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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03523.52.17 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Thomas J. Kessler, G company, 1st regiment, Michigan, sharpshooters |
| Title | Thomas J. Kessler to his friends informing them he expects his band to break up and writes of the difficulty in finding replacements |
| Date | 9 October 1863 |
| Author | Kessler, Thomas J. (fl. 1843-1868) |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Writes to his friends from Camp Douglas. Reports on a soldier who has not reported back to camp. Informs them that he expects their band to break up. Their regiment is short men, and he writes that it is hard to find good replacements. Comments that he will not pick up a rifle, if ordered he too will take a furlough and not return. Complains about the army and his regiment. Writes, "this thing of enlisting to get a Drunkard a position or and office is about played out with me…he (a recruiting officer) did not get Will Stevison I hope He know better than to come in such a miserable Regiment as this is it would not be a disgrace if the whole Regiment would desert…" The letter has a watermark on the top left hand corner. Letter is addressed to his friends but envelope is addressed to his father, A. P. Kessler. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Union Forces Soldier's Letter Union Soldier's Letter Art, Music, Theater, and Film Desertion Recruitment Alcohol |
| People | Kessler, Thomas J. (fl. 1843-1868) Kessler, A. P. (fl. 1863-1868) |
| Place written | Chicago, Illinois |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Arts & Literature; Children & Family |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Thomas J. Kessler enlisted as a private on 29 June 1863 at Edwardsburg, Michigan. On 8 July 1863 he mustered into "G" Co. Michigan 1st Sharpshooters. He was mustered out on 28 July 1865 at Delaney House, Washington, D.C. |
| 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 | 1st Michigan Sharpshooters, G company |