The full content of this document is only available to subscribing institutions. More information can be found via www.amdigital.co.uk
If you believe you should have access to this document, click here to Login.
| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02164.07 |
| 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 regarding the movements of his regiment and his health |
| Date | 17 March 1862 |
| Author | Higgins, Patrick (fl. 1859-1862) |
| Recipient | Schoonmaker, Fannie |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Printed on stationery marked "Liberty and Union." Has a "troubled mind." Does not know why she has not responded to his letter. Is "ready to face the enemy and stand fast." The regiment is going to move, and he has to go to the "cursed hospital" for a day. Is "bound" to go, but does not want to. The doctor will force him to go to the Hospital unless he leaves, and none of the soldiers are allowed to leave. The whole army of the Potomac is on the move. Has seen gun boats on the river. Hopes she will write him a letter soon explaining her delay in responding to him. |
| 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. Patriotic Stationery and Postal Covers Bravery Hospital Navy |
| 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 |