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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02164.08 |
| 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 a skirmish with the Confederates |
| Date | 23 April 1862 |
| Author | Higgins, Patrick (fl. 1859-1862) |
| Recipient | Schoonmaker, Fannie |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Printed with a red white and blue stamp of a woman clad in the American flag. Received her letter a day ago. Many have been wounded since he last wrote. Will give a short account of what has happened. Rebels spotted two miles from camp. When they closed to within a few hundred yards from the rebel fort his company engaged them. One of his comrades was nearly hit in the head by two bullets. Two of their captains were shot. Found a small church to use as cover. Every few moments they could hear the sound of enemy shots being fired. The men were very eager and took a shot every chance they could. Hopes to sleep once night comes. Can't think of anything else to write; has no place to write. Would not write anymore if she were not such a dear friend. Grows lonelier every week he spends away from home. |
| Subjects | Military History Civil War Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Infantry Injury or Wound Battle Army of the Potomac Health and Medical Love Letters Confederate States of America Patriotic Stationery and Postal Covers Fortification Death Battle (Siege, Surrender) of Yorktown |
| People | Higgins, Patrick (fl. 1859-1862) Schoonmaker, Fannie (fl. 1859-1862) |
| Place written | Warwick, Virginia |
| Theme | The American Civil War; 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 |