Jeremiah Stetson Papers, 1861-1863

ArchivalResource

Jeremiah Stetson Papers, 1861-1863

Jeremiah Stetson Papers, 1861-1863

http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/s/Stetson,Jeremiah.html

Jeremiah Stetson (1810-1869), a farmer from Hanson, Mass., served in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. The collection includes 20 letters and seven original poems written by Stetson during the Civil War to his wife, Abbie F. Stetson (d. 1901), in Hanson, Mass. Letters, 15 November 1861-10 December 1863, were addressed from army camps and hospitals in Annapolis, Md.; Port Royal, S.C.; and New Bern, N.C. In addition to accounts of battles at New Bern and Kinston, N.C., Stetson's letters and poems are full of detailed descriptions of military life and hospital life, including comments on the enlistment of African Americans, the enthusiastic reception given by slaves to Union forces entering Maryland, infantry training exercises, the construction of camps and barracks, soldiers' amusements, camp and hospital food, the uncertainty of mailing money and other valuables back to the North, and foraging in the area around New Bern. Stetson regularly sent instructions to his family on tending chickens, fruit trees, and strawberries. Letters show that Stetson's son, Edwin Leforrest Stetson, was with his father as they left Perryville, Md., for Annapolis, Md. They were then sent south to participate in campaigns in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina. Edwin Stetson apparently participated in General John G. Foster's expeditions from New Bern to take Kinston, N.C.; to attempt to take Goldsboro, N.C.; and to destroy railroads surrounding New Bern.

27 items.

eng,

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