111th Pennsylvania Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER - Lost Hat In Battle, Indiana Girls
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:114705 |
CIVIL WAR LETTER
Edwin Martin Whipple was born on 9 December 1842 in Sardinia, Erie County, New York. He was the youngest son of Herman Whipple (1774-1842) and Phoebe Boa Lafferty (1816-1904).In the summer of 1861, Edwin enlisted in Co. A of the 23rd Illinois Infantry—the “Irish Brigade” led by Col. James A. Mulligan. He served with them on their expedition into Missouri and then was mustered out with the regiment in October 1861.Edwin then enlisted on 25 November 1861 at Erie..., Pennsylvania, to serve three years in Co. C, 111th Pennsylvania. He remained with the regiment until 25 November 1864 when he mustered out with his company. He stood six foot tall, had dark hair and blue eyes. He was a tailor by profession.After the war, he married Maria E. Oslerhack (1852-1878) and resided in South Haven, Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1892 he relocated to Allegany county, New York, where he remarried to Thursa Jane Wickwire (1860-1899). He died in Bath, Steuben county, New York in December 1925 at the age of 83.Serving with Edwin in Co. C, 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers was his step-brother, Sgt. Benjamin Franklin Edy (1836-1917) who is mentioned frequently as “Ben” throughout Edwin’s letters. Ben’s father, William Edy (b. 1799) took Phebe B. Lafferty (widow of Herman Whipple) to be his second wife. At an advanced age, William enlisted in Co. 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry and served for several months during the winter of 1862-63 before he was discharged for disability.The letter was sent to his step-sister, Phebe B. Edy of Springfield X Roads, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSCRIPTIONChristiana, Tennessee
October 16th 1863Well Mother, I will now try to pen a few lines to you to let you know that I am still alive, safe and sound, and well, and hope you are the same. It is very rainy here and has been for the last few days yet—for a week for that matter. Well, we have went a good ways since I last wrote to you but it is all over with now. I enjoyed myself very much on the road. We found the folks mostly loyal to the Old Flag all the way but there are some that wasn’t.In passing through Indiana, I saw some very good-looking girls. I think that Indiana skunks all the other states in pies, cakes, and pretty girls, for we found plenty of all three. They are great for writing for I got 27 model love letters handed to me at the car windows—all of them requesting me to write. I didn’t open them at the time for sometimes they would come in a string of 5 or 6 right after each other. But there I sat, pencil in hand, to mark on them if the giver was handsome, plain, or homely for future use.Well, I had no paper so what was I to do? But as necessity is the mother of invention, I did not wait long for I pulled out my euchre deck and looked at them. They were new and clean so I wrote my address on it and handed it to the first pretty girl I saw and I was well rewarded for as the cars were just moving, she hove alongside and turned up as pretty a pair of lips as ever a girl was blessed with for a kiss and as I was leaning out of the window, she didn’t wait long for I am not at all bashful. But I lost my hat in the battle. She got it though for I got a letter from her night before last. Anybody who can go through what we did and come out with a whole heart needn’t be afraid of secesh bullets and as I did it, I feel perfectly safe. I have had answers to 11 of the cards I dropped (for I dropped the whole deck) and I expect I shall have more next mail. But I have not answered any of them yet. This is the first letter I have wrote.Well Mother, when you write to me again, send some stamps for I have none and as I got that other five dollars, I wish you would send me another and find out whether Cale got that money I sent him. Goodbye. — Ed WhippleDirect to Nashville, Tenn. instead of Washington and put on 12th Corps.TERMS$3.00 postage in the United States. We accept Paypal. Postage combined for multiple purchases. Please wait for me to send the invoice, otherwise will pay a much higher postage rate!For International buyers: We are now using eBay's Global Shipping Program. We had too many packages sent via the post office go missing. So we believe this program will be safer for us - and for you.We're members of the American Philatelic Society, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance and the Illinois Postal History Society.We only sell genuine, original letters (no copies or reproductions). Some of our letters have been transcribed and nicely presented for future genealogists and history buffs on the Spared & Shared blog. We've been selling on eBay since 2001. BID WITH CONFIDENCE.
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Edwin Martin Whipple was born on 9 December 1842 in Sardinia, Erie County, New York. He was the youngest son of Herman Whipple (1774-1842) and Phoebe Boa Lafferty (1816-1904).In the summer of 1861, Edwin enlisted in Co. A of the 23rd Illinois Infantry—the “Irish Brigade” led by Col. James A. Mulligan. He served with them on their expedition into Missouri and then was mustered out with the regiment in October 1861.Edwin then enlisted on 25 November 1861 at Erie..., Pennsylvania, to serve three years in Co. C, 111th Pennsylvania. He remained with the regiment until 25 November 1864 when he mustered out with his company. He stood six foot tall, had dark hair and blue eyes. He was a tailor by profession.After the war, he married Maria E. Oslerhack (1852-1878) and resided in South Haven, Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1892 he relocated to Allegany county, New York, where he remarried to Thursa Jane Wickwire (1860-1899). He died in Bath, Steuben county, New York in December 1925 at the age of 83.Serving with Edwin in Co. C, 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers was his step-brother, Sgt. Benjamin Franklin Edy (1836-1917) who is mentioned frequently as “Ben” throughout Edwin’s letters. Ben’s father, William Edy (b. 1799) took Phebe B. Lafferty (widow of Herman Whipple) to be his second wife. At an advanced age, William enlisted in Co. 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry and served for several months during the winter of 1862-63 before he was discharged for disability.The letter was sent to his step-sister, Phebe B. Edy of Springfield X Roads, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSCRIPTIONChristiana, Tennessee
October 16th 1863Well Mother, I will now try to pen a few lines to you to let you know that I am still alive, safe and sound, and well, and hope you are the same. It is very rainy here and has been for the last few days yet—for a week for that matter. Well, we have went a good ways since I last wrote to you but it is all over with now. I enjoyed myself very much on the road. We found the folks mostly loyal to the Old Flag all the way but there are some that wasn’t.In passing through Indiana, I saw some very good-looking girls. I think that Indiana skunks all the other states in pies, cakes, and pretty girls, for we found plenty of all three. They are great for writing for I got 27 model love letters handed to me at the car windows—all of them requesting me to write. I didn’t open them at the time for sometimes they would come in a string of 5 or 6 right after each other. But there I sat, pencil in hand, to mark on them if the giver was handsome, plain, or homely for future use.Well, I had no paper so what was I to do? But as necessity is the mother of invention, I did not wait long for I pulled out my euchre deck and looked at them. They were new and clean so I wrote my address on it and handed it to the first pretty girl I saw and I was well rewarded for as the cars were just moving, she hove alongside and turned up as pretty a pair of lips as ever a girl was blessed with for a kiss and as I was leaning out of the window, she didn’t wait long for I am not at all bashful. But I lost my hat in the battle. She got it though for I got a letter from her night before last. Anybody who can go through what we did and come out with a whole heart needn’t be afraid of secesh bullets and as I did it, I feel perfectly safe. I have had answers to 11 of the cards I dropped (for I dropped the whole deck) and I expect I shall have more next mail. But I have not answered any of them yet. This is the first letter I have wrote.Well Mother, when you write to me again, send some stamps for I have none and as I got that other five dollars, I wish you would send me another and find out whether Cale got that money I sent him. Goodbye. — Ed WhippleDirect to Nashville, Tenn. instead of Washington and put on 12th Corps.TERMS$3.00 postage in the United States. We accept Paypal. Postage combined for multiple purchases. Please wait for me to send the invoice, otherwise will pay a much higher postage rate!For International buyers: We are now using eBay's Global Shipping Program. We had too many packages sent via the post office go missing. So we believe this program will be safer for us - and for you.We're members of the American Philatelic Society, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance and the Illinois Postal History Society.We only sell genuine, original letters (no copies or reproductions). Some of our letters have been transcribed and nicely presented for future genealogists and history buffs on the Spared & Shared blog. We've been selling on eBay since 2001. BID WITH CONFIDENCE.
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