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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02163.12 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of letters from Oliver Edwards, field and staff, 37th regiment, Massachusetts infantry, to his mother, Eunice Lombard Edwards |
| Title | Oliver Edwards to Eunice Lombard Edwards discussing personal and financial matters and the punishment of a solider who sleeping at his post |
| Date | 20 March 1863 |
| Author | Edwards, Oliver (1835-1904) |
| Recipient | Edwards, Eunice Lombard |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Replies to his mother from head quarters, 37th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. Notes that since the Grand Divisions (of the Army of the Potomac) have been disbanded, mail is slower in reaching its destination. Discusses personal business and financial matters. Notes that Doctor Crehore took leave, since the sick members of the regiment are presently comfortable. Refers to other men in his regiment: Captains Lincoln and Hayden, and Lieutenants Charlie Phelps and Plunkett. Notes that William L'Hommedieu was "sent this morning to the Rif Rafs for the term of his enlistment to hard labor with ball and chain... for sleeping on his Post on Piquet duty." Edwards had spoken well of L'Hommedieu to the regiment, and had sent the banished soldier with a certificate of previous good conduct. Notes that L'Hommedieu would have been lucky to have died at Fredericksburg. Remarks that his brother-in-law, Charles Henry Hurd, has gone to Washington, D.C. to see his sister, Julia Edwards Hurd. |
| Subjects | Military History Civil War Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Soldier's Letter Army of the Potomac Post Office Finance Health and Medical Prisoner Military Law Death Battle |
| People | Edwards, Oliver (1835-1904) Edwards, Eunice Lombard (1797-1875) Hurd, Charles Henry (1833-1877) Hurd, Julia Edwards (1832-1911) L'Hommedieu, William H. (b. 1842) |
| Place written | s.l. |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Women in American History |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder Information: The following biographical information is from the American Civil War database: Oliver Edwards was born in Springfield, Massachusetts 30 January 1835. At the beginning of the Civil war, he was commissioned 1st lieutenant and adjutant of the 10th Massachusetts regiment, and in January 1862, he was appointed senior aide-de-camp on the staff of General Darius N. Couch. He was commissioned major of the 37th Mass. regiment, 9 August 1862, was promoted colonel soon afterward, was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers 19 October 1864 for distinguished service at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House and at the battle of the Opequan; "was given the brevet rank of major-general of volunteers 5 April 1865, for gallantry in the battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, and on 19 May 1865, was given the full rank of brigadier-general of volunteers. After serving through the Peninsular campaign of 1862, and the Fredericksburg and Gettysburg campaigns, General Edwards was ordered to New York city to quell the draft riots of July 1863, and was placed in command of Forts Hamilton and Lafayette. Returning then to the Army of the Potomac, he took part in the battle of Rappahannock, and then distinguished himself at the battle of the Wilderness, when, on the second day, he made a charge at the head of the 37th Mass. regiment and succeeded in breaking through the Confederate lines. At Spotsylvania 12 May 1864, he was noted for holding the "bloody angle" during twenty-four hours of continuous fighting. He subsequently participated in all the battles of the overland campaign, and accompanied the 6th corps when sent to the defense of Washington against the advance of Early. He was also in Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah valley, took part in the battle of Winchester and was placed in command of that city by General Sheridan. He distinguished himself at the final assault on Petersburg, when his brigade captured the guns in front of three of the enemy's brigades, and he received the surrender of the city 3 April 1865. At Sailor's creek, on April 6, with the 3d brigade of the 1st division, he captured General Custis Lee and staff with his entire brigade, Lieutenant-General Ewell and staff, and many others. General Edwards was mustered out of the army in January 1866. After the war engaged in mercantile pursuits both in England and the United States. The 37th Regiment was part of the Army of the Potomac September 1862- July 1864. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Mother |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Main Eastern Theater |
| Civil War: Unit | 37th Regiment, Massachusetts infantry |