighting, we could have done that better than the green troops could at present. Rose, I am of the opinion that the rebel army is not going to get out of the state so easy this time as they did last year. And I hope they will not. I should like very much to hear of Lee getting into a trap. This time he has been long running around and I hope that he will get caught this time. And I hope that the next time that I write to you that we will hear of the fall of Vicksburg. And also Port Hudson and of Lee either being in his home state or rather in Virginia or else of him being in such a trap that he can neither retreat or advance. Well there is nothing of any importance here to write at present and I will close by sending you all my best respects. In my next I hope to be able to write you more and give you all the particulars. Farewell for this time. Write soon again. I am on duty and have not time to write much today. So goodbye from your friend and well wishes.

James A. Stapleton

Rose, I wish you all Happy 4th of July and I wish you could be here to see the time we will have in the city of Philadelphia. There is going to be sixteen regiments of infantry and two squadrons of cavalry and several batteries of artillery to let the Copperheads see that U.S. is living yet.

So next I will give you all the particulars about how we spent the 4th.

USA General Hospital
Chester
Delaware County, Pennsylvania