Monthly Archive

Wartrace, Tenn.
May 10th, 1862

Dear Wife,

I take my pen in hand to inform you that I am well at present and hope these few lines may find you and the children and all of the rest of the folks well. I rec’d your letter of the 4th of May this evening and was glad to hear that you was getting along so well although it brings the tears every time I get a letter to think that I am so far from you and the children. Yet I think that if I die in the struggle that I will die in a just cause. Our regiment just got in yesterday from Lebanon, Tenn. where they had a desperate fight with a body of rebels under a notorious Ky. robber by the name of Morgan. The rebels were about 800 strong while ours did not amount to more than 600. But our boys whipped them badly, killing seventy odd and took 200 prisoners, 155 horses, 180 stand of arms and chased the balance of them 18 miles. All of the Hardin boys were in the fight except me & John (Vine?) & Wm. Branch & Hugh Patterson. There was one of our company killed and 5 wounded. The one killed was from Spencer Co., Ky. Among the wounded was Wm. C. Smith & Henry Rose both from Hardin. Jo took a splendid pistol in the fight worth about $30. Some of our boys had their clothes shot all to pieces and some had their horses killed under them. Our Col. was shot in the knee. The fight took place about 40 miles from here. When the regiment started the quartermaster could not spare me or I would have went with them. The wagoners had to stay behind too with their teams. There is no chance for me to get into a fight unless the rebels come to our camp to fight which they will hardly do. I don’t know how long we will stay at this place but I don’t think we will leave here for some time yet. I have just now found some use for Masonry. I have got acquainted with several citizens by that means who would do anything in their power for me. Last week there was one, a Secesh too, came and warned that we would be attacked that night and I told the Col. and he had everything prepared for them which they found out some way and did not come. There was another one of our men got poisoned today and will die tonight and we have to be very careful about eating and drinking about here. I would have wrote sooner but I waited for the boys to get back from that fight so I could give the particulars. You must write as soon as you get this and write every week if you can for I am half crazy if I don’t get a letter every week. Take good care of yourself and the children and kiss them all for me. I never go to sleep without thinking of you and them. So nothing more at present but remaining your affectionate husband until death.

A. A. Harrison

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Absolom A. Harrison
Company D, 4th Regiment, Kentucky Calvary Volunteers (Union)

A. A. Harrison sent the following letters to his wife Susan Allstun Harrison. Susan’s grandmother was Nancy Lincoln Brumfield, Thomas Lincoln’s sister and President Abraham Lincoln’s aunt.

These letters were transcribed by A. A.’s great-grandson Ronald A. Harrison who introduces the letters with the following background:

“A. A. Harrison and his brother Jo (Joel) apparently got caught up in a recruiting drive and enlisted in the Fourth Kentucky Calvary, U.S.A., without even going home to tell their wives, Susan and Martha. The first letter appears to be letting Susan know what has become of her husband. The two brothers served honorably for roughly a year. At the end of that time A. A. was medically discharged. At roughly the same time Jo died in a military hospital in Nashville. Only recently has anyone in the family known Jo’s fate.”

Letters found on this web page January 2008.

Just days before Stonewall Jackson died, he had this conversation with his aide-de-camp James Power Smith:

“Many would regard them [his injuries] as a great misfortune. I regard them as one of the blessings of my life.”

Smith replied by quoting one of Jackson’s favorite Scriptures, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” “Yes!” Jackson responded. “That’s it! That’s it!”
- As cited in Robertson [1997:744].

Joseph Minis, Private, Co. H, 11th Wisconsin

Vicksburg

May 6th 1864
Dear father & mother

I now take my pen in hand to write a few lines to you to let you know that I am and in good health at present and hope since I have wrote before for I have no time we have been on a pretty long trip and have just got back you have probly heard of our trip up red river before this time we have ben gone almost three months and when we started we thought we would be back in thirty days well I will give you the most interesting parts of our journey for I cant think of anyhing else to write I cant remember half of it but I can remember that we have been fighting most ever day we was out the first fight we had was at fort derusey but that was not much of a fight we had ten killed and twenty seven wounded then we got on to boats and went up to Alexandria and stoped three or four days then we started for shareveport up the river we was fired into every day and night by the rebs but they did not hurt many of us we went as far as grandecore then banks got whipped so we stayed thare four or five days then started back we had a great time coming back for our corps had to stay in the rear and cover banks retreat so the rebs would attacked us in the morning and we had to fight them all day then banks would be so far ahead that we would have to march all night to catch up with him he kept us a going so far about three weeks while we got so tired we could not do hardly anything then he put the thirteenth and the nineteenth corps in the rear for a while our cavalry had the hardest time of it for they was fighting all the time both night and day they had to do all the scouting thare was to be done they lost .. they said that the sechs in lousiana were the hardest fighting men that they ever had to deal with you could not feare them by shooting into them they would stand until we came right up to them and when they fell back they swould go very slow just as if they hated to and I gues they did about the hardest fight we had with was on the 19th of May they attached us in the morning about nine oclock and fought us all day the sixteenth corps was in first then we went out about eleven oclock to help them then the thirteenth came out about four oclock in the afternoon they fought mostly all with the artillery the cavalry made two charges on the rebs we had about two hundred killed and 97 wounded the rebs don’t know how manyt they lost we took over three hundred prisoners and when we was going out through the field after we had chase them we went through a piece of wood and the rebels were laying so thick on the groun where out artillery played on them that you could hardly walk through without steping on them that was the last time they attacked us on the other side of the river we from thare to Vicksburg they had moved our camp so we dont know where it is yet we are not going to stay here but two or three days they say we are going to cairo I will write soon.

Joseph Minis who was a private (joined 1863, 18yr) in Co. H., of the 11th Wisconsin. He recounts exploits from Bank’s Red River Campaign, which the 11th Wisconsin was not involved in. Minis served with the 33rd Wisconsin which took part in the Red River Campaign, Minis transfered to the 11th in 1865.