February 8, 1864
Today’s letter has some of the most detailed writing of the whole collection. Abbott apparently had quite a bit he wanted to tell the family about! Before I get into the particulars regarding his recent travels and fighting, I thought I’d point out the part of the letter that was most striking to me. During this letter, Abbott mentions how he spent his recent 21st birthday. I think it’s easy to forget how young he actually was during the war. Oftentimes, he comes across in the letters has being an old soul and wise beyond his years. But he was very young and was about the same age as I am now. I can’t even begin to imagine living his life at twenty-one. He had probably already experienced far more than people much older than him ever would. The rest of the letter is essentially Abbott recounting various tidbits of information regarding his experiences since he last corresponded with the family. He frequently mentions small engagements with Confederate forces. I tried to look up whether or not this was common but had a hard time finding any information about minor skirmishes. It would make sense for them to occur, since not every battle was going to be a major, decisive fight. I’m sure the two sides encountered each other frequently along the roads as well. However, I understand it is only natural that the information that comes up when searching for Civil War battles is related to the more well-known battles, like Antietam or Gettysburg. I’m sure that it is next to impossible to know how many little fights occurred on an everyday basis. Again, Abbott’s recollections show their value here, as he sheds light on the fact that on any given day, one could find themselves engaged in a battle, big or small. He closes the letter in a fashion that is quite typical for a person of his age. He remarks to his sisters that in their previous letter, they mentioned a girl named Mollie. It seems like his sisters believed she was in love with Abbott and were imploring him to help them convince her that he liked her in return. But Abbott firmly states that he has no such feelings for her anymore and is confident that she feels the same. I just thought that this was a very relatable part of the letter as people today obviously fret over relationships and how others feel about them. It shows that no matter what era you live in, there are still some things that stay the same over the course of history.
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October 6, 1864
At the beginning of the letter, Abbott mentions that his regiment had recently left Chattanooga to stop Confederate leader Forrest from cutting railroad lines between Chattanooga and Nashville. While this is really the only time he mentions it in the letter, destruction of railroad lines was an important enough tactic during the war that I thought it merited a post! For example, as Union soldiers moved into the South, they proceeded to tear up rails “by pulling them up, heating them until they could bend” and then wrapped them around trees. This type of rail track destruction was called “Sherman’s Neckties,” named after General William T. Sherman. This would seem to be a highly effective way to tear apart railroad tracks. The goal here was to prevent the rails from being repaired. Sherman apparently said merely bending the rails would not be sufficient: “Officers should be instructed that bars simply bent may be used again.” By twisting them while still hot, they would be rendered unusable. It’s a pretty clever way to ensure that Southern railroad lines would not be in proper working order. These “neckties” became a defining symbol of Sherman’s March to the Sea, as he left devastating destruction throughout Georgia in his wake. This bit of trivia is something that I’d never heard about until I started trying to find information regarding railroads during the war. The I.M. Abbott collection is cool in this way because it allows for better understanding of soldiers’ lives and personal insight into major battles, but also leads to discovering other interesting facts. I probably never would have learned about “Sherman’s neckties” if I hadn’t been working my way through the collection! Works Cited: The Civil War Trust: Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields. “Railroads of the Confederacy." http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/logistics/railroads.html (accessed March 19, 2014). About North Georgia, "Sherman's Neckties." http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Sherman%27s_Neckties (accessed March 21, 2014). Photo Credit: wikipedia.org Civil War Daily Gazette. "Jeb Stuart Begins His Raid into Pennsylvania." http://civilwardailygazette.com/2012/10/09/jeb-stuart-begins-his-raid-into-pennsylvania/ (accessed March 21, 2014). November 26, 1864 Today’s letter has a couple of interesting bits mentioned by Abbott that are connected to the larger history of the war in general but I chose to focus on one that references a future battle. Right at the end of the letter, Abbott tells his sister that he expects his regiment to head out soon “to reinforce Gen’l. Thomas at Pulaski.” I looked up Thomas to see what he was up to at this point and I feel fairly confident that his position was a catalyst for what would be known as the Second Battle of Franklin. This battle took place on November 30, 1864, four days after this letter was written. It is therefore reasonable to surmise that this is connected to the letter and Abbott's regiment would be called on. Upon some further digging, I discovered that Thomas and 25,000 Union soldiers were besieged in Nashville. Therefore, perhaps Abbott’s regiment, and others, were needed to offer them support. This is definitely connected to the Second Battle of Franklin, as Union General John Schofield was racing to Nashville with his Army of the Ohio to help out. At the same time, Confederate General John Bell Hood was also scurrying to Nashville in an attempt to threaten the Union’s “supply base at Nashville.” The details leading up to the actual confrontation at Franklin are too numerous to include in this post, so I would encourage you to check out the link below to learn more! I’ll instead jump right to the battle itself. The battle was a full frontal assault across open ground, with the Union armies firmly “behind three lines of breastworks and abates.” The Confederate soldiers began to be torn down immediately but kept pressing onwards, with fighting eventually turning into man-to-man combat. Soldiers fought each other “with shovels, bayonets, sabers, and pistols.” Again, this is a really interesting battle that included quite a bit of different tactics occurring at once. It would be difficult to concisely summarize everything here, so check out the link! In the end, the Union emerged victorious. There were a total of roughly 8,600 casualties between the two sides, with about 6,000 coming from the Confederate side. This battle was pretty evenly matched, with each side possessing around 30,000 soldiers each. Really, the outcome could have gone either way. While the Confederate Army of the Tennessee was “decimated” at this time, it did not stop Hood from pursuing Schofield to Nashville. Indeed, we’ll meet these generals again at the Battle of Nashville, which will be discussed in the next blog post. Works Cited: The Civil War Trust: Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields. “Franklin.” http://www.civilwar.org/battlefield/franklin.html?tab=facts (accessed March 19, 2014). Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Franklin_(1864) August 20, 1864 I acknowledge that today’s letter covers the exact same material as that of August 19, 1864 :) However, this letter was written by Mark to his whole family, not Roe, so it has slightly different information. Also, it is far shorter and less-detailed than the one he sent the day before. He just gives a quick overview of the Second Battle of Dalton’s main components. I decided to still do a post on it though and talk about Tunnel Hill, something mentioned in both letters. In his letter, Abbott says that his regiment rode the rails as far as Tunnel Hill, where it was then deemed inadvisable to continue by train, as it was only seven miles from their destination of Dalton. They ended up walking the rest of the way but I decided that we’d stay at Tunnel Hill and learn a bit about its connection to the war. Tunnel Hill saw quite a bit of action during the war. It’s probably most famous for what has been named “The Great Locomotive Chase” in 1862. Quite a bit happened during this event, so I’ll do my best to write a summary. Otherwise, follow the hyperlink to get a more thorough telling of the tale! The basic gist of the Great Locomotive Chase is that a man named James J. Andrews, along with a group of Union spies, stole a train called the General that was stopped at a Confederate Camp while its passengers and crew were eating at a nearby hotel. The goal of this group was “to travel up to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in an attempt to cause as much damage as possible to the Western & Atlantic Railroad by destroying telegraph wires and as much of the railroad itself along their path.” Though they were successful in cutting some wires and uprooting sections of the railroad track, the spies were ultimately caught before reaching Chattanooga. This was a fun bit of trivia that I hadn’t heard before! I actually had a pretty hard time finding specific information about battles that occurred at this site. It definitely is near some of the battles Abbott participated in, such as the Battle of Chickamauga discussed in this letter and the previous one. What I did find is that the city of Tunnel Hill does a “Battle of Tunnel Hill Civil War Reenactment” every year the weekend after Labor Day. The event includes events such as a daily battle reenactment, tours of the railroad tunnel itself and chances to interact with the reenactor. If you want to learn more about this annual event, google “Tunnel Hill” and you’ll find information on the event! This link, for example, takes you to information for 2013’s reenactment: http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/battle-of-tunnel-hill-civil-war-reenactment/ten39C7A3101E5721F10. Works Cited: East Tennessee River Valley Geotourism MapGuide. “Festival Event: Battle of Tunnel Hill Civil War Reenactment.” National Geographic Society. http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/battle-of-tunnel-hill-civil-war-reenactment/ten39C7A3101E5721F10 (accessed March 10, 2014). The Southern Museum (In Association with the Smithsonian Institution). “The General Locomotive and the Great Locomotive Chase.” http://www.southernmuseum.org/exhibits/the-general/ (accessed March 7, 2014). Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DCP_0909WandA.JPG September 17, 1864
Today’s letter to Roe has a far more somber tone than almost any of the letters in the collection. The regiment had been in the same area roughly a year before, bringing up various memories and making Mark realize much had changed since then. He especially recalls fallen comrades: “…And McKeighan Jones and Tanner and Wilson, Galt and Cravens were all there at roll-call with as good prospects of going through the war as safe as any of us, but alas! They are numbered among the silent dead! Martyrs for the freedom and liberty of our country.” Mark sounds so sad in this letter. After being in the war for about two years now, he sounds tired and a little dejected. It also highlights the fact that war does not distinguish between individuals, it takes whomever it wants. Any soldier who goes into battle is not guaranteed protection. Mark knew that he was just as likely to either live or die as anyone else in his regiment. Another quote also stood out to me: “Then I thought of the Old Mess we numbered seven in the old tent that night, but now I and Nelson is all that is left! Two dead, two in Southern dungeons, my own brother desperately wounded and in a hospital surrounded by strangers, and the other two worn out by sickness. It was a sad picture, but it is only one among thousands that this terrible war had made!” Mark doesn’t frequently mention casualties or his specific involvement in battles. This is one of the rare occasions where he is reflecting on the death and destruction that have personally affected him. Typically, he summarizes battles, talks about the weather or the countryside, or focuses on topics about home. In terms of military topics, Abbott walks Roe through the regiment’s recent movements. It really covered quite a bit of ground. He references two Confederate leaders in particular Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest and General Joseph Wheeler, who I thought were worth looking into. Forrest was actually one of the more feared Confederate generals. By the summer of 1862, "he began to make the kind of lightning raids that made him perhaps the single most feared cavalry commander of the entire war." He quickly climbed the leadership ladder, rapidly rising from volunteering as a private to his lieutenant general title. Overall, he seems to have been very successful in defeating various Union forces, causing Union General William T. Sherman to state, “that devil Forrest must be hunted down and killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the federal treasury.” Forrest definitely was a force to be reckoned with, which is consistent with what Abbott says in the letter. He comments that his regiment encountered another group that were in a “big scare” due to the large Confederate force nearby led by Forrest and General Joseph Wheeler. While not gaining quite the same reputation was Forrest, Wheeler nevertheless proved himself to be an able leader. He advocated for a more modern approach to cavalry units by adopting the idea of mounted infantry. This was a combination of the traditional cavalry, which fought on horseback, and infantry, which fought on foot. In his method, the soldiers would ride on horse, which “enabled them to move quickly into a position, where they then dismounted and fought as infantry. In fact, Wheeler’s cavalry was really the only line of Southern defense during William T. Sherman’s raids in the later parts of the war. It’s pretty interesting that Abbott’s regiment encountered or were at least near these well-known Confederate leaders. Works Cited: Encyclopedia of Alabama. “Joseph Wheeler.” Encyclopedia of Alabama. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-2140 (accessed March 3, 2014). The Civil War Trust: Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields. “Nathan Bedford Forrest.” http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/nathan-bedford-forrest.html (accessed March 3, 2014). August 19, 1864 In this letter to Roe, I.M. Abbott goes into great detail describing a battle that the 68th regiment had just participated in. After doing some digging based on things mentioned in the letter, it would appear that the battle being discussed was that of Dalton II. According to the National Park Service’s information about Indian’s 68th Volunteer Regiment, it was sent to help relieve the fighting at Dalton during August 14-15 (the dates of the battle). This battle was a part of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler was leading his cavalry into Georgia on a mission “to destroy railroad tracks and supplies.” Upon reaching Dalton, Wheeler ordered Union Colonel Bernard Laibolt to surrender the garrison. When Laibolt refused, fighting broke out, causing the Union troops to move “to fortifications on a hill outside the town where they successfully held out, although the attack continued until after midnight.” This must have been about the point when Abbott and company arrived. Indeed, Abbott’s regiment was moving in the direction of the city of Dalton, where they “could see a big smoke and light in the City so we concluded that the garrison had surrendered and that the rebs were burning the town.” Upon reaching the area, they discovered that the troops there hadn’t surrendered, instead moving to a fort outside of the town. Abbott’s account is therefore consistent with the National Park Service’s summary of the battle. Abbott comments that his company probably fought for about two and a half hours, though it was mostly “heavy skirmishing.” He states that his company didn’t lose anyone but does say that “our” loss was one killed and seven wounded. This is interesting because in the sources I read about the Second Battle of Dalton, casualty numbers aren’t listed. While it can’t be said that Abbott’s listing is all-inclusive of the casualties that day, it does shed some light on at least a few of the killed and wounded. Ultimately, the battle was seen as a Union victory, as the Confederate forces withdrew from the area. Today’s letter is definitely one of the most descriptive and succinct. Sometimes, Abbott goes off on tangents (which are admittedly still fun to read) but this one gets straight to the details of the battle and doesn’t stray too far from that topic. I think it’s definitely worth reading in its entirety in order to fully grasp what the battle consisted of. I feel like this letter in particular is pretty valuable to Civil War scholarship. It gives such a thorough account of the fighting, especially in comparison to what the National Park Service has listed. Additionally, Laibold’s report was published in The New York Times. It sheds a little bit more light on the battle and also highlights the accuracy of Abbott’s descriptions: http://www.nytimes.com/1864/09/01/news/attack-upon-dalton-wheeler-s-repulse-col-laibold-s-report-st-louis-democrat.html Works Cited: The National Park Service, CWSAC Battle Summaries. “Dalton II.” http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abp/battles/ga020.htm (March 3, 2014). Photo Credit: Western and Atlantic Railroad Company. "Map of Dalton and vicinity [1864]." Map. Buffalo, N.Y.: Matthews,Northrup and Co., Art-Printing Works, 1864. From Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. http://www.loc.gov/item/99447330/ (accessed March 3, 2014). March 8, 1864 This letter covers quite a bit of ground, so I chose to focus on a couple specific things Abbott mentions. Abbott writes at length about what his regiment has been involved with over the course of the past month or so. On January 17, 1864 a battle occurred near Dandridge, Tennessee. Abbott briefly references Dandridge as a place his company had retreated from prior to the writing of this letter. The fact that Longstreet was one of the commanding officers of the Confederates during this battle also indicates the likelihood of this being the same Dandridge event Abbott is speaking about. Eventually, the Union had to retreat as the Rebel forces were persistent in their fighting. The Union troops retreated to Newmarket and Strawberry Plains, TN, the former being where the letter was written and the latter being referenced in the letter. He then discusses pursuing Confederate troops to the front. For example, Abbott mentions that they were called to the front to hopefully engage with Confederate General James Longstreet and his forces. However, upon reaching their destination, they were informed by townspeople that Longstreet had already come and gone. I didn’t know anything about Longstreet, so I looked him up. He actually was a pretty interesting fellow. General James Longstreet seems to have been a talented military man but also attracted some ill-will. By 1864, for example, he had gained a rather poor reputation. One of the reasons was his opposition to General Lee’s attack plans for the Battle of Gettysburg. However, despite his less than favorable feelings towards those plans, Longstreet still carried them out faithfully. By the time Abbott’s regiment encountered him, Longstreet and his men had had a pretty rough winter after failing to gain command of East Tennessee. Furthermore, after the war, Longstreet’s reputation in the South fell still further. He shocked many former Confederate sympathizers by becoming a Republican after the war and fully supporting “biracial politics as the South future.” His political views did a complete flip in the opposite direction. After their unsuccessful attempt to find Longstreet, the company settled itself into a deserted Confederate winter camp, which consisted of “good comfortable long shanties…and good fireplaces.” It’s interesting that the group could just move into Confederate lodgings. Obviously, the Confederate troops weren’t expecting to move on so quickly, otherwise they more than likely wouldn’t have taken the time to build such a nice shelter. Abbott and his fellow soldiers certainly benefited from it though! Works Cited/Photo Credit: Civil War Academy.com. “Civil War Battles in Tennessee.” http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-battles-in-tennessee.html (accessed February 21, 2014). The Civil War Trust, Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields. “James Longstreet: Lieutenant General.” http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/james-longstreet.html (accessed February 21, 2014). Piston, William Garrett. "James Longstreet (1821–1904)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 5 Apr. 2011. http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Longstreet_James_1821-1904#start_entry (accessed February 21, 2014). July 28, 1864
While today’s letter has a variety of topics covered, the part I personally enjoyed the most was Mark’s brief mention of the upcoming presidential elections. It’s strange to think that roughly half of the country didn’t vote in 1864’s elections, as the Southern states obviously would not be involved in the United States presidential election. Mark does refer to the elections again later on but this seemed like as a good a time as any to chat about that year’s election. The Republican Party ticket consisted of Abraham Lincoln and his running mate, Andrew Johnson. They were up against the Democratic nominee George B. McClellan and his VP hopeful George H. Pendleton. Also, do keep in mind that at this point in history, the political parties were not the same as they are today. In fact, the platforms of each were just about opposite of today’s parties. In other words, contemporary Democrats are more the equivalent of 19th century Republicans and contemporary Republicans more like 19th century Democrats. That’s just a little fun fact to keep in mind when thinking about the election! It’s significant that Lincoln won because throughout 1864, Yankee morale had been decreasing as the Union forces encountered defeats at places like the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. Yet, in the months immediately preceding the election, the Union efforts gained ground again. Sherman’s Atlanta campaign took off and Union General Philip Sheridan “secured Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in October. Abbott comments in the letter that he’s confident that most or all of Company K would cry a “universal shout for Lincoln and Johnson.” Evidently, his company’s political beliefs were echoed by a majority of Americans as well come election time. The Lincoln/Johnson team won the election handily on November 8, with 212 of the electoral college votes compared to McClellan/Pendleton’s 21. Additionally, Lincoln easily won the popular vote as well, with roughly 2.2 million voters and 55% of the vote. He also won every state but Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware. Clearly, Americans still believed strongly in Lincoln’s leadership capabilities. Another little tidbit I found amusing was that Abbott very nonchalantly comments to Roe that, “The Johnies have it appears all taken a notion to come to Chattanooga, for they have been coming in here by the train-load…”. It seems as if the Confederates are coming in droves towards Chattanooga yet Abbott does not seem remotely concerned as that is literally the only line he writes on the topic. Furthermore, immediately after that comment, he starts talking about a new watch. He does this at various times throughout the collection, where he talks about something potentially serious and then smoothly transitions into a happier topic. It makes me wonder personally if the Confederates weren’t seen as a threat to Chattanooga at this point or if Abbott himself wasn’t too worried. Regardless, I think it’s funny how casually he mentions it! Works Cited: Drexler, Kenneth, Digital Reference Specialist. “Presidential Election of 1864: A Resource Guide.” The Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election1864.html (accessed February 17, 2014). The History Channel. “This Day in History: Nov. 8, 1864: President Lincoln is Re-elected.” http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-reelected (accessed February 17, 2014). July 24, 1864 Letter starts out on high note as Abbott describes a little jaunt he was able to take outside of the camp. Abbott and four others received passes to leave camp for the day to pick blackberries. They also came across an African-American woman who gave them gingerbread and milk. As camp life was extremely monotonous, getting passes to leave for a bit would have been a welcome escape. The letter then takes a more somber turn when Abbott mentions the death of Union Major General James B. McPherson. Abbott talks about “a general engagement” near Atlanta which actually turned out to be the Battle of Atlanta. While the city did not actually fall during this time, the battle was part of its eventual downfall. On July 22, McPherson went to the front lines to see how his troops were faring. At this time, he was shot and killed on the battlefield at the age of 35. His death had a huge impact upon the Union army with General Ulysses S. Grant reportedly saying, “The country has lost one of its best soldiers, and I have lost my best friend.” McPherson was very much an effective leader, as he was “one of the Union’s most brilliant strategists, who helped bring victory after victory to federal forces.” He was such a revered figure that some historians believe that, had he lived, McPherson had the potential to eventually become the president of the U.S. Abbott was able to go to the train station when McPherson’s body was put onboard to head North. He praises McPherson as a leader, saying “the country has great cause to mourn for in the death of McPherson she has lost one of her ablest defenders!” Imagine how the Union army must have been feeling at this point. Losing one of the most capable military leaders that far into the war had to have been difficult. The Battle of Atlanta was part of the larger 1864 Atlanta Campaign. The primary leaders of this battle were Union Major General William T. Sherman versus Confederate General John Bell Hood. Hood’s goal was to “attack Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee.” The battle itself seems to have witnessed smart tactics through which both sides made gains, though ultimately, Sherman was able to repulse Hood’s forces. By the end of the battle, it was reported that there was an estimated 12, 140 casualties total (remember this means both injuries and death). The Union army saw about 3,641 casualties while the Confederate totals neared 8,500. Based on the statistics, the Union handily won the engagement. This is consistent with what Abbott writes. Works Cited: Horn, Kristina Smith. “Civil War Gen. James McPherson was Revered after Death at Battle of Atlanta.” Port Clinton News Herald, July 16, 2011. http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20110716/NEWS01/107160320/Civil-War-Gen-James-McPherson-revered-after-death-Battle-Atlanta (accessed February 17, 2011). “Great Battle Upon the Left Particulars of McPherson’s Death Prisoners General Rousseau’s Raid.” The New York Times, August 1, 1864. http://www.nytimes.com/1864/08/01/news/great-battle-upon-left-particulars-mcpherson-s-death-prisoners-general-rousseau.html?pagewanted=1 (accessed February 17, 2014). National Park Services, CWSAC Battle Summaries. “Atlanta.” http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ga017.htm (accessed February 17, 2014). Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._McPherson August 6, 1864 While writing to John, Mark mentions that a soldier from John’s company, who had been captured by the Confederates, passed through Company K’s camp on his way home. He had apparently been able to escape his Confederate captors. This is one of the only times Mark mentions prisoners of war. It seems like an interesting topic, so I thought I would look up some general information about captured soldiers. By war’s end, over 400,000 soldiers had been captured. The treatment of such captives varied over the course of the conflict. At the beginning of the war, captured Union soldiers were traded for captured Confederate soldiers, and vice-versa. This was done in the hope that it would “keep the total number of prisoners manageable for both sides.” However, as the war progressed, that trade system began to fall into disuse. Towards the end of the war, both Union and Confederate prisoners faced far harsher conditions. For example, thousands of Southern prisoners died at a camp in Elmira, New York and a prisoner camp in Andersonville, GA, holding Union soldiers, is one of the “most infamous in the history of war.” Clearly, both sides involved in the conflict had a hard time dealing with prisoners and maintaining adequate living conditions. An example of a prison camp was Libby Prison, located in Richmond, Virginia (the capital of the Confederacy). This prison was for Union soldiers, who dealt with tight living quarters and shortages of food. I chose this prison to look at because a pretty big escape happened there. While it’s unlikely that the escaped Union soldier Mark encountered came from Libby, I thought it would be a good example of an escape attempt. The captured Union soldiers tunneled their way out of the prison in February 1864, working diligently for weeks to create the roughly fifty foot long tunnel. While 109 prisoners went out, only 59 lived to enjoy the escape, with 48 being re-captured and two drowning during the escape. It makes you wonder how the soldier mentioned in the letter escaped and from where. Based on the terrible conditions in prisons, this soldier was probably very lucky to have successfully fled from his Confederate captives. To close, I found a fact that I found pretty surprising: “Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as died fighting in Vietnam.” That’s an insane statistic. According to the Civil War Trust, which has a graph showing American fatalities in major wars, around 58,209 soldiers were killed in Vietnam. That means just about 58,000 Civil War soldiers died as prisoners of war. Works Cited/Photo Credit: Zombek, A. M. "Libby Prison." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. The Civil War Trust: Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields. “Civil War Facts: Answers to Your Civil War Questions.” Civil War Trust. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/ (accessed February 12, 2014). |
AuthorTessa Wakefield, student intern at the Concordia College Archives, assembled these blog entries in 2013-2014 for the Isaac Mark Abbott Civil War Letters Collection. The posts summarize the content of the letters, interpret Abbott's experiences and place them in the larger context of the Civil War. Archives
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