Houser family letters, 1863-1879.

ArchivalResource

Houser, John F. Houser family letters, 1863-1879.

Houser family letters, 1863-1879.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46888502

The collection is mainly comprised of letters directed to various Houser-family cousins. Nine of the letters are written between 1863 and 1864 by Mollie M. Houser, a resident of Augusta County, Virginia, to her cousin James W. Houser, a Confederate soldier. Her letters provide detailed, conversational descriptions of the war's impact on civilians. Topics of interest include: wartime courting and marriage practices; the unauthorized opening of mail; conscription (they have taken almost every man & talk of cal[l]ing on the men from seventeen to fifty & then I suppose they will search the graveyards & sware them to the length of time they have been dead ...); Union raids; the entertainment young women must find in wartiem household chores (including dressmaking, boiling molasses and apple butter, and butchering); as well as Molly's continued strong secessionist ("cecess") leanings, despite her war-weariness. There is also a letter written by A.J. Houser (8 Dec. 1863) to James W., describing his participation in an unnamed battle (as a member of the 1st North Carolina Infantry, Company D), especially his company's running out of ammunition while pursuing Union soldiers and his taking two prisoners. The other letters date from the postwar period, and focus on the exchange of family news. Included are two letters from John F. Houser that discuss his work as a schoolteacher and his participation in the Enfield Literary Society.

16 items.

Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library