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Preferred Citation:

Robert W. Johnson Letter, May 21, 1862, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William and Mary.

Content Description

Four page letter from Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Johnson of the 8th New Jersey Volunteers from near the Pamunkey River, on the Road to Richmond, May 21, 1862. Johnson describes in great detail the latest battle against the Rebels and their ability to claim victory with the assistance of fresh Union troops who were able to charge the forces near the end of the fighting. He describes Williamsburg as a beautiful city, filled with about 200 inhabitants before the outbreak of war, a nice court house, and insane asylum. He also goes into detail about the inability to procure the bodies of the dead or to give any of them a proper burial, "even our officers were buried the same as the men, no distinction in death."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Williamsburg (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865