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Object Description
| Title | Duties of a private soldier is anything else than pleasure |
| Creator | Alexander, J. B. (John Brevard), 1834-1911 |
| Date Created | 1862-02-03 |
| Digital Collection | John B. Alexander papers, 1855-1911 |
| Description | This letter is from J. B. Alexander to his wife, Ann. It was written at "Capt. Simpson's" home in N.C. on February 3, 1862. In his correspondence, Dr. Alexander discusses taking care of an ill soldier, Capt. Potts, and he requests that Mrs. Alexander update Capt. Potts' family about his health progress. He also mentions that there is a potential that the Confederate forces may be able to let down their defense for a while. Dr. Alexander explains that the Union troops under [General Ambrose] Burnside were most likely met with disaster at the coast and may retreat to the north for 10 months. Further, Dr. Alexander states that J. L. Jetton was appointed head of the guard to enforce martial law in New Bern and he supports Jetton's appointment to this position. |
| Transcription | "My dear wife, I have just received your last letter, it being the [illegible] five days. I think you are improving or at least write oftener than you ever did before. From the tenor of your last letter, I immagine [sic] that everything is right at home, by you being able to roll & burn logs. I feel much easier in mind now than I did when I wrote you on last Satuerday [sic], at that time Capt. Potts was almost at the point of death. Now I consider him out of danger. On Sunday (Feb. 2nd) I had him carried on a cot to the house of Capt. Simpson, about two miles from camp [Tadpole, near New Bern], where I have all chances to take care of him. I have not left him one hour for the last five days, and under my managment [sic], treatment and nursing I am happy to see him getting well. He is now in as comfortable a room & bed as if he was at home. He is for the world a perfect match for your brother James. He does not allow me to leave him ten minutes at a time, exactly as Jim did at Yorktown. You must be sure to send word to Mr. Potts family as soon as you get this letter, and let them know that he is getting along very well, that he will be up in a day or two, but I will try to get him to stay at this house for several days after he is able to walk about, as our camp is a terrible place for a sick man. There are three very pretty girls here, the Misses Simpson, but Monroe will not allow me any time to talk to them only when I am with them at the table, but I think I will stay on here for a while after he gets well to make up for lost time. This is the same place where I visited two weeks ago last Sunday. The young ladies look at me as if they though [sic] you and Robert were not in my possession. Capt. Hickerson says that I mus [sic] quit taking on with them or he will be certain to write to you. I told him to write. I have learned that the Battle at Bowling Green has not yet been fought. It was a fake report. But I heare [sic] it reported here today that there has been a hand fight in Misourie [sic], but I do not know the truth of it. But I suppose it is true that the Burnside fleet has met with aweful [sic] disaster on our coast, and that they will have to return North and repair before they can effect anything. So if this news is corect [sic], our forces at this point will have to lyestill [sic] for sometime yet, if not for the next 10 months. I saw S. J. Lowrie on Sunday morning just as I was starting over here. He had just got into camp. He was perfectly cool, and looked very well. But I fear it will go hard with him, for the duties of a private soldier is anything else than pleasure and the company he is in is decidebly [sic] the hardest set of men in the Reg. Some of them are always in the Guardhouse, some of them are in there now for one month. I have not seen Mr. Fidler for two or three days, but I hear that he is still improving. I have just been told that martial law is in force in Newbern [sic], and that J. L. Jetton is appointed head (or whatever it is called) of the guard in the town. A better person could not have been selected to fill the place, but I suppose it will devolve on some one else in a few days, but as I am not in camp I do not know what is going on. As you do not want me to go home so soon as the 10th I will put it off untill [sic] Thursday, 13th at which time you look for me, unless I should be detained in Goldsboro. The medical board has not met yet and if it should meet about that time I will wait, so it may be the 15th before I get up, provided I get a pass. The most of the boys think I will not get one, but I feel pretty sure of getting it. This is all the paper that I could borrow from the young ladies. My love to you and budy [sic] [son, Robert]. J. B. Alexander" |
| Subjects--Names |
Alexander, Ann Wall Lowrie, 1834-1893 Alexander, J. B. (John Brevard), 1834-1911 Alexander, Robert Davidson, 1860-1901 Lowrie, Samuel J., 1830 or 1-1866 Jetton, John Lewis, 1827-1906 Hickerson, Charles N. Lowrie, James B. Potts, James Monroe Fidler, David H. |
| Subjects--Organizations | Confederate States of America. Army. Board of Surgeons |
| Subjects--Topics |
Burnside's Expedition to North Carolina, 1862 Medical care--North Carolina--19th century Medical personnel--Confederate States of America--History Martial law--Confederate States of America |
| Coverage--Place |
New Bern (N.C.) Camp Tadpole (New Bern, N. C.) |
| Digital Publisher | Charlotte, N.C.: J. Murrey Atkins Library University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Object Type | Text |
| Genre | manuscripts (document genre) |
| Finding Aid | http://library.uncc.edu/manuscript/ms0218 |
| Format | image/tiff |
| Relation | Forms part of : John B. Alexander Papers, 1855-1911 |
| Language | eng |
| Repository | J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Rights | Materials in the Digital Collections at Atkins Library are provided free for educational use under fair use as outlined by current U.S. Copyright law and accompanying guidelines. Written permission from the J. Murrey Atkins Library or the rights holder must be obtained before using an item for publishing or commercial purposes. |
| Location of Original | Manuscript 218, Special Collections Manuscripts--10th Floor, J. Murrey Atkins Library |
| Note | Atkins Library has provided the description and subject analysis for these images. We encourage you to contact us at spec-coll@uncc.edu with your comments and feedback. |
| Identifier | Alexander_MS218_1_3_18 |
| Date Digitized | 2011 |
| Rating |
Description
| Title | Alexander_MS218_1_3_18a |
| Creator | Alexander, J. B. (John Brevard), 1834-1911 |
| Digital Collection | John B. Alexander papers, 1855-1911 |
| Digital Publisher | Charlotte, N.C.: J. Murrey Atkins Library University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Object Type | Text |
| Genre | manuscripts (document genre) |
| Finding Aid | http://library.uncc.edu/manuscript/ms0218 |
| Format | image/tiff |
| Relation | Forms part of : John B. Alexander Papers, 1855-1911 |
| Language | eng |
| Repository | J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Rights | Materials in the Digital Collections at Atkins Library are provided free for educational use under fair use as outlined by current U.S. Copyright law and accompanying guidelines. Written permission from the J. Murrey Atkins Library or the rights holder must be obtained before using an item for publishing or commercial purposes. |
| Location of Original | Manuscript 218, Special Collections Manuscripts--10th Floor, J. Murrey Atkins Library |
| Note | Atkins Library has provided the description and subject analysis for these images. We encourage you to contact us at spec-coll@uncc.edu with your comments and feedback. |
| Date Digitized | 2011 |
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