Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Indiana, Pennsylvania in the Civil War

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  • Date = January 3, 1865

About This Collection

The Indiana Pennsylvania in the Civil War Era project includes primary sources including letters, diaries, and modern and historical photographs, now held in the collections of Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Special Collections or the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County, that document the experience of men and women of Indiana County, PA during the Civil War era. Central to the collection are the papers of the White family including a diary kept by Pennsylvania State Senator Harry White, who fought for the North during the Civil War and was imprisoned in Libby Prison and a number of other prisons across the South; the letters of his father Thomas White, a prominent judge who was involved in the organization of the Republican Party in Pittsburgh; correspondence of Richard White, a brother who also served in the Union Army during the Civil War; and letters to members of the White family from the Pennsylvania governor and high ranking representatives of the federal government. Also included are other diaries of Civil War soldiers from the Indiana County area. Together these primary sources provide a glimpse into the experience of Civil War soldiers and their families at home and political life during the war.
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Letter from James Graham, Jr. to his father, January 3, 1865
Graham, James--Military service. Graham, James--Correspondence. United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 206th (1864-1865)--Biography. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life--Union--Personal narratives. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--African Americans.
Letter sent by James Graham, Jr. to his father, James Graham, from a camp near Richmond, VA on January 3, 1865. James writes that it has been quite busy in camp recently because the soldiers have picket duty regularly as they replace other troops that are leaving. While picket duty is hard, he is thankful that that is all he has to do. He does not want to march in the winter weather. James comments that all of the men in his regiment are cooperative, but they do not agree on the subject of slavery. Many of his comrades favor slavery. One in particular, Patrick McGranar, believes that black individuals were created for slavery and have been slaves since Abraham [the Biblical character] held them. For his part, James believes that slavery is over. He closes with a request for supplies, stating that "there is not one man fit to do on the rations that we get."
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Letter from James Graham to his sister from a camp in the field in Virginia, January 3, 1865
Graham, James--Correspondence. Graham, James--Military service. United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 206th (1864-1865)--Biography. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life--Union--Personal narratives. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Desertions--Union. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Equipment and supplies--Union. Bermuda Hundred Region (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Sources.
Letter from James Graham to his sister from a camp in the field in Virginia, dated January 3, 1865. In this letter James reports that he is good health despite the cold weather. He writes that he is still waiting for the new boots he has asked his family to send him. He wonders if the delay in the shipment of boxes to the regiment was because of the weather; there are four inches of snow on the ground and it is frozen solid. He writes that there is a call for more men, and that there are more drafted men and substitutes, with one regiment receiving forty more recruits. All but twenty-two, however, have deserted. Deserters who have been caught have been executed. He believes his is the best regiment along the line and the most trustworthy--none has deserted to the Rebels. He reports being on picket every 5th or 6th day, and that a division left and members of his Company had to relieve them of their picket duties. He was waiting for some of the money from home--money is scarce in the regiment and he needs it to buy soft bread and other food; all he has had to eat is hard tack.
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