-40%
CIVIL WAR LETTER - 3rd Vermont Infantry Soldier from Camp Brandy Station, VA
$ 5.01
- Description
- Size Guide
Description
CIVIL WAR LETTERSoldier in 3rd Vermont Infantry Writes from Camp at Brandy Station, Virginia
James Henry Clark was born on 15 September 1841 in Townsend, Middlesex county, Massachusetts—forty miles northwest of Boston near the New Hampshire border. He was the 2nd child and the only son (who lived past infancy) of seven children born to James Clark (1814-1854) and Lucy Robbins Coburn (1815-1913). Those siblings mentioned in these letters include his older sister Lucy Ann (“Annie”) Clark (1840-1932)—who married James Mansur (1829-1912) in December 1862 and went off to live in northern Ohio—and his younger sisters Ella (“Nettie) C. Clark (b. 1848), and Ada Everlyn Clark (b. 1851).
James Henry Clark—a red-haired, freckled lad who went by the name “Henry” or “Hen” and often spelled it “Henrie,” was left fatherless just before his 13th birthday. His father had earned a modest living as a teamster but after his premature death at the age of forty, his widow struggled to keep the family together and caused her some financial embarrassment. What schooling Henry and his older sister Annie had completed up to that time seems to have terminated not long afterwards. Henry must have felt the responsibility keenly.
In his late teens, Henry took a job as a foundry worker in Springfield, Windsor county, Vermont. In the 1860 US Census he is enumerated in the household of 27 year-old Darius Adams. The situation may have been arranged for Henry by his Uncle Franklin Davis (1816-1883) who was married to Caroline Coburn (1813-1878). In his letters, Henry frequently refers to his Davis cousins—Callie, Frank, Anna, Nellie, Gertie, and Lutie—all residents of Springfield when he worked in the foundry.
Henry served nearly three years in the
3rd Vermont
and his letters are divided into the four different calendar years in which he penned them. He was a private until the Battle of Crampton’s Gap (South Mountain) at which time he accepted a corporal’s rank and the honor of serving on the regiment’s color guard. He continued in this duty through the Maryland Campaign, the Battle of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the Gettysburg Campaign, the Mine Run Campaign, and on the Overland Campaign where he took a gunshot to the head in the Battle of the Wilderness and died on the battlefield May 5, 1864. His comrades hastily buried him on the battlefield, penciling his name on a pine board and nailing it to a nearby tree to mark the spot before moving on with the regiment toward Spotsylvania Court House. [See the last three letters in the archive written by Henry’s chum, Edward D. Hatch, in late 1864.]
Henry’s mother wished desperately for his body to be returned home for burial but he is not buried in the Townsend cemetery with his family, nor could I find him in a National Cemetery. Most likely his remains were exhumed and taken to the National Cemetery at Fredericksburg where he lies in the grave of an unknown soldier.
Upon hearing of Henry’s death, a relative wrote to his mother,
“That he died a noble-hearted brave boy fighting in the foremost ranks the bitter enemies of his country and of humanity, does not serve to dry a mother’s tears or heal her wounded heart, but it does place your dear boy’s name on that roll of honor and of imperishable fame with the rest who have sacrificed their lives that their country might be saved—among those whose memories will be cherished and honored through all coming ages.”
TRANSCRIPTION
Camp 3rd Vermont
[Brandy Station, Virginia]
April 20, 1864
Dear Mother,
It is about time for me to hear from you again but I thought I would write a few words to let you know that I was still a soldier and liable to be so some time longer. I am well and hope this will find you the same. I heard from [sister] Annie last week. They were all well.
Mother, I think I have got an old hat there at home. If you can double it up so as to send it by mail, I wish you would so that I can have it when I start on another campaign. It is a first-rate thing to keep the rain out of one’s neck. If it is worth sending, I wish you would send it. If not, please to get me a new one—size 7¼—as we can not get any here. The sutlers have all left and when I was in funds, they had no hats, but got some just as I got out. Do it all up—only leave some ends sticking out. Send it as soon as you can. I guess my old one will do. All I want is something to keep the rain out of my neck.
Everything is quiet this way. Hoping to hear from you soon. Consider me as ever, — Henrie
With love to all.
TERMS
.00 postage in the United States. We accept Paypal.
Postage combined for multiple purchases. Please wait for me to send the invoice, otherwise you will pay a higher rate.
For International buyers, we utilize eBay’s Global Shipping Program. We had too many packages sent via the post office go missing. So we believe this program will be safer for us and for you.
We are members of the American Philatelic Society, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance and the Illinois Postal History Society.
We only sell genuine, original letters (no copies or reproductions). Some of our letters have been transcribed and nicely presented for future genealogists and history buffs on the Spared & Shared blog.
We have been selling on eBay since 1998. BID WITH CONFIDENCE !