A Guide to the John Sower Letter, 1861 SC 0115

A Guide to the John Sower Letter, 1861

A Collection in
Thomas Balch Library
Collection number SC 0115


[logo]

Thomas Balch Library

Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
USA
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Email: balchlib@leesburgva.gov
URL: http://www.leesburgva.gov/departments/thomas-balch-library/

© 2015 By Thomas Balch Library. All rights reserved.

Processed by: Dawson Frasier

Repository
Thomas Balch Library
Collection number
SC 0115
Title
John Sower Letter, 1861
Physical Characteristics
2 items, less than .33 cubic feet. .
Collector
Loudoun County Historical Society, Leesburg, VA
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

Fragile materials may require special handling.

Preferred Citation

John Sower Letter, 1861 (SC 0115), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Formerly part of the collections of the Loudoun County Historical Society.

Custodial History

Previously catalogued as NUCMC 66. Formerly part of the collections of the Loudoun County Historical Society.

Biographical Information

John Sower or Sowers (d. 6 Jul 1864) enlisted in Company N of the 28th “Goldstream” Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army in Luzerne County on 20 August 1861 under Brigadier General John White Geary (1819-1873). The 28th Regiment, was stationed along the northern side of the Potomac River between Noland’s Ferry and the Antietam Aqueduct for much of 1861 and 1862. On 10 October 1862, surplus men of the 28th Regiment (companies L, M, N, O, and P) at Loudoun Heights were organized under then Lieutenant Colonel Pardee to form the 147th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Sowers joined Company C and was later promoted to Corporal on 11 November 1863. The 147th Regiment participated in the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg before fighting in Tennessee at the Battle of Lookout Mountain and during the Chattanooga – Ringold Campaign. The 147th also participated in the Atlanta Campaign advancing through Northwest Georgia during June and July 1864. Sower was wounded at Pine Knob, Georgia on 15 June 1864. He died from his wounds in Nashville on 6 July 1864. Sower is buried in the Nashville National Cemetery.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a letter sent by John Sower dated 3 October 1861. The letter is a reply to his father and describes skirmishes around Point of Rocks where Confederate forces were advancing toward the Maryland side of the Potomac River. In the first part of the letter he describes Union soldiers firing cannons upon a brick house and burning down a log house. In the last part of the letter, he declares his well-being and asks whether or not his friend Frank had enlisted in the army.

Related Material

There are two items at the Pennsylvania State Archives related to John Sowers in the MG-7 Military Manuscripts Collection: Letter from John Sowers, in the field near Marietta, GA, to “Dear Father,” 15 June 1864 (0095), Paper referring to the wounding of John Sowers at Pine Knob and his death at Nashville, July 1864 (0095).

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 – 1866, https://www.footnotelibrary.com/ (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Union Pennsylvania Volunteers: 147th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. (28 September 2015). http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UPA0147RI (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Union Pennsylvania Volunteers: 28th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. (28 September 2015). http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UPA0028RI (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Ancestry Library Edition, United States Military Lists, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Affairs On the Upper Potomac.: A Skirmish Near Point of Rocks, New York Times, September 26, 1861.
Pennsylvania infantry. Reunion of the 28th & 147th Regiments, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Philadelphia, Nov. 24th, 1871. Philadelphia: Pawson & Nicholson, 1872.
Official Civil War Records. Series VI, Book 5, pp. 214-215.

Bibliography

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 – 1866, https://www.footnotelibrary.com/ (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Union Pennsylvania Volunteers: 147th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. (28 September 2015). http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UPA0147RI (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Union Pennsylvania Volunteers: 28th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. (28 September 2015). http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UPA0028RI (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Ancestry Library Edition, United States Military Lists, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (Accessed 28 September 2015).
Affairs On the Upper Potomac.: A Skirmish Near Point of Rocks, New York Times, September 26, 1861.
Pennsylvania infantry. Reunion of the 28th & 147th Regiments, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Philadelphia, Nov. 24th, 1871. Philadelphia: Pawson & Nicholson, 1872.
Official Civil War Records. Series VI, Book 5, pp. 214-215.

Contents List

SC 0115
Box
  • Folder 1
    John Sowers Letter, 3 October 1861
  • Folder 2
    John Divine Note, 9 March 1962