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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03523.52.26 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Thomas J. Kessler, G company, 1st regiment, Michigan, sharpshooters |
| Title | Thomas J. Kessler to A. P. Kessler informing him that he has been sick for a week with dysentery as has most of the camp and also writes about the prisoners of war |
| Date | 12 December 1863 |
| Author | Kessler, Thomas J. (fl. 1843-1868) |
| Recipient | Kessler, A. P. |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Writes to his father from Camp Douglas. Informs him that he has been sick for a week with dysentery. Notes most of the camp has it. Discusses the President's message that allows prisoners to keep their property if they take an oath of allegiance. Comments that there have been nearly 200 prisoners from camp who have taken the allegiance and joined the United States Navy. Reports that he and a few other soldiers are still trying to get a discharge. Writes of Congress repealing the $300 bonus for joining the army. Believes that if Congress goes through with the repeal it will put the poor on even ground with the rich when being drafted. Writes, "I hope it will take a few of them Old Rich farmers Boys who never get away from Home it would do them good…" The letter has a watermark on the top left hand corner. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Union Forces Soldier's Letter Union Soldier's Letter Health and Medical Disease Oath President Confederate States of America Prisoner of War Navy Soldier's Pay Finance Congress Recruitment Presidential Speeches and Proclamations |
| People | Kessler, Thomas J. (fl. 1843-1868) Kessler, A. P. (fl. 1863-1868) |
| Place written | Chicago, Illinois |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Health & Medicine; Law; Banking & Economics; The Presidency; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | On 8 December 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed amnesty and reconstruction during his State of the Union address to Congress. 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: Recipient Relationship | Father |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Main Eastern Theater |
| Civil War: Unit | 1st Michigan Sharpshooters, G company |