1864 Newton, SC - Confederate Civil War Letter To 5th Tennessee Infantryman
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:159914 |
CIVIL WAR LETTERThis Confederate Civil War letter was written by Martha (“Mattie”) Clarinda Miller (1842-1919), the daughter of Ephraim Miller (1821-1860) and Amy Isenhour (1817-1895). Mattie was born in Catawba county, North Carolina, but she was reared in West Tennessee, her father having moved to that state when she was a child. In 1851 they moved to Macedonia, Carroll County, Tennessee, and lived on a beautiful farm known as Mulberry Grove, where her father went to take ca...re of a great-uncle, Frederick Miller, who was then 93 years old and a veteran of the Revolutionary War. She attended a country school until 1855 and then entered Caledonia College and graduated in June 1860. After her father died in 1860 and the war came to Tennessee, Mattie’s mother moved the family back to North Carolina and bought a farm near Newton in Catawba county. Here she met Adley (or Adlai) David Holler (1840-1919), her second cousin, when he came home on his first furlough in 1863. They later became engaged and were married on 15 August 1865.Mattie’s husband, Adley D. Holler, volunteered for the Confederate service in April 1861, enlisting in the Pickens Guards, Co. F, 6th South Carolina Regiment. He was wounded twice, first at the Battle of Wilderness and later at the Battle of Deep Bottom, Virginia. He was at Fort Sumter when the first gun was fired, and at the surrender at Appomatox. He was paroled April 11, and returned April 21, 1865. Three of his brothers, Elliott, Daniel and Lemuel, and his father, Andrew Holler, were also Confederate soldiers.Mattie wrote to her cousin, William Henry Harrison (“Tip”) Wilson (1840-1921), of Co. A, 5th Tennessee Volunteers.Mattie Clarinda Miller (1860)Adley David Holler, 6th SC Vols. (1865)TRANSCRIPTIONNewton, North Carolina
September 3rd 1864Capt. Wilson
Dear cousin, I not attempt to respond to your kind note which has been received & duly appreciated. I had not heard any news from the western army in more than two months. I had come to the conclusion that all my correspondents were dead or had entirely forgotten me. But at last the news came. I received three letters from there at once & I saw in the back of one the announcement of the death of my old friend Abb Dinwiddie. I was then almost afraid to open the letters for I knew I would hear of the death of some more of my friends & I knew not who. I was so grieved to hear of the death of some of my dear friends & of others being wounded.I received the letter you wrote the 8th of May & responded to it immediately but as you were married so soon after wards I believe I am glad you did not get it. I could very easily account for your long silence after the reception of your last letter. I was pleased to hear that you was happily united to the one you loved & sincerely hope you have a good, nice, handsome, & sweet tempered wife—just such as you deserve—to render you happy through life. I know you must be happy while blessed with such a companion. I do wish I could see her. Give her my love & tell her I would be happy to see her & recognize her as a friend & cousin. I am always delighted to meet with kind relatives & especially such as I imagine she is.Cousin Tip, I think you [have] forgotten your promise. I think you promised to have me invited to your wedding but you failed to do so or even tell me that you was going to marry soon. I know if I had been going to marry so soon, I should certainly have told Cousin Tip & invited him to the wedding. But it is all right as you knew I could not attend.I was very sorry to hear of my friend Mat Dinwiddie being wounded. I should like to know where he is & how he is wounded. Give him my love & speak a good word to him for me if you ever see him again. I have lost some of my dear friends & relations near Richmond this campaign & a great many of them are wounded. Some of my favorite cousins are at home on furlough now & I am having quite a nice time with them. My brother was at home though he went back to his command in about two weeks. There is a great deal of sickness in this country now. There are about 15 cases of Typhoid fever in this neighborhood. Not very many have died with it yet. I do hope the war will soon end so all can return home to live in peace & happiness once more. Then perhaps you will have a new cousin too, if not before (that is if my sweetheart don’t get killed or die soon).Cousin Tip, I hope you destroy [the last letter I] wrote to you before you were married—not that I cared much for your [ ] them, though I did not wish her to have a chance to criticize on my writing. If you want yours, I can send them to you. I think I have them all yet, from the 5th of March 1860 to the 8th of May 1864. I think I shall have a little quilting party next week. I wish you & cousin Naomi could attend. As the space is consumed, I must close. I am as ever your friend & cousin, — MattieCousin Tip, please send this enclose letter to Mat if he is yet alive & you know where he is. By doing so, you will oblige your cousin, — M
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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September 3rd 1864Capt. Wilson
Dear cousin, I not attempt to respond to your kind note which has been received & duly appreciated. I had not heard any news from the western army in more than two months. I had come to the conclusion that all my correspondents were dead or had entirely forgotten me. But at last the news came. I received three letters from there at once & I saw in the back of one the announcement of the death of my old friend Abb Dinwiddie. I was then almost afraid to open the letters for I knew I would hear of the death of some more of my friends & I knew not who. I was so grieved to hear of the death of some of my dear friends & of others being wounded.I received the letter you wrote the 8th of May & responded to it immediately but as you were married so soon after wards I believe I am glad you did not get it. I could very easily account for your long silence after the reception of your last letter. I was pleased to hear that you was happily united to the one you loved & sincerely hope you have a good, nice, handsome, & sweet tempered wife—just such as you deserve—to render you happy through life. I know you must be happy while blessed with such a companion. I do wish I could see her. Give her my love & tell her I would be happy to see her & recognize her as a friend & cousin. I am always delighted to meet with kind relatives & especially such as I imagine she is.Cousin Tip, I think you [have] forgotten your promise. I think you promised to have me invited to your wedding but you failed to do so or even tell me that you was going to marry soon. I know if I had been going to marry so soon, I should certainly have told Cousin Tip & invited him to the wedding. But it is all right as you knew I could not attend.I was very sorry to hear of my friend Mat Dinwiddie being wounded. I should like to know where he is & how he is wounded. Give him my love & speak a good word to him for me if you ever see him again. I have lost some of my dear friends & relations near Richmond this campaign & a great many of them are wounded. Some of my favorite cousins are at home on furlough now & I am having quite a nice time with them. My brother was at home though he went back to his command in about two weeks. There is a great deal of sickness in this country now. There are about 15 cases of Typhoid fever in this neighborhood. Not very many have died with it yet. I do hope the war will soon end so all can return home to live in peace & happiness once more. Then perhaps you will have a new cousin too, if not before (that is if my sweetheart don’t get killed or die soon).Cousin Tip, I hope you destroy [the last letter I] wrote to you before you were married—not that I cared much for your [ ] them, though I did not wish her to have a chance to criticize on my writing. If you want yours, I can send them to you. I think I have them all yet, from the 5th of March 1860 to the 8th of May 1864. I think I shall have a little quilting party next week. I wish you & cousin Naomi could attend. As the space is consumed, I must close. I am as ever your friend & cousin, — MattieCousin Tip, please send this enclose letter to Mat if he is yet alive & you know where he is. By doing so, you will oblige your cousin, — M
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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