Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

M. Chamberlain letter to Miss Casey, 1864, Accession #11008, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased from Remember When Antiquities, Acton, Maine, n.d.

Scope and Content Information

Mrs. Chamberlain conveys news of her husband, relayed to her by two men from his regiment who escaped and travelled 120 miles to Union lines with the aid of local blacks. She mentions the poor food in prision, the Confederates' failure to distribute caused by a Federal raid, and the local enlistment being high enough to make the draft unnecessary.

Transcription

Near Melmore, Feb 29th [18]64


Dear Miss Casey,

Your kind and most welcome letter was duly received some time since. I was pleased to hear of your health being good as usual, and glad to learn that Allie & Emma are pleased with their school. I often think of them and wonder how they enjoy themselves away from home. If I thought I could interest them I would write to them, but I fear a letter of mine would appear dull and prosy to their young minds.

The last letter I received from Mr. Chamberlin was written the 27th of Jan. Last Friday I visited Capt. Caldwell of the 123rd Reg[imen]t. His family reside in Crawford Co. near Benton, about six miles from here. Capt. Caldwell & Lieut. Williams were the only ones from that Reg[imen]t that made their escape. They came together, were eight days and nine nights on the way. The distances they traveled was about 120 miles. They were not met by Union men as some were, but came unattended to the Federal line. They met with negroes who gave them food, and information how to avoid the Rebel Pickets. They found Richmond very strongly fortified much more so than they supposed it would be. Mr. Caldwell's health has not been very good since his imprisonment, he is now afflicted with the scurvy, and has been for some time, wading through mud and water did not have a very beneficial affect upon him. He does not expect to be able to join the Reg[imen]t for six or eight weeks. He left Mr. Chamberlin well, says he has never been sick since he went there. He had never conversed with him on the escape question, as it was kept very secret, but thinks he knew it. A number were in favor of waiting a few weeks until the excitement caused by Butler's attempted raid had ceased, as they knew the pickets were more numerous, and the forces larger than they had been, and preferred death in prison to being recaptured by the enemy. There were when Mr. C_ left, three cargoes of boxes at Richmond that had never been distributed by the Rebels. They have not been furnished wheat bread for some time, and the corn bread that is issued they grate over, and make cakes of it themselves. If they eat it as it is furnished it makes them sick. They get meat once a week generally, sometimes once in two weeks. Well, I fear I have wearied you with the one subject most important to me, but I trust you will excuse me. How is your "Aid Society" prospering now? You ask if I am not coming to Carey this winter, as this is the last day of winter I can surely answer correctly. I don't know when I will visit your place. I do not visit much, but would like to see you and some other friends there. A number of young men in this neighborhood have enlisted, and I doubt very much whether the Draft will go off at present. Remember me kindly to your parents, and believe me as ever

Your friend

M. Chamberlin