Letters from War: 1861 | A Pottsville surgeon walks the ruins of Fort Walker after the Battle of Port Royal Sound

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"My duties compelling me to remain below, I had little opportunity of observing the progress of the fight, and was... in a disagreeable state of suspense." Surgeon Robert Weber of Pottsville, PA experienced the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 7, 1861 aboard the USS Unadilla. He described the battle and its aftermath in a letter to his parents in Schuylkill County. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Simon Bassler of the USS Susquehanna at the Battle of Port Royal Sound

Posted on by Jake Wynn

“On the 7th of this month we re-planted the glorious stars and stripes upon the soil of rebellious South Carolina, the very hot-bed of Secession..." US Marine Simon Bassler wrote home to the Miners' Journal to describe the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 7, 1861. The young captain's clerk from Schuylkill Haven participated in the battle aboard the USS Susquehanna. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Peter Vankirk of the 46th Pennsylvania and the aftermath of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"I feel at home everywhere in this great Republic, with Freedom's soil beneath my feet and Freedom's Banner, the Stars and Stripes, floating over me." In a letter to the Carbondale Advance, Sergeant Peter Vankirk described the aftermath of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff in October 1861 and explained why he had joined the Union army to put down the rebellion. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Colonel Benjamin Christ and the 50th Pennsylvania ride out a hurricane off Hatteras

Posted on by Jake Wynn

“A fearful ride we had of it. God preserve me from ever having another like it.” In November 1861, Colonel Benjamin C. Christ and the 50th Pennsylvania sailed with a vast Union fleet into a hurricane off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In a letter to his wife, Christ described how he and his soldiers fought to keep their ship afloat in the raging seas. Read his letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | A Schuylkill County soldier watches the largest US fleet ever assembled

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"It was a fine spectacle, especially at night, when all the vessels were lighted up, giving the Roads the appearance of an American Venice." In October 1861, the Schuylkill Regiment - the 48th Pennsylvania - watched a vast US fleet leave Hampton Roads in Virginia, bound for Port Royal Sound in South Carolina. A letter writer described the largest fleet yet assembled in American history. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | William Werner of Pottsville, PA joins the 2nd California Cavalry in San Francisco

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"I am going to fight not for money, but for my country..." Pottsville, PA native William H. Werner traveled to California as a teenager in the 1850s in search of riches. He was there when the Civil War broke out. In a letter to his father in Schuylkill County, he detailed why he left a good job to fight for the Union. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Sergeant Cyphers describes fever, sickness, and autumn rain at Camp Graham in DC

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"Autumn is far advanced, and there are decided symptoms of the approach of Winter..." In a letter to his former employers at the Pittston Gazette, Sergeant Charles Cyphers described the conditions at Camp Graham in DC as autumn rains made the camp muddy and sickness began to appear among the soldiers. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | “Shoulder Arms” meets the enslaved and the self-emancipated on the shores of the Potomac

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"I picked up some old letters, bills of negro sales, &c., that were lying around, which are quite indicative of southern character..." A correspondent of the Luzerne Union of Wilkes-Barre, PA wrote about encountering formerly enslaved people at the Virginia home of a woman arrested for assisting Confederate soldiers. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Sergeant James Silliman and the 28th Pennsylvania under fire at the Battle of Bolivar Heights

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"It is truly wonderful that we had no lives lost in our company," wrote Sergeant James Silliman of Pottsville, PA in October 1861. His unit, Company A, 28th Pennsylvania, had fought hard with Confederate soldiers near Harpers Ferry, Virginia on October 16, 1861. Read his letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | Caleb E. Wright visits the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves at Camp Sharpe

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"Doubly armed against both Satan and seceders..." Luzerne County attorney Caleb E. Wright visited the encampment of the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves near Washington in October 1861. He described camp life for the regiment and some of the characters he met during his visit, before musing on the consequences of the Civil War. Read the full letter.