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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03836.37 |
| From Archive Folder | Correspondence of 90 letters and documents with 3 maps on the blockade of Port Royal, South Carolina |
| Title | Lewis H West to Mary West complain about his station saying it is desolate and lacks civilized life |
| Date | 26 August 1862 |
| Author | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Recipient | West, Mary |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Written by Lewis to his sister Mary. Continues the letter on 30 August and 5 September. Disparages where he is stationed, saying it is desolate and lacks civilized life. Says he has been made an executive officer again, due to personnel changes on the ship. Says he is at St. Andrews Sound because the "Alabama" has been under steam for over a year and cannot be trusted to make the trip north to be overhauled. Therefore they are waiting in Georgia for the machinery to come to them. Says the repairs are needed as dry rot is everywhere. At St. Simons three weeks before he "had the pleasure of a tramp on shore which was sufficient to satisfy me in that line for sometime to come." Afterward, he was ordered to march with the marines and 40 members of the "Alabama" crew to stop a group of Confederate raiders who were attempting to recapture local "darkies." After running into another group of U.S. Marines and resting for the night, they decided to search the woods for several miles around the latest attack on the former slaves. Says they disturbed "sundry rattlesnakes and alligators" in the process. They ended up finding a dead contraband and another one wounded in the jaw. They took the wounded man to a nearby plantation and returned to the ship. Says the only trophies of the expedition were two cats they picked up to kill rats on their ship. Says "If the women of the North would only show one half the pluck that Southern women do, in taunting and browbeating the men to fight, we could keep our regiments full without too much trouble." Says he supports the draft. Says he was involved with a force that intervened at the Cumberland Island plantation of a Mr. Stanford, whose slaves had mutinied and threatened his life. After arriving it turns out 10 of Stanford's slaves ran away 5 months ago and worked in the government's employ. After tiring of the work they returned "full of ideas of liberty, which they proceeded to carry out by killing his cattle and hogs and carrying them to Fernandina to sell to the army on their own account." Believing the story, he captured 10 of the culprits and took them to his ship. He was eventually forced to let them go. Chastises her for not writing about the news of the birth of her baby. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Navy Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Soldier's Letter Confederate States of America Blockade Children and Family Maritime Marines Contrabands Slavery African American History Guerrilla Warfare Runaway Slave Fugitive Slave Act Geography and Natural History Wildlife Death Injury or Wound Pets Women's History Conscription Slave Rebellion Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Military Provisions Diet and Nutrition Commerce |
| People | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Place written | Aboard USS "Alabama" at St. Andrews Sound, Georgia |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | West was a Union naval officer in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, mostly serving off South Carolina and Georgia. This collection begins with three documents from West's service on a merchant marine ship off China. He served on the USS "Perry" April-August 1861, the USS "Wabash" August-October 1861, the USS "Alabama" October 1861-October 1862, the USS "Ladona" (also spelled Lodona) October 1862-August 1863, the USS "New Ironsides" October 1863-April 1864, and the USS "Fernandina" April 1864-March 1865. Had the rank of Masters Mate from April-August 1861 and then served the rest of the war as an Acting Master. Letters detail the tedium of life in the blockade, coming across runaway slaves and contrabands, as well as several run-ins with Confederate submarines. Three hand drawn maps are at .27, .68, and .89. Most of the letters are to his mother (her initials are RW and she resides at 1316 Walnut Street in Philadelphia - West addresses his letters to her as "Mrs. James West"), sister (Mary), and someone who appears to be West's brother-in-law (Weir). He begins to write a woman he seems to be romantically interested in named Harriet Moore in 1864. From a reference at .63, West was born in 1829. He might have been living in New York before the war, but he definitely resides there after the war. About half the letters have an envelope. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Sister |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach |
| Civil War: Unit | USS "Alabama" |