Nine Civil War letters from Vermont soldiers, 1861-1864.

ArchivalResource

Heaton, Solomon G., d. 1864. Nine Civil War letters from Vermont soldiers, 1861-1864.

Nine Civil War letters from Vermont soldiers, 1861-1864.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/700283902

The folder contains six letters written by Solomon G. Heaton of Brighton, Vermont, two letters by Jesse H. Bates of Shaftsbury, Vermont, and one letter by Alonzo Brown who enlisted from Troy, Vermont. In a letter dated March 31, 1862 Solomon G. Heaton writes of the Battle of Hampton Roads and his first sight of the U.S.S. Monitor at Fortress Monroe. In another letter he writes of the Battle of Lee's Mills on April 16, 1862, when his company was one of four ordered to cross the Warwick River to attack the Rebel fortifications, which they held for a short time. In a letter dated August 24, 1863, Heaton writes of being stationed in New York City to prevent draft riots, and in his final letter, dated February 20, 1864, he mentions a smallpox outbreak in Brighton and asks for food to be sent to him in Virginia, especially baked goods, since the weather is so cool. The two letters by Jesse H. Bates were written to a friend, probably Edgar Mattison of Bennington, Vermont. The first letter, dated March 8, 1862, describes the Battery's trip from Brattleboro to New York City. In the second letter, dated June 26, 1862, written from New Orleans, Bates describes the conditions there and writes that the company is "...a setting around here and doing nothing but to eat and drink and quarel like a pasle of cats and dogs..." He also comments on the fortifications of the city and the behavior of the women of New Orleans. The letter by Alonzo Brown, dated November 24, 1861, was probably written to a female friend, as he appears concerned about whether he has done wrong in writing first. The letter is filled with pleas that everyone should write to him, as he is missing everyone a great deal. He has ornamented some of the letters by surrounding them with little dots.

1 folder.

Vermont Historical Society