Ruffin Barnes Civil War letters, 1862-1864.

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Barnes, Ruffin, 1827-1864. Ruffin Barnes Civil War letters, 1862-1864.

Ruffin Barnes Civil War letters, 1862-1864.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61265336

Three original letters and six transcriptions of letters from Ruffin Barnes, a Confederate soldier in the 43rd North Carolina Infantry. Barnes writes to his wife Mary A. Barnes and discusses generally his homesickness, his plans to visit her, his diet, and his daily activities. In a 17 October 1862 letter, he mentions buying an expensive dress for her. He writes, "there is plenty of this Confederate money and it may be no count if I was to lay it all up." In a 26 October 1863 letter he discusses eating beef for nearly every meal and his longing for milk or vegetables. In an 18 July 1864 letter addressed from Harpers Ferry, Barnes discusses marching to Sharpsburg, skirmishing with the 6th Yankee corps, and marching on "Washington city." In addition, Barnes writes that the unit had marched some 3,000 miles and that "our brigade is not as large now as it once was." He notes a decision not to attack Washington because "finding them so well fortified our Genl. commanding . . . thought he would make too grate [sic] a sacrifice of life to undertake to enter the town." In passing, Barnes also writes, "tell father that Bennett has got old Francis P. Blair's sword. He is United States Postmaster and a Black hearted notorious abolitionist."

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