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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02164.10 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of letters written to Fannie Schoonmaker from Patrick Higgins, K company, 56th regiment, New York, infantry |
| Title | David Reese to daughter regarding the movements of his regiment and sharing news of her brother |
| Date | 30 September 1861 |
| Author | Reese, David (fl. 1859-1862) |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | The letter has a green New York stamp that includes the New York State seal. Lets his daughter know he is well. Moved from Washington to Aliten [Alton?] Heights last Saturday. Are within eleven miles of the battlefield. "Do not know what minute we will be called upon; we expect a battle every day." Took Museum Hill last night. His son - the recipient of the letter's brother - is there. They have been exchanging letters, and his son has not been sick a day since he arrived in the regiment. Says to Tell Lisibeth - presumably Elizabeth, another one of his daughters - he was "very glad to hear from her." Says to tell the other children that he will see them soon "if I live." Resources are low; there is "no tea nor whisky nor butter here." He hears that there are 300,000 Confederate troops in front of them, and that they have the rebels surrounded. Has to drill eight hours every day. |
| Subjects | Military History Civil War Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Infantry Army of the Potomac Health and Medical Military Camp Confederate States of America Children and Family Military Provisions Diet and Nutrition Alcohol Battle |
| People | Reese, David (fl. 1859-1862) |
| Place written | s.l. |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Children & Family; Health & Medicine; Women in American History |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder Information: The collection consists of ten letters written to a young lady named Fannie Schoonmaker, and one letter to an unknown recipient. Nine of the eleven letters, some of which predate the Civil War, are from Patrick Higgins. One letter is from David Reese, and another is from Charles Johnson. Patrick Higgins was from Neversink, New York in Sullivan County, about 110 miles northwest of New York City. On September 29, 1861 he enlisted in the Union army as a Private. On October 10, he mustered into K Company of the 56th New York Infantry. The 56th New York became part of the Army of the Potomac. On May 31, 1862, Higgins was wounded in the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia and was discharged for disability on September 21 of the same year. Before Higgins enlisted in the army, he was a close acquaintance of Schoonmaker, and on more than one occasion confessed his love for her. He signs some of his letters "from your lover," so it is very possible that they were involved in a romantic relationship when he left to join the army. While Higgins is enlisted, he writes about camp life in Washington D. C. as part of the Army of the Potomac, and departs with the army as General McClellan begins his Peninsular Campaign in March 1862. He describes a battle scene in Warwick, VA, and comments on the eagerness of many in his company to engage Confederate troops. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Daughter |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Main Eastern Theater |