William's Civil War Letters

Union Army mail wagon

When I began the exploration into my family history in 2003, to my knowledge no one then alive in the family was aware of William Graham's letters. In fact few knew anything about him.

Therefore it was quite a surprise in 2008 when sixteen letters written by William Graham during the American Civil War were discovered by a cousin in the possession of the Notre Dame University libraries. Three years later in 2011, seven letters were found by me in the library at Duke University. An additional letter (dated October 12, 1862) was discovered at the Schuyler County Historical Society. In 2017 and 2018 two private collectors contacted me upon learning of my effort through the William Graham website which will be replaced by this blog. They each possessed and shared with me a William Graham letter.

Newly arrived mail for Union soldiers

By the end of 2018, I had discovered and had in my possession 26 letters, all scanned or photographed copies of originals located elsewhere in the country. Each has been deciphered and edited by me for clarity, given the difficulty in reading and understanding the originals usually written by William at night under campfire or lantern light.

Most of the letters were addressed to William's sister Libbie, employed as a domestic (servant) in Schuyler County, New York. 

Letter Organization

The letters are divided into a total of 10 groups. This grouping is guided by the two Union armies in which William and his regiment served: the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Cumberland. 

The period with the Army of the Potomac is split into 6 groups. The first 4 cover the time when he was healthy and in active service. The other 2 groups titled Struck Down by Fever and Fort Schuyler include letters written during William's nine month convalescence from illness, probably typhoid fever.

The period served with the Army of the Cumberland is split into 4 letter groups, based on very different service assignments. The first are written about the travel to the new regimental assignment and the various marches and maneuvers involved. The second covers the period when his regiment was guarding the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in Tennessee. The third and fourth letter groups were written during his participation in the Atlanta Campaign and Siege of Atlanta under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Editing of Letters

Letter text on this website is not necessarily verbatim. Letter contents (a) describing William's Civil War experience, (b) giving his impressions of the War and the times and (c) illustrating the society and culture of those days are always included. Discussion of strictly personal or family matters, not involving the foregoing, especially where repetitive, may not always be included. 

The website is not inclusive of all of William's letters. Letters missing are either short personal notes or repetitive. He sometimes repeated himself, fearing that all his mail was not getting through to the addressee. To be specific, this blog/website discusses 22 out of the 26 letters of which I am currently aware.

William tended to run his sentences together. He also used paragraphs sparingly. His spelling was often unusual and he frequently would drop key words. The letters have therefore been edited for readability. No changes have been consciously made that would alter the content's meaning. Where words were indecipherable, either a '?' was placed in parenthesis or a word that seemed to make the most sense in the context is placed in brackets.

With those caveats, the transcribed letter text is an accurate rendition of William's words.

For those interested in viewing the original letters, a link from the letter transcript heading is provided to a scan of some of the original letters written in 1862.

Accompanying Commentary, Graphics and Links

 

In viewing other Civil War websites, I have concluded that a mere regurgitating of old letters can become monotonous and confusing without context. Each letter is thus accompanied by commentary to help understand its contents and any events discussed within. I have also included photos and illustrations to add knowledge and interest. To the best of my knowledge, all photos are either from the public domain, are in family ownership or were taken with my camera. Please contact me if in a particular case the foregoing is not true. Links to other websites provide background on terms or words mentioned by William. Links are also given to sites that best describe battles he participated in as a member of the 107th New York Regiment.