William B. Alexander Letters, 1862

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William B. Alexander Letters, 1862

William B. Alexander Letters, 1862

http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/a/Alexander,William_B.html

William B. Alexander, a carpenter born in Plymouth, Mass., served as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, April-June 1861, and as a captain in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, December 1861-December 1862. The collection consists of four letters written by Alexander to his wife, Mary. The first two letters were composed in early March 1862 on the gunboat U.S.S. , anchored at Roanoke Island, N.C. In them, Alexander bemoaned the lack of provisions on the island and expressed hope that news of a recent, unspecified victory meant that the war was soon to end. Other topics include his participation in the seizure of a Confederate schooner and confusion over the fate of an ailing soldier who had been transferred out of Alexander's unit. The last two letters, 25 March and 2 May 1862, were written in New Bern, N.C., newly occupied by the Union Army. Alexander, wounded during the battle for the town, 14 March 1862, noted the return of New Bern's residents to their homes and shops; began planning his departure from the Army; and related the story of one Union soldier killed and three taken prisoner in a surprise encounter with Confederate soldiers. Hussar

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection