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Field name | Value |
---|---|
Collection Reference Number | GLC02164.05 |
From Archive Folder | Collection of letters written to Fannie Schoonmaker from Patrick Higgins, K company, 56th regiment, New York, infantry |
Title | Patrick Higgins to Fannie Schoonmaker discussing general news and camp life |
Date | 14 February 1862 |
Author | Higgins, Patrick (fl. 1859-1862) |
Recipient | Schoonmaker, Fannie |
Document Type | Correspondence |
Content Description | Received a letter from her yesterday, and is glad to hear she is in good health. Does not have much to ask her because she wrote a very long letter. Wrote to her the Saturday before, but it appears that that letter did not arrive before she sent her letter. Hardly knows that day of the week it is. It is sunny today, but that does not help him figure out what day it is. Has enjoyed himself with some down time. Was sick, but pretended to be well so that he could stay with the rest of the company. Nat Hodge, presumably a mutual friend, arrived at camp the day before, which pleases Higgins greatly. The brigade might be on the move soon, and the general sentiment around camp is that they will finally "have the chance to play ball with the Rebels." Reveals that he is ambivalent about going into battle. A man in the regiment has a fiddle, and there has been a good deal of dancing. |
Subjects | Military History Civil War Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Infantry Army of the Potomac Health and Medical Love Letters Military Camp Washington, D.C. Confederate States of America Bravery Art, Music, Theater, and Film |
People | Higgins, Patrick (fl. 1859-1862) Schoonmaker, Fannie (fl. 1859-1862) |
Place written | Washington, D.C. |
Theme | The American Civil War; Women in American History; Health & Medicine |
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: Theater of War | Main Eastern Theater |
Civil War: Unit | 56th regiment, New York, infantry, K company |