Guide to the Letter from unidentified Confederate soldier to his mother, January 29, 1863

Letter from unidentified Confederate soldier to his mother C0368

Historical Note

The United States Civil War lasted from 1861 - 1865, pitting southern (Confederacy) and northern states (Union) against each other. The central conflicts of state sovereignty and the institution of slavery were at stake, and though the Union eventually won, the war resulted in over 600,000 casualities. The Civil War was marked as the most devastating conflict the United States had seen up to that point in its history. Around the time this letter was written, command of the U.S. (Union) Army changed over to Joseph Hooker, and he headed towards Richmond, Virginia with his troops. This activity would eventually lead to the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the major battles of the Civil War, in Virginia in May 1863. The battle was won by the Confederates, under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee.

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Content

A single signed letter from an unknown Confederate soldier written on January 29, 1863. The location is listed as "Camp Burton's Farm," which probably refers to an area controlled by the Confederates during the U.S. Civil War. The author also mentions being formerly stationed at Camp Lee. In the letter, the soldier tells his "ma" about camp life, the poor winter weather, and sends birthday wishes home to his "pa," which he had forgotten to send in his last letter.

Return to the Table of Contents

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Letter from unidentified Confederate soldier to his mother must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other collections pertaining to the Civil War and Civil War soldiers, including the Alexander Haight family collection, the Randolph H. Lytton Historic Virginia collection, and the Northern Virginia Civil War images collection.

The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Letter from Corporal Francis Ronien of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry to his brother Henry.

Return to the Table of Contents

Index Terms

Geographical Names:

Subjects:

Document Types:

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Alternative Form Available

A digitized version of the letter can be found here: Letter from unidentified Confederate soldier to his mother.

Preferred Citation

Letter from unidentified Confederate soldier to his mother, C0368, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The letter was transferred to Special Collections after it was found in the George Mason University Libraries department formerly known as Collection Management Services. The original donor/dealer is unknown.

Processing Information

Reprocessing completed by Amanda Brent in July 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in July 2019. This collection used to be a part of the Virginia historical documents collection, C0034.

Return to the Table of Contents

Bibliography

"Chancellorsville." American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/brief-overview-american-civil-war (accessed July 12, 2019).

McPherson, James. "A Brief Overview of the American Civil War." American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/chancellorsville (accessed July 12, 2019).

Return to the Table of Contents

Contents Lists