Frank L. Smith letters, 1861-1885; bulk: 1861-1865.

ArchivalResource

Smith, Frank L., d. 1929. Frank L. Smith letters, 1861-1885; bulk: 1861-1865.

Frank L. Smith letters, 1861-1885; bulk: 1861-1865.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752194852

Letters from Frank L. Smith to his family in North Oxford, Mass., primarily his father Rev. Joseph Smith and his mother Abbie Smith, but also his sister Mattie and his brother Albert. Frank served with the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 25th Regiment, in North Carolina and Virginia during the Civil War. His letters describe camp life, training, assignments, and provisions; leisure activities; morale; religious services; and his health. Smith's regiment participated in Ambrose Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, and he writes in detail about the battle at New Bern, as well as later battles at Goldsboro, Kinston, Whitehall, Cold Harbor, and the Battle of the Crater (Petersburg, Va.). Other subjects include the capture and exchange of prisoners, injuries and deaths in his regiment, the effects of the war on locals, the treatment of rebel sympathizers, the desertion of Confederate soldiers and their enlistment in the Union army, and draft riots in the North in July 1863. Smith describes his stay at a hospital in Beaufort, N.C., and his feelings about being away from the regiment; a wake for a young black girl in town who died of lockjaw; and reports of engagements elsewhere, including the Battle of Gettysburg and William T. Sherman's capture of Savannah. The letters also discuss family news, including the health of his father Joseph Smith and financial matters. Included are two letters dated 17 Mar. 1862, one containing a drawing of Confederate fortifications at New Bern, N.C., and the other written on captured Confederate stationary; a few pages of diary-like notes written during an expedition to destroy Weldon Bridge, 18-30 July 1863; and a small notebook of quotations and other memoranda, ca. 1882. The collection also contains typed transcriptions of many of the letters.

1 box.

Massachusetts Historical Society