1862-05-04: McLean, Horace, to McLean, Mary, Letter |
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[page 1] Camp Mary May 4 1862 Well Mary, after an absence of some two weeks I have concluded to write to you. I am well this morning & have been since I have been here except a light cold which has troubled me some little in way of breathing + head ache. When I got to this Place I found Capt Walden here with about fifty men they organized & got off sooner than they or I expected in consequence of the conscripts Law I have joined his company as a private + have been here ever since the day after I left Home. all the company except my self & some seven others [page 2] returned home on furlough together with all the officers of the Company the Capt left me in Charge of the squad & baggage & he will not return till the 6th instant and after that time I shall be so situated that I can come home & spend a few days. Say some four or five we have Plenty to Eat here & that is good enough for any body except the Pickle Beef it is not so good & indeed some of it cannot be used by some of the boys & it is owing to them not being used to such food I have seen a very large number of my acquaintances here. Some from Diferent parts of the State I have seen Joseph Lawrence & Leonard Lawrence [page 3] and Winston Gay they are all well & seeme to be geting along quite well. A greate many of my acquaintances come to See me every day before I know they are in the camps Dr L B Parker came to see me on Friday last & staid till this marning he recd inteligense by Clay Parker that Frank volunteered some time since & that he would have to go back to Chambers he was preparing to Practice Medicin at Rockford but he says that he will leave for home about Tuesday next. Well Mary this camp is one & a half miles from Montgomery City & has in it 4 companies of Cavalry 6 of Infantry & one of Artilery [page 4] And the Col is looking for several more companies yet H W Hiliard is the Colonel Jack Thorington is the Lut Col there has been no order as yet in camps but the Cols order No 1 takes effect to day & we expect a ridged Discipline from this time out. Some of the boys Dread it very much but as for my Part I long to see it. there are so few of us we have not Drilled any yet but after next Tuesday we will go into it in earnest. There is some sickness in camp & some Deaths but not many. we have some light cases of Peumona but most of the cases are measles [page 5] One soldier road in to the River & Drowned himself I think he was from Pike. One Soldier shot another & wounded him mortally all of them belong to the Cavalry at camp Stone. I heard that they were boath Drunk Down Town at a little Eating house it seems to me that so soon as men get in camp the they loose all manner of respect for themselves & every body Else & it is much to be regreted for I fear that such men can not have as good success in battle as those that maintain there dignity all the time. Well Mary there are some 700 or 800 Prisners taken at Shiloh at This Place & by Permission [page 6] I viseted the Prisiun & saw them & conversed with some of them they are very Dirty & lousy & the most of them seem to be rathur of a low class of People & some of them seem to be quite imitent they have to be guarded by a Detachment from our camp day & night one of the Guard Killed one of them the other day while escorting him to the well after water the Deceased was a Lut it enraged the Prisners very much crowded the whole number are all in one Cotton Ware House & they are dying fast I think there has been some Dozen buried & likely there will as many more this week they blame there Goverment for not [page 7] exchanging The pople here are very much alarmed here on account of the fall of New Orleans & the Possesion of Huntsville Ala I belive that real patriots in this City are fewer than one would have thought 16 Months ago the authorities here are hauling the Cotton out of Town Preparatory to burning it in case of the enemys gun boats paying them a visit. Well Mary I expect you want to know how I like camp life I can say to you that I have been preparing my mind so long for this seem that I can stand it better than you would think Provided that I can keep my helth [page 8] I have a letter that A J Thompson recd of his wife & it stated your Mother Died a few days ago I was much surprised to hear of such a thing. For the last time that I heard from her she was geting better. She must have had a back set some way. I am sory that you got Disapointed in going to see her at the time you started Mr boyd came to my camp since I was here & told me that your Mother was geting well so he heard & said he would have called by if he had time. he was on his way to Corinth to join his company he staid all night with me & I went with him to the cars next morning a t 6 oclock two miles walk with his bagage [page 9] Well Mary you must brace up with our many Dificulties the best you can & try & take care of the Children & your self the best you can. and I do not want you to be uneasy about me for I will take care of my self the best I can the battle field has as many chances as home with the Destracted condition of our country for I think I am doing my whole Duty when I am trying to drive back the Ruthless Enemy from the homes of my family & my Country so dont be weary about me if you all can keep your health & be Provided for till I get back it will be enough for me [page 10] This will be handed you by A J Thompson. I will be at home in about twenty days I wish you to let Father see this letter as it will save me the trouble of writing to him for I have written all that I can think of to day & accept of love & respects to your self & the children & to all inquiring friends Very Respectfully, your Husband H McLean
Object Description
Description
Title | 1862-05-04: McLean, Horace, to McLean, Mary, Letter |
Creator | McLean, Horace, 1823-1864 |
LC Subject Headings |
McLean, Horace, 1823-1864 Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama Infantry Regiment, 59th Confederate States of America. Army. Hilliard's Legion Cumberland Gap Campaign, 1862 Chickamauga, Battle of, Ga., 1863 United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 |
EOA Categories |
History – 1838-1874: Sectionalism, the Civil War and Reconstruction Peoples -- Military Life Government and Politics -- Military |
Description | Letters written by Horace McLean to his wife, Mary, during the American Civil War from May 4, 1862 to April 9, 1864. Included are transcripts of some of the letters and photocopies of some of the original envelopes. Horace McLean left Hickory Flat, Chambers County, Alabama in late April of 1862 to join the Confederate Army. On June 25, 1862 he was mustered-in as a private in Company B, 2nd Battalion, Hilliard’s Legion in Montgomery. Hilliard’s Legion took part in the Confederate advance into Kentucky serving as the Army’s rear guard. From the November of 1862 to August of 1863 the battalion was stationed at Cumberland Gap. On September 20, Hilliard’s Legion was heavily engaged at the Battle of Chickamauga. Private McLean survived the battle unscathed but did see many of his fellow soldiers wounded and killed. On November 25th, Hilliard’s Legion was dissolved and reorganized into the 59th and 60th Alabama. McLean was assigned to the 59th Alabama. In April of 1864 the regiment reached Richmond, and shortly afterwards took part in the battle of Drewry’s Bluff. From June till the March of 1865, the 59th was in the trenches of Petersburg, where it is believed Private McLean died. |
Digital Publisher | Auburn University Libraries |
Date | 1862-05-04 |
Original Format | 1 letter, 10 pages |
Type | Text |
Format | |
Original Item ID | RG 0679 |
Rights | This image is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users of the image are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732. |
Relation With | www.american-south.org |
Finding Aid | http://content.lib.auburn.edu/u?/findingaids, |
Language | eng |
File Name | McLean 01.pdf |
Collection | Horace McLean Papers |
Repository | Auburn University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives. |
Submitted by | Hicks, Joyce; Thornton, Linda; Galati, Leslie Ann; Coates, Midge |
Transcript | [page 1] Camp Mary May 4 1862 Well Mary, after an absence of some two weeks I have concluded to write to you. I am well this morning & have been since I have been here except a light cold which has troubled me some little in way of breathing + head ache. When I got to this Place I found Capt Walden here with about fifty men they organized & got off sooner than they or I expected in consequence of the conscripts Law I have joined his company as a private + have been here ever since the day after I left Home. all the company except my self & some seven others [page 2] returned home on furlough together with all the officers of the Company the Capt left me in Charge of the squad & baggage & he will not return till the 6th instant and after that time I shall be so situated that I can come home & spend a few days. Say some four or five we have Plenty to Eat here & that is good enough for any body except the Pickle Beef it is not so good & indeed some of it cannot be used by some of the boys & it is owing to them not being used to such food I have seen a very large number of my acquaintances here. Some from Diferent parts of the State I have seen Joseph Lawrence & Leonard Lawrence [page 3] and Winston Gay they are all well & seeme to be geting along quite well. A greate many of my acquaintances come to See me every day before I know they are in the camps Dr L B Parker came to see me on Friday last & staid till this marning he recd inteligense by Clay Parker that Frank volunteered some time since & that he would have to go back to Chambers he was preparing to Practice Medicin at Rockford but he says that he will leave for home about Tuesday next. Well Mary this camp is one & a half miles from Montgomery City & has in it 4 companies of Cavalry 6 of Infantry & one of Artilery [page 4] And the Col is looking for several more companies yet H W Hiliard is the Colonel Jack Thorington is the Lut Col there has been no order as yet in camps but the Cols order No 1 takes effect to day & we expect a ridged Discipline from this time out. Some of the boys Dread it very much but as for my Part I long to see it. there are so few of us we have not Drilled any yet but after next Tuesday we will go into it in earnest. There is some sickness in camp & some Deaths but not many. we have some light cases of Peumona but most of the cases are measles [page 5] One soldier road in to the River & Drowned himself I think he was from Pike. One Soldier shot another & wounded him mortally all of them belong to the Cavalry at camp Stone. I heard that they were boath Drunk Down Town at a little Eating house it seems to me that so soon as men get in camp the they loose all manner of respect for themselves & every body Else & it is much to be regreted for I fear that such men can not have as good success in battle as those that maintain there dignity all the time. Well Mary there are some 700 or 800 Prisners taken at Shiloh at This Place & by Permission [page 6] I viseted the Prisiun & saw them & conversed with some of them they are very Dirty & lousy & the most of them seem to be rathur of a low class of People & some of them seem to be quite imitent they have to be guarded by a Detachment from our camp day & night one of the Guard Killed one of them the other day while escorting him to the well after water the Deceased was a Lut it enraged the Prisners very much crowded the whole number are all in one Cotton Ware House & they are dying fast I think there has been some Dozen buried & likely there will as many more this week they blame there Goverment for not [page 7] exchanging The pople here are very much alarmed here on account of the fall of New Orleans & the Possesion of Huntsville Ala I belive that real patriots in this City are fewer than one would have thought 16 Months ago the authorities here are hauling the Cotton out of Town Preparatory to burning it in case of the enemys gun boats paying them a visit. Well Mary I expect you want to know how I like camp life I can say to you that I have been preparing my mind so long for this seem that I can stand it better than you would think Provided that I can keep my helth [page 8] I have a letter that A J Thompson recd of his wife & it stated your Mother Died a few days ago I was much surprised to hear of such a thing. For the last time that I heard from her she was geting better. She must have had a back set some way. I am sory that you got Disapointed in going to see her at the time you started Mr boyd came to my camp since I was here & told me that your Mother was geting well so he heard & said he would have called by if he had time. he was on his way to Corinth to join his company he staid all night with me & I went with him to the cars next morning a t 6 oclock two miles walk with his bagage [page 9] Well Mary you must brace up with our many Dificulties the best you can & try & take care of the Children & your self the best you can. and I do not want you to be uneasy about me for I will take care of my self the best I can the battle field has as many chances as home with the Destracted condition of our country for I think I am doing my whole Duty when I am trying to drive back the Ruthless Enemy from the homes of my family & my Country so dont be weary about me if you all can keep your health & be Provided for till I get back it will be enough for me [page 10] This will be handed you by A J Thompson. I will be at home in about twenty days I wish you to let Father see this letter as it will save me the trouble of writing to him for I have written all that I can think of to day & accept of love & respects to your self & the children & to all inquiring friends Very Respectfully, your Husband H McLean |