1863 CIVIL WAR SOLDIER LETTER ORLEANS - CONTENT
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:26455195 | Theme: Militaria |
| Conflict: Civil War (1861-65) | Original/Reproduction: Original |
| Featured Refinements: Civil War Letter |
Civil War soldier's lengthy letter, 5 pgs., approx. 5-1/2" x 9", dated at New Orleans, La., Aug. 6, 1863, from John J. Seurs (not sure of the spelling of his last name), to Mr. J. Edwards.
A well-written letter with superb content, writing from the Hospital, having suffered from a broken shoulder and 2 fractured ribs, which after surviving "almost every grade of danger on the battlefield, and before the works of Hudson" (Port Hudson), he was injured in camp by a fall fro...m a hammock he made out of an old tent. He writes that what is left of his Regiment is at Brashear City, La., doing guard duty. He writes that in his opinion the war is on its last leg, and that he expects the city of Charleston to fall soon, which will end the war, and with it, "all of J. Davis & Co.'s high aspirations of a newborn Confederacy, and likewise to the great discomfiture of England, France and the Copperheads at the North." He also writes a lengthy passage on what would have occurred had we let the rebellion go unchecked, and not gone to war - that the country would have split into as many confederacies as there are states, and each with its own President, leaving us as the laughing stock of the world, ruined our credit, and left us in a state of perpetual war both abroad and domestic.
The letter reads:
"My Dear Sir,
If I thought that you was one of those nice kind of men that regarded forms and etiquette, I should consider myself intrusive in forcing another letter on you, when you have not to my knowledge replied to the first. Now Sir, the introduction of this note, reminds me of an anecdote very illustrative. I some years past, attended a pic-nic in the western part of N.Y., and as is usual of such places, the eatables formed the most prominent part, and when the hour arrived for the distribution of refreshments, all seemed to enjoy it and was happy, but one poor young man who refused to take anything from the many dishes presented him. I was surprised at his conduct, the more so for I knew him and his parents. They were very poor. I knew that he was used to very low diet, and part of the time, no diet. I asked him why he refused to eat, remarking that he must be hungry. He said he was hungry, but he intended to let them know that he had seen pie and cake before. In my case, I thought I would let you know that I had a little idea of good breeding and so in larger matters. How often do we injure ourselves and sometimes our best friends, by jealousies and false notions of pride. But Sir, excuse this digression.
Our Regiment is now at Brashear City, some seventy five miles from New Orleans; that is, what is left of them. They are doing guard duty. In regards myself, I am in New Orleans in the Hospital with a broken shoulder and two of my ribs badly fractured. Strange to say, that after passing through almost every grade of danger on the battle field, and before the works of Hudson, that I should almost kill myself in camp, and that by my own foolishness. I made ma a hammock, as the sailors call it, out of part of an old tent, to sleep upon, and slung it up between the Heavens and the Earth, and it not being founded upon a rock, the wind and the storm came on in the night time and it fell, and great was the fall of its occupant, pitching him head foremost upon a heap of rubbish, causing all the above mentioned difficulty. I have been here now two weeks, and I am a afraid it will be months before I am round again, if ever. I fully believe, Sir, that my fighting is done, in this war at least. Well, I feel conscientious of the matter, if I do no more believe that I have done my duty and I think the officers of the whole Regiment will endorse the same.
I have every reason to believe Sir, that this miserable war is on its last legs, or rather leg, and before this note reaches you, that will be knocked from under her. I allude to Charleston. She must and will fall, and with her, all of J. Davis & Co.'s high aspirations of a newborn Confederacy, and likewise to the great discomfiture of England, France and the Copperheads at the North. Tis true there may be a few lives lost after the fall of Charleston. You perhaps may think of Mobile and Galveston, but Sir, they will hardly be in our way and will not last three weeks with the force that we will have to bring against them. Sometimes I think that they will not offer resistance at either place after the fall of Sodom. But if they do, they may already be numbered with the fallen. I tell you Sir, the thing is about played out, and we are coming out of this with Honor. I allude to every man, both in and out of the field, that has done his duty in this disgraceful rebellion. But that mass of men at the North who have, and are now sympathizing with armed traitors, when this war ends, which end it soon will, it would be better for them that a millstone was hung around &c. &c.
If I had the use of both hands Sir, I should like to write you, in my poor style, the history or the outlines of our six months Campaign. You have perhaps or will read much of Gen. Banks' operations in the Gulf, but there is many little incidents that will be overlooked by the historian, but all important to the actors in the drama. But I can't write much yet. My arm is very painful.
Our friend Aumack, perhaps you are aware, got part of his right thumb shot off at the Siege of Hudson. He is now with the Regiment. He has been a good soldier and has not disgraced the cause.
I, as well as you Sir, are well aware that this war will create a debt that perhaps neither of us will ever live to see cancelled, and yet much more to be lamented. It has cost thousands of valuable lives, both North & South, and clothed the nation in mourning. I know full well that it is horrible to contemplate. But all these disasters are as but a drop in the ocean compared to what this rebellion would have reduced us, if suffered to run unchecked. You know that we or our County would have been left open to all kinds of scheming sharpers & speculators, both foreign and domestic. There would have soon been as many Confederacies and Presidents as there is States, and perhaps counties in the Union. We would be in a continual war, either at home or abroad. We would have no confidence one with another, and certainly no credit. Every thief would have come in for his share of the spoils, the same as at a City conflagration. We would have been the laughing stock, and justly too, of the whole World, and in fact, we would have only been remembered in history as a great nation that once existed. Have you ever thought of the probability of all this? I dare say you have. Could you make a copperhead believe anything of this nature. No Sir, he would tell you that it was all stuff, Lincolnite doctrine, and that it was a roundabout way the Republicans had of electioneering to make or try to make the people believe that that party was the salvation of the Country.
Well, I intended to write more, but my shoulder pains me so that I must quit. If I live, I will write to you again. Write me a few lines if you please. Give my respects to A. Perringe, E. Sizer, &c.
If you write, Direct to New Orleans, University Hospital.
Yours very respectfully, John J. Seurs"
A well-written letter with superb content, writing from the Hospital, having suffered from a broken shoulder and 2 fractured ribs, which after surviving "almost every grade of danger on the battlefield, and before the works of Hudson" (Port Hudson), he was injured in camp by a fall fro...m a hammock he made out of an old tent. He writes that what is left of his Regiment is at Brashear City, La., doing guard duty. He writes that in his opinion the war is on its last leg, and that he expects the city of Charleston to fall soon, which will end the war, and with it, "all of J. Davis & Co.'s high aspirations of a newborn Confederacy, and likewise to the great discomfiture of England, France and the Copperheads at the North." He also writes a lengthy passage on what would have occurred had we let the rebellion go unchecked, and not gone to war - that the country would have split into as many confederacies as there are states, and each with its own President, leaving us as the laughing stock of the world, ruined our credit, and left us in a state of perpetual war both abroad and domestic.
The letter reads:
"My Dear Sir,
If I thought that you was one of those nice kind of men that regarded forms and etiquette, I should consider myself intrusive in forcing another letter on you, when you have not to my knowledge replied to the first. Now Sir, the introduction of this note, reminds me of an anecdote very illustrative. I some years past, attended a pic-nic in the western part of N.Y., and as is usual of such places, the eatables formed the most prominent part, and when the hour arrived for the distribution of refreshments, all seemed to enjoy it and was happy, but one poor young man who refused to take anything from the many dishes presented him. I was surprised at his conduct, the more so for I knew him and his parents. They were very poor. I knew that he was used to very low diet, and part of the time, no diet. I asked him why he refused to eat, remarking that he must be hungry. He said he was hungry, but he intended to let them know that he had seen pie and cake before. In my case, I thought I would let you know that I had a little idea of good breeding and so in larger matters. How often do we injure ourselves and sometimes our best friends, by jealousies and false notions of pride. But Sir, excuse this digression.
Our Regiment is now at Brashear City, some seventy five miles from New Orleans; that is, what is left of them. They are doing guard duty. In regards myself, I am in New Orleans in the Hospital with a broken shoulder and two of my ribs badly fractured. Strange to say, that after passing through almost every grade of danger on the battle field, and before the works of Hudson, that I should almost kill myself in camp, and that by my own foolishness. I made ma a hammock, as the sailors call it, out of part of an old tent, to sleep upon, and slung it up between the Heavens and the Earth, and it not being founded upon a rock, the wind and the storm came on in the night time and it fell, and great was the fall of its occupant, pitching him head foremost upon a heap of rubbish, causing all the above mentioned difficulty. I have been here now two weeks, and I am a afraid it will be months before I am round again, if ever. I fully believe, Sir, that my fighting is done, in this war at least. Well, I feel conscientious of the matter, if I do no more believe that I have done my duty and I think the officers of the whole Regiment will endorse the same.
I have every reason to believe Sir, that this miserable war is on its last legs, or rather leg, and before this note reaches you, that will be knocked from under her. I allude to Charleston. She must and will fall, and with her, all of J. Davis & Co.'s high aspirations of a newborn Confederacy, and likewise to the great discomfiture of England, France and the Copperheads at the North. Tis true there may be a few lives lost after the fall of Charleston. You perhaps may think of Mobile and Galveston, but Sir, they will hardly be in our way and will not last three weeks with the force that we will have to bring against them. Sometimes I think that they will not offer resistance at either place after the fall of Sodom. But if they do, they may already be numbered with the fallen. I tell you Sir, the thing is about played out, and we are coming out of this with Honor. I allude to every man, both in and out of the field, that has done his duty in this disgraceful rebellion. But that mass of men at the North who have, and are now sympathizing with armed traitors, when this war ends, which end it soon will, it would be better for them that a millstone was hung around &c. &c.
If I had the use of both hands Sir, I should like to write you, in my poor style, the history or the outlines of our six months Campaign. You have perhaps or will read much of Gen. Banks' operations in the Gulf, but there is many little incidents that will be overlooked by the historian, but all important to the actors in the drama. But I can't write much yet. My arm is very painful.
Our friend Aumack, perhaps you are aware, got part of his right thumb shot off at the Siege of Hudson. He is now with the Regiment. He has been a good soldier and has not disgraced the cause.
I, as well as you Sir, are well aware that this war will create a debt that perhaps neither of us will ever live to see cancelled, and yet much more to be lamented. It has cost thousands of valuable lives, both North & South, and clothed the nation in mourning. I know full well that it is horrible to contemplate. But all these disasters are as but a drop in the ocean compared to what this rebellion would have reduced us, if suffered to run unchecked. You know that we or our County would have been left open to all kinds of scheming sharpers & speculators, both foreign and domestic. There would have soon been as many Confederacies and Presidents as there is States, and perhaps counties in the Union. We would be in a continual war, either at home or abroad. We would have no confidence one with another, and certainly no credit. Every thief would have come in for his share of the spoils, the same as at a City conflagration. We would have been the laughing stock, and justly too, of the whole World, and in fact, we would have only been remembered in history as a great nation that once existed. Have you ever thought of the probability of all this? I dare say you have. Could you make a copperhead believe anything of this nature. No Sir, he would tell you that it was all stuff, Lincolnite doctrine, and that it was a roundabout way the Republicans had of electioneering to make or try to make the people believe that that party was the salvation of the Country.
Well, I intended to write more, but my shoulder pains me so that I must quit. If I live, I will write to you again. Write me a few lines if you please. Give my respects to A. Perringe, E. Sizer, &c.
If you write, Direct to New Orleans, University Hospital.
Yours very respectfully, John J. Seurs"
