114

Letter describing an abusive secessionist woman and a slaves' picnic.

"Camp on Back River," MD, 9 June 1864
Autograph Letter Signed "George" to sister. 7 pages, 8 x 5 inches, on 2 folding sheets; mailing folds, minor wear.

  • Notes: This soldier's detachment was guarding a railroad bridge over the Back River east of Baltimore. The landowners were generally Confederate sympathizers; the enslaved people not so much. 

    "A half dozen of us was out the other day scouting round and we happened on some woman's plantation whose husband is in the Rebel army. . . . We met the woman who owned it, and she told us that she did not thank Union soldiers for walking on her place, and commenced abusing us and calling us all manner of names. We went back to the onion patch and pulled all the onions that we wanted and reddishes and then went down to the river and stole her skift. We went on up the river toward camp when we saw some niggers in the woods. . . . They said that there would be a picnic there in the afternoon. . . . The woman came after her skift and complained about us taking her vegetables. We told her that we would give her time to leave camp, and she ever came back again we would shoot her. . . . After dinner the whole company very near went to the picnic and we had a gay time. It was the first nigger picnic that I was ever at. It was really amusing to hear and see them perform. We stayed until nearly six o'clock." 

    A rough map of the company's camp appears on the final page.

    The soldier signs only as "George" and gives his address as Company A in the 159th Ohio, a three-month regiment. That company had six Georges (Sgt. George Randall, Cpl. George C. Lee, Private George Roberts, Private George W. Erwin, Private George B. Best, and Private George Lynn), but we have not been able to figure out which one is the author. The only clues: his father was alive and offered to send money; his sister apparently had a daughter named Lena; and he was apparently young and unmarried. 
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