JAMES DUNHAM, JR.
Civil War Letter to his wife
of April 7, 1864
Civil War Letter to his wife
of April 7, 1864
Courtesy of:
Wayne & Donna Hunt of New Lebanon, OH
and their son, Marshall Hunt
September, 2001
from the momentos of Don Miller of Indianapolis, IN ca 1998
Wayne & Donna Hunt of New Lebanon, OH
and their son, Marshall Hunt
September, 2001
from the momentos of Don Miller of Indianapolis, IN ca 1998
Webpage
by
Audrey (Shields) Hancock
by
Audrey (Shields) Hancock
Transcriptions appear under the original letters.
If anyone can supply additional words where some are missing, please advise.
This appears to be James Dunham's first letter home to his wife, Margaret, who resided in Greenville Township, Darke County, Ohio. Within nine months he would be dead. This journey would take him from Greenville to Dayton to Xenia to Camp Denison where his company camped for a time. From there they shipped out and were stationed at Charleston, West Virginia before heading into battle near Liberty, Virginia. Here he would be wounded and taken as a Confederate P.O.W. to Andersonsville, Georgia where he would meet his fate.
In this letter James mentioned "French furloughs." This refers to the enlistees taking an unauthorized time away from camp (absent without leave) which appears to have been common during this war. However, it was also common for the enlistees to return to their company after a brief time away.
James mentions Margaret's father, Abdel Slonaker, and Aunt Saly. Aunt Saly's family connection has not been determined at this time. Was she related to the DUNHAMs or to the SLONAKERs? He mentions a Franck Scribner who must have been a resident of Darke County. [ASH]
Revised: 25 July 2007
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