A Fictive Letter from a soldier in the Civil War

August 21, 1864

around Petersburg, Virginia

Regiment XYZ

      Dearest Father and Mother,

         I sincerely apologize for not having written you a letter for so long. Let me tell you about my whereabouts and my doings since.

         Unable to pay a commutation fee of $300 and hiring a substitute for $1,000, I was drafted and am now a soldier of the Union. I know about two persons who were willing to fight on my behalf, an African who called himself Joe, and an Irish who just arrived from Ireland. They needed the money and were willing to take my place. As you know Irish immigrants are not well liked in Ohio, they even put up signs in shops not to hire any.

         Most of the other soldiers are volunteering in this war. I don't understand their reasons why they fight. Some say they want to fight the South because of the pay and regular food, some others say they want to see more of the United States. They probably think it is an adventure to be a soldier.

Some of the soldiers try to desert. There are quite many who succeed. They don't like the harsh conditions, like marching for days, or sometimes being very thirsty.

        They treat me fairly in my regiment. The pay could be better and I receive $16 every month, so at least they say. I haven't seen any pay for the last three months,but my captain says it will be paid later. I am planning to send some of this money to you, so you can invest in the farm and buy some new tools.

Sometimes I imagine being a Lieutenant General, like Ulysses S. Grant. They receive $748 each month and their pay is for sure.

I was told that negro soldiers are paid less than $16. I guess I am still lucky. Africans are also in separate regiments than the whites. I have seen some passing, and I am astonished how well organized and disciplined they are. I noticed that they have white officers only.

        You may wonder what foods we eat. We get some green coffee beans that we roast. They provide us with salted pork, a bread we call hardtack, beans and dried fruits and rice. I like to make a soup and crumble my hardtack in it. To be honest, I don't like the bread, but I love the coffee.

        I started to like my new life as a soldier because I made so many new friends. Still it doesn't make much sense to me why we are fighting to free the slaves in the South. After all, aren't we whites superior to the Africans? Even Mr.Lincoln prohibits our generals to free slaves in the territories we capture. He also said in Columbus Ohio,on September 16, 1859 that he was not advocating negro freedom. He said these words “I will say here, while upon this subject, that I have no purpose directly indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races. I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong, having the superior position. ”

        Some soldiers in my regiment think, that Mr.Lincoln just wants to give the negros their freedom because he wants them to fight on his side so he will be the only president in the United States. I hope Mr.Lincoln will prove them wrong once this war is won. They fight as good as we do in this war. They earned my respect. When I think about it we may be wrong thinking that the negros are inferior. Maybe it is a just cause to fight for their freedom as well.

        The captain in my regiment said, that hundred thousands of Ohioans are fighting on my side in this war. He also said that we get a lot of beans from Ohio and also pork. Maybe it comes from your farm, he says. He also thinks that some of the rifles we carry are made in Ohio. We wear blue uniforms, and I think some of them may be made in Ohio as well.

        In September of last year I fought in a horrible battle under Major General William Rosecrans, the Battle of Chickamauga in Tennessee. We lost that fight, and thousand of my fellow soldiers died, but we were able to regroup after. I was grazed by a bullet and lost a lot of blood, but I am fit again for duty thanks to the food they provide. I had some beef roast twice, regenerating from this battle. Four of my best friends were killed in this battle. After the battle I was very angry with Rosecrans, but then I noticed that it wasn't his fault that so many soldiers died. He tried his best, and the situation on the battlefield turned out of control. There is no order in war once you fight on the battlefield.

       I put my hope in general Ulysses S. Grant, our new commanding general after Rosecrans was relieved of duty. Grant has won so many battles and is advancing into enemy territory. Sometimes I wish more soldiers would fight on Grant's side. The war would be over soon when Grant would command more troops. Right now we fight around Petersburg in Virginia. Grant told us to dig some more trenches and fight from there, because the Confederates defend this city pretty well. Being a fellow Ohioan we understand his way to fight. I think we will capture Petersburg very soon.

      You may ask how I feel right now. I am tired of marching long distances and digging out trenches. When it wouldn't be for my friends and General Grant I probably would have given up and deserted too, maybe fleeing to Canada or to the South. I have seen so many soldiers on both sides die in battle and with disease, that I pray to God that this war is over better today than tomorrow.

      Tell my sister Penelope that the war will be over soon and that I will return to work on the farm again. I am looking forward to plant beans and corn. I promise to write more often,

Yours truly,

John Doe