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Letters and Diaries: Browsable ListThe links on this list will take you to the full text of the letter or diary. If an author of a letter has more than one letter, the link will take you first to an index of that author's letters. The links for diary writers will take you to an index of that diary. To search the entire collection of letters or diaries by keyword, author, or subject, go to the search page.
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Abraham Essick was a native of Franklin County but left that area to become a Lutheran minister in the 1840s. His diary begins when he received his license to preach in 1849. It continues through the 1850s, when Essick preached before congregations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland. Of special interest is his account of his time in Winchester, Virginia, where he also preached, and where he took note of the differences between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Essick returned to Franklin County in 1861, and his diary continues with his thoughts on the challenges of preaching in wartime and afterward.
Peter Boyer was a private in Company C, 117th Pa., a regiment which included several other companies that were from Franklin County. Boyer was frustrated with the mundane duties that his military assignments entailed, and by the war's end shared his desire to return home with his father (also named Peter Boyer) and his brothers John D. Boyer, Cyrus Boyer, and Daniel Boyer.
Sylvester McElheney was a private in the 208th Pa.and served from September 1864 through April 1865. In March 1865, he suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, which resulted in his death in May of that year. This collection includes a letter informing McElheney's wife, Harriet, about Sylvester's last days.
These letters are addressed to George Miller of York County, Pennsylvania, from his friends and family. Although the authors were not from Franklin County, they fought with and lived side by side Franklin County men in their regiments. The collection consists largely of the letters of John J. Miller, a private in the 67th Pa. Vols. (also known as the Keystone Zouaves). Other correspondents in this collection include brother Jacob Miller and friends Joseph Helker, Daniel Helker, and Sam Pile. One letter from Jacob Miller describes the final days of the war in Alabama.
Lucius Mox was a baker during the war and served in several different units, including the 101st Pa. and the 17th Pa. Cav. The letters collected here are to his sweetheart, Jennie, and those from the final days of the war express Mox's enthusiasm for returning home.
In this letter of April 15, 1865, Charles Smith asks his commanding officer for leave to visit his family back in Chambersburg. This letter is of particular interest because Smith was a native of Augusta County, Virginia, who left there at the beginning of the war because of his Union sentiments. He describes his departure from Augusta County in an attempt to obtain special consideration in his request for leave.
In this letter dated May 18, 1865, Union soldier J. Milton Crawford writes to his parents about life at Appomattox Station, Virginia, after the surrender of Confederate forces. He mentions the destitution of the local people in Virginia and the scarcity of postage stamps.
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