Letters from War: 1861 | “You must not be worried about me” – A Carbondale teenager writes home to his mother

Posted on by Jake Wynn

George Shafer was 17 years old and had just survived his first Civil War battle when he sat down to write his mother in Carbondale, PA. He wanted her to know he was safe — and wondered what the town was doing to celebrate the Fourth of July. Read the full letter.

Letters from War: 1861 | “The balls flew like hail stones” – A Pittston soldier survives the Battle of Hoke’s Run

Posted on by Jake Wynn

On July 2, 1861, the men of the 11th Pennsylvania finally met the enemy. Writing from Williamsport, MD two days later, Private William Ferris of Pittston, PA became the first soldier in this series to report from an actual battlefield — and the news from the front was only getting more serious. Read the full letter.