When I came to New Milford, CT 40+ years ago, I assumed the practice of an older (in his early 50's) Family Physician, Dr W. "Fritz" Lahvis. He was a fine physician, and I learned a lot from him during the 6 months or so that we transitioned his practice to me. He asked for nothing for this, except someone to look after his patients. One of his long time patients was Mr. Thomas Pear. ASs we got top know each other over the years, Mr. Pear became aware of my interest in Military History, and mentioned there was Civil War era letter in his family's possession. He recently provided me with a photocopy of same (he says no one is quite sure where the original is now). The letter is from his ancestor, also named Thomas Pear, to his brother Edward, who was. if I recall what he told me correctly, himself a silversmith in Massachusetts. The letter makes reference to the 10th Connecticut Regiment, one of the more distinguished Union regiments of the War; I believe Thomas served in a CT regiment, if not the 10th.
Page 1; reference is made to "one of the smarter Major Generals [John Gray] Foster "
Major General John Gray Foster, photo by Mathew Brady, 1863. According to the
Wikipedia article, which is well worth reading, Foster was a West Point graduate from Nashua, New Hampshire, who served with distinction as an Engineer during the Mexican-American War and was second in command at Fort Sumpter at the beginning of the American Civil War. He commanded the 1st Bruigade of General Ambrose Burnside's North Carolina, and distinguished himself at the battle sof Newbern and Roanoake Island. When Burnside left for Virginia, Foster assumed command of the Union Department of North Carolina, and was promoted to Major General in July 1862.
Page 2; reference is made to Confederate [Brigadier] General Nathan G. Evans.
Brigadier General Evans; also a West Point Graduate, "a number of examples of Evans' good tactical leadership and bravery in battle are recorded. However, his abrasive personality and his passion for intoxicating beverages led to his constant difficulties with colleagues and superiors."
.jpg)
The action described is the
Battle of Goldsborough Bridge, December 17, 1862.The bridge was a vital link in the railroad from the port of Wilmington, NC, and destroying it disrupted the rail supply line for the Confederates.
I find the very neat handwriting (done in far less than ideal circumstances) and the very correct spelling and grammar most impressive as well.
Many thanks to Mr. Pear for sharing the letter with me!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Very interesting, I always like to see letters etc from ordinary people who lived through it, fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donnie; I concur!
DeleteInteresting piece of history
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed researching the background of the events, and personalities, and units described in his letter.
DeleteBrigadier General Evans does look like he would be a fearsome adversary. The writing is incredibly neat and is easy to read.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Evans would be almost as troublesome as a colleague as an enemy! Foster's rank in class at West Point was 4th out of 38, and Evans was 34th out of 38, if I recall correctly!
DeleteA fascinating glimpse from the frontlines and as others have said, incredibly neat handwriting, considering where he may have found time and space to write.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve, I enjoyed reading the letter, which prompted further reading on the people, places and events that it refers to!
DeleteAlways love to see the old letters! I am usually translating French Napoleonic stuff, but the Civil War is much closer to home. Living in Virginia, gives me access to almost every battlefield within a 3 hour drive in any direction. The first letter has a type of writing style that people used when paper was expensive and scarce called cross writing. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2021/12/22/across-and-down-an-unusual-civil-war-letter/
ReplyDeleteYes, I see you have done some fine work translating French records, etc. !
DeleteI'm not sure the first page is necessarily cross writing, and certainly not to the extent seen in the example in the cited post. I'd describe as more writing in the margins, with the goal still being to make the most use of scarce paper!