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Letters from the Front
to Mother, Father, and Daniel Reed

Robert Morrissey

Jeremiah W. and David H. Reed wrote at least six letters home over a period of time from November 28, 1862, through March 23, 1864. I assume that they were brothers, and it appears that they may have lived in the village. I found the letters in the trash when moving into my new home in Broome Center.

I find it especially interesting that this issue of the Newsletter includes an article on the excavation of the J. Reed site in the village (p. 14). The tax rolls of the village in 1920 includes five separate Reed properties although understandably the first names of those villagers do not match any of the names from these letters written 50-some years earlier.

This first letter, dated November 28, 1862, is transcribed here with a scan of the first page. All four pages of the letter are available at the www.gilboahome.com.

We will reprint these letters one per issue so you can look forward to them much as Mother, Father, and Daniel Reed did. Note: we have maintained the spelling of the original letters in the transcripts but have added minimal punctuation.

This series of letters was initially published in the Gilboa Historical Society Newsletter.

November the 28 ’62

kind brother Daniel

I thought that you would like to hear from me and to hear that i am well and Ellis is the same. we are within 2 miles of Fair fax where we have bin since we came from thurough fair gap but we shant stay long hear. we shall take winter quarters in a day or to betwen hear and Washington. it may be that we may stay hear a week but i gess not if we do take quarters. then i shall send for a pair of boot and some provision. then we shall have nice tents and then we shall take comfort. i like it hear better and better. we have no snow hear yet onely it came about one inch or so when we moved that Sunday but it has froze hard enough to bair up a man severl times. but we sleep warm and have enough to eat and tip top good water. now i will send this letter without any stamp on for i have not got any nor i cant get none and they say we aint obliged to put any on nor you aint obliged to pay the postage to get it out of the office for they say that solders letters goes free. now you tell pap to find out wether it is so or not and let me no if it is so for it will save a good many three cents. pap must send me 2 or three dollars for i hant got one single cent and i dont know when we will get any. tell the children i often think of them and often dream of you all. the other night i drempt that pap and i we fit each other and we had some awful quarels. now that is a sine for something. our old dream book said it was a good sine to quarel with your father and mother. you tell pap and ma to send me some stamps for i had as live spend my money in hearing from home as any way and when i get my pay then i will send them a fue dolars. then when pay day comes then i shall have quite a pile of money. all i cair of being to home this winter. i could run about some now. i don’t see any thing to hender you from taking comfort for you cant have to work very hard for the oats is threshed and got part of the winters wood got. now give my respects to all and tell the chrilden to not abuse their parents for that is all of my gratest trouble to think i have bin sasy to them and to grany and if i never see them again i hope that they will forgive me for all i hant bin so very sory. i often think of it and often shall and you all do the same. rite soon. give love to my father and mother. i aint home sick one single bit. i take comfort on my marches and evry thing else. now you may say i lie but i dont for i think it will make a man of me. i never had better health.

from David Reed to Daniel Reed

High resolution art.
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