In an earlier blog post on June 11, 2020, I wrote about Henry Philip Hale, an 18 year-old Union soldier, who died only a short time after his enlistment from wounds he received at the First Battle of Bull Run and while in a Confederate prison hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Henry’s letters were written to his mother and siblings who lived in Brooklyn, New York. They spanned the time between when Henry’s regiment left New York until after the conflict at the First Battle of Bull Run.
While Henry’s letters to his family only covered a short period, there are several significant occurrences mentioned in his letters including the death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth who was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War, making camp in the House of Representatives building in Washington D.C. while it was still under construction, and seeing President Abraham Lincoln. Thus, I thought it would be interesting to make this blog post simply a transcription of young Henry P Hale’s letters home in 1861.
Washington,
May 7 ‘61
Dear Sister,
I received your letter of the 2nd
this morning through Jim Smallwood and I was much pleased to hear from
you. I have written two letters home,
one to you and one to Mother. I presume
that you have received them both.
We were mustered into the U.S.
Service this afternoon. Some fifteen of
the men backed out. They will be sent
home in irons, having once been sworn into the State Service. There are some few men who are a disgrace to
the N.Y. Zouaves, four of whom have been found out and will be drummed out of
the Regiment tomorrow and sent home in disgrace. Two more have committed a crime and will be
given up to the authorities tomorrow, and I hope hereafter we will go by a good
name. Col. Ellsworth is a trump and
wants nothing but honest and respectable men in his regiment. We pass away our time playing cards.
I have written Dave [brother], but
tell him not to forget his soldier brother, if he don’t take the right side
with him. I have enlisted for the War …
let it be five days or five years and God protect the right. We are quartered in the room of Commerce next
to the Patent office – best quarters in Washington. Our Regiment has the honor of being the first
regiment that has enlisted for the War – not thirty day men like the Fancy
Seventh of N.Y. They are the troops of
B’way but not of Washington. We are the
only, or I am in the only Company at least, that there was not one man backed
out. Write soon. Give my love to all and kiss the children for
me and tell Ella [sister] that I am not sorry that I am here, altho I would
like to see you all, hear you all – bid you good night. God bless you all and believe me.
Your affectionate brother,
Henry
P.S. Please send me an old pair of
pants with the books if you have not sent them, if you have never mind. Don’t send my new ones for I hope to have
them on in my dress again.
Camp Lincoln,
May 17 ‘61
Dear Mother,
I embrace the opportunity to write
you a few lines. We are to pull up
stakes this morning and go a mile below here next to the river where we can have
plenty of fishing during our spare hours which are very few, as we are drilled
hard and long. I wrote Sis several days
ago asking her to send me some collars – but you need not send them as I have
no chance to have them cleaned when they are dirty without washing them myself,
and rough dried collars would look worse than none. I am beginning to think that there will be
some fuss in the Camp before long as we now not getting half enough to eat. Last night our tent had one loaf of bread
among sixteen. You may imagine what the
boys thought of this kind of treatment – however, we’ll have to put up with
this. You may hear that we have plenty
to eat, but don’t believe it. The ones
that get enough grub has money and buys it from the peddlers about here. I have heretofore always tried to write a
cheerful letter home but when things come to such a point as this I intend to
let it be known. If things do not go on
better hereafter – as we are promised, I hear the boys saying they will have it
published in the New York papers.
Have you sent that package
yet? I have not received it and cannot
understand the reason as you intended sending it on the 11th. I hope it has not been lost as those little
presents will not go amiss with me.
As long as I am writing I will
give you an account of the way we do – We are woke up at 5 o’clock by the drum,
and get our breakfast – or at least our little mouthful and then are called out
at 9 o’clock and drilled until 12 o’clock – when we have two hours for dinner. At 2 o’clock we go on the field and drill
until 6 o’clock – get a little something to eat and have to be in our tents at
9 o’clock. This is our regular way of
living from one weeks end to the other.
Give my love to all the
family. Kiss the children for me. Give my respects to all my friends. Write soon and believe me.
Your Affect Son
Henry
Alexandria,
May 25 ‘61
Dear Mother,
I received your kind letter
Thursday night and was much pleased to hear from you. We left our camp yesterday morning for
Alexandria – joined rear troops about daylight.
We had taken the City and had little fighting to do but it pains me to
say that we have lost our gallant Col.
He was shot at the Marshall House after having pulled down the Secession
Flag. On coming down stairs the
proprietor stepped out of his room and shot him in the breast. He lived but twenty minutes and all he said
was “My God”. How true his words
came. He said as we were leaving the
camp to be prudent and not to run into danger, that perhaps he would be the
first to fall, and so he did. No one
else received a shot. One of our men was
shot last night by one of his best friends.
It was very dark and the guard asked him to advance and give the
countersign. He kept coming toward him
and did not speak and he was shot dead.
The man who shot the Col. was shot dead on the spot and the American
Stars and Stripes fly over this town.
I enclose a few threads of the
Secession Flag – I could not get any more.
Sew it into a piece of cloth and keep it. I hope I may soon return to see it. I certainly will if the Secession runs as
they did here. You could see nothing but
their coat tails.
We have taken 37 horsemen
prisoners. They surrendered without
firing a shot. I have been amusing
myself today hunting and searching around for things belonging to the
Secessionists. All we have found was
powder and ball. Write soon and direct
as before,
Your Affect Son
Henry
Camp
Ellsworth, ? 1861
Dear Mother and Sister,
We expect to have a little flight
before long. Two of our men belonging to
our Co. was shot at Clouds Mills on Friday morning. One killed and the other was wounded in the
hop. Young Cornell was buried on Sunday
morning. Yesterday his brother came on
with an order from General Sanford for the body. It was taken up and delivered up to him.
It is now raining in torrents and
we are all getting on well passing the time away smoking, singing, and playing
cards. We now have plenty of grub since
we have been here such as it is – hard bread, salt lunch Pork – and fresh beef
once a week.
I wrote you while quartered at the
Orange & Alexandria R.R. Depot and sent you a piece or at least a few
threads of the Secession Flag that caused the death of the Col. I am anxious to hear from you …….
Good bye. God Bless you all
Your Affect Son and Brother
Henry P Hale
P.S. Please send me a comb in a newspaper. I have lost mine and my hair is getting quite long.
Washington,
June 2 ‘61
Dear Mother and others,
I arrived here last night after
quite a nice voyage [the troops were transported part way by ship]. We anchored off Annapolis day before
yesterday. We came on shore about 10
o’clock yesterday morning. There is two
men stationed at each rail from here to Washington. We have fared quite well – had plenty to eat
since we left N.Y. and it’s all in your eye about the men not having
enough. The President [Lincoln] received
us last night. He is about 7 foot, he
looked like a fool standing with his hat off –
We are quartered in the House of
Representatives – that is, the one they are just building. I am writing on the floor and sitting on my
knapsack and my back is nearly broken bending over – and you must excuse my
miserable writing.
Hoping to hear from you soon, I
remain your
Affect Son
Henry P Hale
Camp
Ellsworth, July 10 ‘61
Dear Mother,
I send you my likeness by today’s
mail. It is not very good nor is it very
well got up. It has no case, I was down
to Alexandria yesterday on french leave and thought I would have it take as
promised to send it to you from Washington, but was short and could not. I would have got a case with it but they
charged $1.50 and I had not enough. I
expect you will think it looks rather rough, but you know a soldier with nothing
but a Regiment shirt and blue pants on cannot look dressed.
I wish when you have the time and
money to spare you would have Sis, Birdie & Ella [3 sisters] taken in one
case and send them on to me as I would like very much to have them with me as
the Lord only knows when I will be home, as it begins to look like War. Some 5 or 6 regiments have come out here
encamped within a mile of us. There are
the Michigan 1 & 2 regiments, the Maine 3, 4 & 5 regiments and an Ohio
regiment. Scott Life Guards Second
Artillery Company and three horse company all within a mile of us.
We have not as yet received any
pay, more have I any idea when we will.
We have been promised over and over again. It seems our Regiment will be humbugged out
of our money as well as clothes – if I am not paid shortly I will up stakes and
join some other Regiment and if I possibly can I will be transferred to
Ellsworths Avengers.
My draws [drawers] are worn out
and I have none as well as my stockings.
We have a ____ in our Regiment and he is getting all of the boys
pay. I do not intend running up any bill
with him.
Did Dave [brother] attend to
having that I enclosed to you sent to the Mercury Office [New York Sunday
Mercury newspaper]? If not tell him to
attend to it immediately, if not sooner.
I have seen some of my friends
from New York who have joined other Regiments.
The reason letter does not reach me in time, you direct it to Washington
instead of Alexandria. Give my love to
all. Goodby
Your Affect Son,
Henry
Richmond,
August 2 ‘61
Dear Mother,
I write this to inform you of my
whereabouts. I am still among the living
although I was wounded in the Battle of Bull Run, and, I presume, named among
the dead in the papers. It was God’s
Will that I only got a slight wound in the thigh. I am recovering fast. We are treated here with the utmost kindness. Everything is done for us that one could
wish.
I hope that War will soon end and
we will all soon return home. I hope
Dave is successful in finding employment and is doing well.
I have nothing to write
about. I am in a hospital in Maine
Street. Give my love to Grandmother,
Sis, Dave and the children.
Goodbye. God bless you all –
Your Affectionate Son,
Henry P Hale
NOTE: Private Henry P Hale, 11th New
York Volunteers, 1st Fire Zouaves, Company G, died on August 7, 1861,
five days after writing the above letter from Prison Hospital No. 1, Main
Street, Richmond, Virginia.
* *
* * *
Key Individuals:
Philip Moore Hale (1807 –
1870)
Mary Ann Brown Dickinson Hale
(1816 – 1880)
Henry Philip Hale (1843 - 1861)
- Jane
Scribner McCrary
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