Joseph Spafford Correspondence
Collection Overview
Joseph Spafford served in the 4th and 16th Vermont Infantry Regiments. His letters are written to his mother and to his sister, M. Jane Spafford, in Upper Falls, Vt. (a village in Weathersfield), as well as to a friend, Homer White, in New York...
Show moreJoseph Spafford served in the 4th and 16th Vermont Infantry Regiments. His letters are written to his mother and to his sister, M. Jane Spafford, in Upper Falls, Vt. (a village in Weathersfield), as well as to a friend, Homer White, in New York City. In his letters, Joseph Spafford writes of camp life including information about men from Weathersfield and surrounding towns. In a letter dated January 2, 1862 and marked confidential, Spafford writes very frankly about officers and the politics of promotion. He also writes of an opium user with the initial C. In other letters he describes troop movements, and gives information on sickness in the Regiment. He also writes of having his picture taken and of receiving newspapers and other items from home. In one of his letters while in the 16th Regiment, he describes how some soldiers collect souvenirs from battlefields, including human remains.
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(1 - 2 of 2)
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- Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
- Description
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Topics include Hooker’s Army being around Manassas and Centerville, the hot weather, the expectation of a pass to Washington, considering how to send military pay home in smaller amounts, hearing rumors of Robert E Lee and more and learning to ignore unless seen for himself.
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- Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
- Description
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A brief letter about the Potomac Army camping near Williamsport, Maryland, Lee crossing into Virginia, and the expectation to move very soon.