My Dear Nelly : The Selected Civil War Letters of General Orlando M. Poe to His Wife Eleanor [1 ed.] 9781631014260

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PRAISE FOR MY DEAR NELLY

“This meticulously edited collection of letters showcases the frank reactions and clear-eyed observations—on matters ranging from the engineering of battle fortifications to the travails of family life at a distance—of a uniquely compelling figure in the military history of the Civil War.” —Christopher Hager, author of I Remain Yours: Common Lives in Civil War Letters “The letters of Orlando M. Poe will be a gold mine for all who have an interest in the Civil War. His private correspondence offers marvelous descriptions of what he experienced in several theaters of the conflict, from the Virginia Peninsula in 1862 to the long marches with William Tecumseh Sherman that finally pushed the Confederates to surrender. Poe’s candid assessments of the war’s great battles and leaders are illuminating and engaging. Paul Taylor has done a tremendous service in bringing this collection to the public.” —Jonathan W. White, coauthor of “Our Little Monitor”: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War “My Dear Nelly is a rich and beautifully edited collection of 241 letters written by Orlando M. Poe, a talented West Point–trained US Army engineering officer in the Civil War, to his fiancée and later wife, Eleanor Brent Poe. The texts document Poe’s extensive service in several military theaters as well as the love and loneliness of a husband and father at war. Poe’s correspondence underscores his intense ambition, ego, professional pride, sense of his God-given duty, and sensitivity to sleights, real and imagined. As chief engineer with several Union armies, he had a keen eye for battlefield landscapes, structures, and the war’s physical destruction. Readers will value My Dear Nelly as a welcome companion to Paul Taylor’s excellent Poe biography. They chronicle the life of a career soldier and the cultural, gender, and military conventions of the mid-Victorian age. A terrific work.” —John David Smith, coeditor of Dear Delia: The Civil War Letters of Captain Henry F. Young, Seventh Wisconsin Infantry

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“Orlando Poe was a top West Point graduate serving on the Great Lakes before the Civil War brought him east to help fortify Washington, DC, and then lead a Union brigade at Second Bull Run. Returning west to become William Sherman’s chief engineer, he expressed pity for Southern refugees and condemned the plunder of Atlanta, but nonetheless orchestrated destruction of the city’s military stores, and devised the roads, bridges, pontoons, and even maps on which Sherman’s ruthless Savannah and Carolinas campaigns depended. Two hundred forty-one of Poe’s graceful letters to his new, young wife Eleanor, ‘Nelly,’ selected and expertly annotated by historian Paul Taylor, document these obscure but vital aspects of Union victory. They also reveal how Poe reconciled secret ambition for recognition with obligation to honorable duty and straddled roles of mathematician, combat commander, and absent husband and father. My Dear Nelly is a fine expression of the complexities of manliness among the Civil War’s professional soldiers.” —Timothy Mason Roberts, editor of “This Infernal War”: The Civil War Letters of William and Jane Standard

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My Dear Nelly

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INTERPRETING THE CIVIL WAR Texts and Contexts

EDITOR Angela M. Zombek University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Aaron Astor Maryville College

Wiliam B. Kurtz University of Virginia

Joseph M. Beilein Jr. Pennsylvania State University

Brian Craig Miller Mission College

Douglas R. Egerton Le Moyne College

Jennifer M. Murray Oklahoma State University

J. Matthew Gallman University of Florida

Jonathan W. White Christopher Newport University

Hilary N Green University of Alabama

Timothy Williams University of Oregon

The Interpreting the Civil War series focuses on America’s long Civil War era, from the rise of antebellum sectional tensions through Reconstruction. These studies, which include both critical monographs and edited compilations, bring new social, political, economic, or cultural perspectives to our understanding of sectional tensions, the war years, Reconstruction, and memory. Studies reflect a broad, national perspective; the vantage point of local history; or the direct experiences of individuals through annotated primary source collections.

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My Dear Nelly R

the selected civil war letters of general orlando m. poe to his wife eleanor

edited by Paul Taylor

the kent state university press Kent, Ohio

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© 2020 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242 all rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Number 2020028264 isbn 978-1-60635-407-0 Manufactured in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced, in any manner whatsoever, without written permission from the Publisher, except in the case of short quotations in critical reviews or articles. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Names: Taylor, Paul, 1959- editor. Title: My dear Nelly : the selected Civil War letters of General Orlando M. Poe to his wife Eleanor / edited by Paul Taylor. Other titles: Selected Civil War letters of General Orlando M. Poe to his wife Eleanor Description: Kent : the Kent State University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020028264 | ISBN 9781606354070 (cloth) | ISBN 9781631014253 (epub) | ISBN 9781631014260 (pdf ) Subjects: LCSH: Poe, O. M. (Orlando Metcalfe), 1832-1895. | Poe, O. M. (Orlando Metcalfe), 1832-1895--Correspondence. | United States. Army--Officers--Biography. | United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives. | United States-History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns. | Military engineers--United States--Biography. | Poe, Eleanor Carroll Brent. Classification: LCC E467.1.P65 M925 2020 | DDC 973.7/81092 [B]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028264 24 23 22 21 20

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Contents

Foreword by Earl J. Hess Preface

ix

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Introduction

1

1 “This Is a Holy War”: From the Great Lakes to Regimental Command, October 3, 1860–December 26, 1861 12 2 “There Is No Justice to Be Found in This Army of the Potomac”: The Virginia Peninsula and Career Frustration, January 12–June 7, 1862 58 3 “We Have Gone through Terrible Scenes within the Last Ten Days”: Union Calamity at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg, August 2–December 18, 1862 81 4 “God Grant That We Give Them the Deliverance They Seek”: Congressional Disaster to Western-Theater Redemption, February 10–August 28, 1863 114 5 “My Praises Are in Every Man’s Mouth”: The Hero of Knoxville, September 4–December 7, 1863 131 6 “You Can’t Imagine a More Perfect Picture of War’s Devastation”: Headquartered in Tennessee and Preparing for Georgia, January 28–May 5, 1864 183

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7 “You Never Saw Men in Such Spirits as Ours Are Now”: The Atlanta Campaign, May 6–September 3, 1864 212 8 “We Have Left Nothing but Desolation behind Us”: Fortifying Atlanta and the March to the Sea, September 7–December 26, 1864 259 9 “The Enemy Is More Desperate Than Ever”: The Carolinas Campaign, January 1–April 26, 1865 Postscript

321

Bibliography Index

290

322

331

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I find him so thoroughly qualified that I would be lost without him. —maj. gen. william t. sherman, December 1864, regarding Orlando M. Poe

R

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Previously unpublished images of Orlando M. Poe and Eleanor C. Brent, 1860, the year of their marital engagement. (Julie C. May Collection, West Chester, PA)

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Foreword

O

rlando Metcalfe Poe was the most famous military engineer to emerge from the Civil War. Unlike other West Point graduates whose grades entitled them to serve in the Corps of Engineers, Poe did not win fame for commanding large bodies of troops in military operations, although he tried very hard to achieve success in that line. A consummate professional, he performed the varied duties of a military engineer during most of the conflict with success that prompted his superiors to help him negotiate the difficult task of achieving advancement by working in a support service rather than leading men in battle. It is ironic that, during the antebellum years, serving in the Corps of Engineers was the ultimate in career advancement within the US Army. But that was not so during the Civil War. Gaining command of large units from brigade up to field armies was seen as the ultimate in career advancement. Men who were lieutenants or captains in the engineers could become brigadier and major generals in the volunteer army. If one performed well at these elevated levels of responsibility, fame and renown was the reward. What reward, then, for the capable engineer when, during a time of lifeand-death struggle for the republic, he was digging fortifications, laying pontoons, or working on a railroad? That was the dilemma for bright young graduates of the US Military Academy, whose grades counted for little when there was a war to be won. The further irony is that these seemingly mundane tasks were of fundamental importance for the success of an army in the field, yet they received little attention among the public or even the politicians in Washington, DC, responsible for sanctioning rewards to officers in the field. The problem was shared by all other officers and men who worked in support ix

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foreword

services, including quartermasters, commissaries of subsistence, ordnance officers, signalmen, and other vital branches of the army. They faced severely restricted opportunities for rank advancement within their branches and often were desperate to get out of them and into infantry command. Poe exemplified this dilemma. He had served as an engineer early in the conflict but soon moved into infantry command by accepting the colonelcy of the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Before long he moved up to leadership of a brigade and even, for a brief time, of a division, while still officially holding his commission as colonel of the regiment. His hopes for promotion to brigadier general of volunteers, a rank temporarily conferred in the field, were dashed because he had no political support in the Senate, the body responsible for approving recommendations for such promotions. Moreover, he resigned his commission as colonel in the volunteer force before news of his failure to be confirmed by the Senate was announced. That meant he had to revert to his rank in the engineers, which was lieutenant. His failure was a source of great frustration for Poe but redounded to the greater good of the Union cause. Commanders of brigades, divisions, and corps were almost a dime a dozen, but a truly good engineer was priceless. William T. Sherman recognized that important fact. He became Poe’s patron after inspecting the engineer’s work in fortifying Knoxville, Tennessee, during the fall of 1863, when the Union-held city was threatened by James Longstreet’s command. The Confederate attack on Fort Sanders was bloodily repulsed on November 29, 1863, and much of the reason for it was Poe’s careful planning of the earthwork. When Sherman saw this fort a few days later, he was so impressed that he appointed Poe chief engineer on his staff upon assuming command of the Military Division of the Mississippi the following March 1864. Poe remained on Sherman’s staff for the rest of the war, keeping a diary and continuing to write letters to his wife from his ringside seat at Sherman’s elbow. The general relied heavily on Poe during the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the March through the Carolinas. He supported Poe’s advancement from captain to brevet brigadier general by war’s end. Poe had no reason to fear that he would be a faceless engineer in the country’s greatest war. He shared some of Sherman’s fame while serving his general through many trials. I have always been interested in Poe’s diary and letters and have long thought it proper that someone should edit them for publication. Now that publication has become a reality because of Paul Taylor’s devoted attention to Poe’s life and career. Author of a fine biography of the engineer, Taylor has collected 241 of Poe’s letters to his fiancée/wife. These letters tend to be

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foreword

xi

acerbic, evaluative, pointed, and unsparing in their assessments of men and events. They were written by a highly placed and intelligent officer. Poe was not always right in his conclusions, but he always was clear and definite. In many ways they remind me of the letters and dispatches written by Sherman. One can sense a certain commonality in the personalities of both men through their letters, and that undoubtedly was one of the reasons they worked so well together. Several military engineers succeeded where Poe failed—they advanced in command of infantry rather than pursuing engineer duties in the Union army. But few of them are as well known today as is Poe. Serving one of the towering figures of American military history in Sherman, Poe was better placed to secure his stature in history than Quincy Gillmore, Horatio G. Wright, or William F. Smith had done while commanding corps. In part it is also because none of those officers left behind a cache of personal letters to illuminate their personalities or thoughts. The student of the Civil War has a wonderful opportunity to learn about Poe, exploring his personality and work through these letters. They are the writings of an intelligent, well-placed professional and will be welcomed by all who desire a fresh perspective of familiar topics in the Civil War. Earl J. Hess

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Preface

I

first became familiar with Brevet Brigadier General Orlando Metcalfe Poe (1832–95) during the early part of the twenty-first century’s first decade when I was researching and writing a book on the Civil War’s 1862 battle of Ox Hill, which took place in northern Virginia’s Fairfax County.1 After my family moved to Michigan from Virginia in early 2003, I rediscovered Poe’s name in that he was mentioned throughout the state’s historical sites, from the various nineteenth-century lighthouses he designed in the decades after the Civil War to the iconic “Soo Locks” in Sault Ste. Marie. Serious and casual Civil War students are also familiar with Poe’s name, often associating him and his engineering activities with the 1863 siege of Knoxville, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s 1864 Atlanta Campaign, his supervision of the burning of Atlanta, and Sherman’s subsequent March to the Sea and March through the Carolinas Campaigns. As I sought to learn more about O. M. Poe, the most readily apparent fact was that relatively little published material existed about him. Rectifying that oversight held considerable appeal for me, since writing a biography presented a fresh creative challenge coupled with the subject’s deep Michigan and Ohio connections. Over the next several years I read almost all of Poe’s private letters and published governmental reports, spanning his entire fortythree-year military and civil career, as I worked on what became the general’s first-ever biography. That book, Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer, was published in late 2009.2 1. Taylor, He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning. 2. Taylor, Orlando M. Poe.

xiii

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The foundational cornerstones for the biography’s research were Poe’s unpublished personal letters to his fiancée and wife, Eleanor (“Nell”). I also utilized important and unpublished military-related letters written by him that were housed in various archives around the nation. By far, the largest and most important of all Poe collections is the Orlando M. Poe Papers at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. That massive collection numbers some 8,500 items, stored in more than twenty archival boxes, and includes 355 of Poe’s private letters to his wife, spanning their entire marriage. The collection encompasses such diverse material as diaries, personal and professional correspondence, maps, blueprints, newspaper clippings, and biographical material relating to his military service during the Civil War and postwar eras. His papers document the life of a man who was born in the bucolic, agrarian Midwest during the Age of Jackson, seemed to have been everywhere during the Civil War, and then utilized his considerable engineering talents as part of the Midwest’s rise to industrial prominence during the Gilded Age. In many ways Poe’s life story and progressions mirror that of the United States. As I came to these realizations during my research and writing of the biography, I determined that a collection of his letters would be a viable, future project. In fact, an anonymous scholar who read the biography’s initial manuscript made that very point during the publisher’s peer-review process. Life and other projects intervened over the next decade; nevertheless, the idea of preparing that collection was always percolating in the back of my mind. By the fall of 2016, I decided the time was right. Admittedly, I was surprised that no one else had previously undertaken such a project. When one considers the untold number of letter collections penned by obscure, uneducated enlisted men that have been published over the decades, I found it remarkable that the letters of a highly educated Union officer as intimately involved at the tactical decision-making level as Poe should to this day remain unpublished. Readers may view this book as a companion volume to my earlier biography, with each one enhancing the other. Other historians have previously taken this tack, such as Stephen W. Sears’s admirable biography of George McClellan published in 1988, which he then followed up a year later with a volume of McClellan’s selected Civil War correspondence. More recently, Ron Chernow wrote an excellent biography of Ulysses S. Grant, then continued his Grant study a year later with a selection of the general’s wartime correspondence to his wife.3 3. Sears, George B. McClellan; and Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan; Chernow, Grant; and My Dearest Julia.

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preface

xv Orlando M. Poe (MOLLUSMassachusetts Civil War Photograph Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA)

Poe’s letters reveal a well-educated, cultured, keenly observant, and professional military man who was devoted to his family and country. He was not overtly religious, was well attuned to the social dictates of the era, and was apolitical, with little use for politicians, though he did obsess over professional advancement and perceived career sleights. By his own admission, Poe was a man who felt one’s actions should speak louder than one’s words. Yet as the Civil War progressed, he learned firsthand and often to his dismay how promotion and politics were intertwined—how his lack of political connections hurt him. Poe wrote letters constantly when he was away from home, which was not uncommon for soldiers who had ready access to pen and paper. If circumstances allowed, he often wrote daily to his wife during the Civil War. In almost every instance, his letters touch upon various family matters mentioned by Nell in her prior letters to him. Whenever possible, Poe pointed out to his wife that he was returning the letters he had just received (and read) from her so that she could preserve their joint correspondence for posterity. In those instances where much of a given letter speaks only of private family issues, yet still contains an important piece of military, social, or cultural observation, I have edited that letter to avoid mundane familial

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repetition, so noted at the beginning of a missive with the words “Edited for Clarity.” A three-dot ellipsis is utilized to indicate that I excised a section of a given letter. In addition, the editorial annotations between letters may include contextual references to Poe’s remarks written within letters not utilized in this book. For this volume, I have selected 241 letters written by Poe to Eleanor from the time of their 1860 marital engagement through the Civil War’s conclusion in 1865. Of those letters, 143 are from the 1863–64 timeframe, when Poe achieved his greatest fame as Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s chief engineer during the 1863 Knoxville Campaign and then as Sherman’s chief engineer during the 1864 Atlanta and March to the Sea Campaigns. All letters reflect what I believe to be the man’s essence, portray the integral eyewitness role he played in the Civil War, and offer a window into the nature of mid-nineteenthcentury husband-wife relationships and their concurrent social customs. Poe’s handwriting was quite fluid and legible. Since he was a well-educated man, his spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar are rarely a challenge for the modern reader, though they do occasionally reflect nineteenthcentury epistolary styling. Accordingly, very little editorial assistance was needed to make his letters fully comprehensible to today’s reader. Paragraph indentations are where Poe placed them. Underlined words are those that Poe underlined in his letters. Capitalization, or the lack thereof, is often expressive and therefore has been left as written per Poe’s handwriting. In those few instances where I have inserted a word or phrase for clarification, that addition is enclosed in brackets. I have also identified as many family members, friends, acquaintances, politicians, and military figures as possible within the text’s footnotes. Ranks and stations stated for those military men identified in the notes indicate the grade and post held by the soldier or seaman at the time of Poe’s letter.

In the world of music, an artist may create a “solo” album, yet there are always other musicians, sound engineers, and producers who assist in bringing that work to life. It is certainly no different in the book world. Accordingly, I want to offer a special thank you to Patrick Kerwin at the Library of Congress’s Manuscripts Division. Patrick’s suggestions and constant long-distance support were invaluable to this work’s completion. Equally helpful—and certainly enjoyable—were my interactions with Julie May of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Miller of Saint Louis, Missouri. Elizabeth is a direct descendant of Thomas L. Brent Jr., Eleanor Poe’s younger brother, and

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preface

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Julie is a direct descendant of Winifred Brent, Eleanor’s older sister. Their vast genealogical research into the Brent and Lyster family histories and gracious generosity in sharing their unpublished family letters and photographs with me was of immense value to this project. The anonymous scholars who reviewed the manuscript’s early drafts offered suggestions that proved invaluable. Their insightful analysis enriched this book significantly, and for that, I thank them heartedly for taking the time and effort from their schedules to critique this work. I also want to thank Earl J. Hess for his generosity in providing a thoughtful foreword to this book. Master cartographer Hal Jespersen created eight original maps illustrating Poe’s Civil War journey, for which I am both delighted and grateful. His maps identify those towns where Poe wrote from as well as those places and battles—many of which Poe witnessed or where his engineering work affected the outcome—mentioned within his letters or in the editor’s annotations. To conclude, I wish to express my gratitude yet again to now retired Acquiring Editor Will Underwood, Director Susan Wadsworth-Booth, and all of the staff at the Kent State University Press. This is my third book placed with their superb press. It is indeed a pleasure to work with people who consistently exhibit professional expertise, attention to detail, and high-quality production values. My sincere appreciation goes out to them for their desire to bring these important Civil War letters to the public. One innocuous remark by Poe in one of his letters to Eleanor always resonated with me. Prior to the commencement of the Civil War’s concluding 1865 Carolinas Campaign, Poe informed his wife that he had burned all of her letters to him still in his possession. He then instructed Eleanor to do likewise with all of his letters to her that she had purposely and carefully preserved over the years. We do not know why Poe felt that way. Historians should be grateful that young Eleanor ignored that particular instruction.4

4. O. M. Poe to Eleanor Poe, Jan. 24, 1865, Orlando M. Poe Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Hereafter referred to as Poe Papers, LC.

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Introduction

T

he adult life of Orlando Metcalfe Poe can serve as a case study of the early career-oriented professional; an employment concept that did not broadly exist when Poe entered the US Military Academy in 1852 but had become accepted and entrenched by the time he died in 1895. He was, by any measure, a man of his era. Poe was born into an average, middle-class farm home in Navarre, Ohio, in 1832, the eldest of five children born to Charles Poe (1807–52) and Susanna Warner Poe (1813–81). Like many young men of the era, he sensed that a martial spirit existed within the country, resulting in a yearning to attend West Point. Founded in 1802, by the 1850s that institution’s educational focus on engineering and mathematics had helped it develop a reputation of being one of the finest schools in the country. This was generated in large measure by the country’s growing demand for skilled civil engineers, surveyors, and mapmakers. Poe first applied for admission in February 1852 and was accepted later that fall at the relatively older, and therefore probably more mature, age of twenty. From day one he displayed the focus and purpose that would be a hallmark of his psyche throughout his life. The academy’s motto of “Duty—Honor—Country” became pillars of Poe’s essence.1 His few earliest-surviving letters from 1852 reveal political leanings toward the Whigs, a party whose core principles held that the educated and cultured elite of the United States should guide the masses forward. The Whigs—firm 1. Hope, Scientific Way of War, 246–47. Also see Morrison, “Best School in the World.”

1

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believers in self-restraint—stood in opposition to the common-man virtues espoused by the majority Jacksonian Democrats, who believed that every man, regardless of his social or economic station in life, had the innate ability to identify his own self-interests, which in turn would lead to the nation’s collective betterment. To the Whigs, this crass “mobocracy,” as they called it, had the danger of allowing base human desires to overshadow the higher faculties and values necessary for societal advancement. In writing to his cousin, Andrew Poe, penned at the time of his 1852 West Point admission, Poe displayed the foresight that would serve him well during the Civil War.2 He predicted: “It will not be twenty years until the parties will be changed into Northern and Southern. The Whig Party will merge into the former and the Democratic into the latter. I make this prophecy by means of a train of inference drawn from the course of the two parties in general.”3 Moreover, Poe proclaimed his refusal to be made a “man-catcher” by any law or decree, a reference to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which mandated a return of all runaway slaves to their owners, regardless of where they might be apprehended. Though declaring himself profoundly antislavery, Poe also expressed anger at being called “a damned abolitionist,” revealing an awareness that to be called an abolitionist in the early 1850s was not a badge of honor to most of Northern society. To most of the white North, being against slavery was not automatically synonymous with a belief in racial equality.4 After all, Northern businessmen were making fortunes acting as middlemen for Southern cotton, as textile factories in both Europe and the North required more of the raw fiber to keep up with the growing consumer demand. From their perspective, such important business interests had to be protected against those vocal abolitionist “crackpots” and “incendiaries,” who were apparently willing to see it all tumble down in order to elevate the black race.5 Poe’s youthful farm chores served him well by giving him a hearty physique and strength. Upon his 1856 West Point graduation, he stood at six feet two inches tall, six inches taller than the average Civil War–era soldier. Union general Jacob Cox later described Poe as “the model for a young ath2. Andrew Poe (1826–89) was Orlando Poe’s first cousin. Their fathers, Adam (1804–68) and Charles Poe, respectively, were two of eleven siblings. Seilhamer, “Fragmenta Genealogiae,” 203–4. Also see Adam Poe lineage at Ancestry.com; and Andrew Poe, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13792437/andrew-poe. 3. O. M. Poe to Andrew Poe, Sept. 21, 1852, Poe Papers, LC. The Whig Party imploded within a few years, soon replaced by the antislavery Republican Party. 4. O. M. Poe to Andrew Poe, Aug. 2, 16, 1852, Poe Papers, LC; Mitchell, Civil War Soldiers, 14. 5. Muelder, Theodore Dwight Weld and the American Anti-Slavery Society, 22.

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introduction

3

lete, tall, dark, and strong, with frank, open countenance.” With jet black hair, ramrod-straight physique, no-nonsense martial demeanor, and, as one junior officer wrote, “a very piercing almost wicked looking eye,” Poe was considered by many army privates as an officer not to be trifled with.6 Each year the top seven graduates at West Point were allowed to select what branch of the service in which they wished to serve, subject to availability. Poe was ranked sixth, which prompted him to choose the artillery, also called ordnance at the time. He believed that branch offered him the best chances for advancement, given that promotions in the antebellum army occurred at a glacial pace. Until August 1861 the army had no official retirement-pension system. This created a backlog of young, junior-grade officers awaiting promotion, with infirm or elderly senior officers often financially forced to remain in uniform until the day they died.7 For many professional soldiers and West Point graduates, serving in any scientific branch of the service was preferable to being relegated to the infantry. When Poe learned that the opportunities within the artillery were not as great as he first believed, he appealed to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to be allowed to switch to the topographical engineers.8 In the antebellum army, West Point engineers were divided into two distinct groups: topographical engineers and the elite regular engineers. The former group’s primary responsibility during wartime was reconnaissance and mapmaking. They surveyed the ground where the army was encamped as well as enemy positions, from which they would recommend marching and attack routes, and where the army should fortify. In peacetime the “topogs” essential mission was more in line with a civil engineer, as they were often assigned to survey the nation’s coastlines, harbors, lakes, and rivers with an eye toward enhancing navigation and commerce. Davis agreed to Poe’s request, and by the late fall of 1856, Poe was ordered to report to Detroit, Michigan, for duty as part of the Great Lakes Survey. He would live and work in Michigan from 1857 up to April 1861 and the start of the Civil War.9 6. Cox, Military Reminiscences, 1:19–20; Sears, For Country, Cause, & Leader, 118. 7. Newell and Shrader, Of Duty Well and Faithfully Done, 54–55; Coffman, Old Army, 58, 99. 8. Poe to Jefferson Davis, July 17, 1856, Orlando M. Papers, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant. Jefferson F. Davis (1808–89), best remembered as president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. He was also a US senator from Mississippi (1857–61) and served as US secretary of war (1853–57). O. M. Poe Papers, Clarke Historical Library. Also see Strode, Jefferson Davis, for analysis of Davis’s antebellum political career. 9. Congress authorized the “Hydrographical Survey of the Northern and Northwestern Lakes” in 1841 to prepare maps of the Great Lakes, their coastlines, and major connecting rivers as a means of enhancing commerce. In the twenty years between 1841 and the start

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my dear nelly

Though the topogs were held in very high regard, the antebellum and Civil War army’s regular engineers were considered the cream of the intellectual crop. Army regulars initially looked down their nose at the Union army’s volunteer engineer units, whose functions were more construction than design. By the start of 1863, however, the volunteers had earned the West Pointers’ respect.10 Despite his stern martial exterior, Orlando Poe was an emotional, sentimental man who also possessed a dry sense of humor. Nineteenth-century “manliness” allowed for displays of heartfelt and tender emotion, though always within the context of self-control and a display of civilized morality. A true man had to possess a firm grasp on how his emotions affected others. Genteel society, of which Poe considered himself part, viewed “manhood” as an achievement rather than a mere chronological point.11 All of these qualities are revealed in Poe’s private letters to his fiancée and then wife, Eleanor Carroll Brent Poe. Eleanor was born August 22, 1843, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. She was the second of four children born to Capt. Thomas Lee Brent and Jane (Wilkins) Brent of Detroit. Captain Brent was an esteemed West Point graduate—class of 1835—who had served honorably with the artillery during both the Seminole and the Mexican Wars. After Brent passed away from pneumonia while on quartermaster’s duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on January 13, 1858, his widow and children returned to Detroit to reside with Jane’s father, US District Judge Ross Wilkins.12 There was little doubt as to this relocation, for an older male relative was expected to be responsible toward female relatives in need lest he suffer loss of reputation and public standing.13 Poe was formally introduced to Eleanor in Detroit during the summer of 1859 by Lt. George Bayard, who was an army colleague and friend of both Poe and the Brent family. Bayard had come to know the Brents during their mutual time stationed at Fort Leavenworth. Poe was twenty-seven years old and Eleanor sixteen when they met; she was at an age for females

of the Civil War, Congress authorized over $640,000 toward the survey, more than for any other federal project. See U.S. Lake Survey, United States Lake Survey. 10. Malles, Bridge Building in Wartime, 45–46, 153, 349n. 11. Foote, Gentlemen and the Roughs, 56–57; Mitchell, “Soldiering, Manhood, and the Coming of Age,” 49–50. 12. Judge Ross Wilkins (1799–1872) served on the US district court in Michigan from the time of its statehood in 1837 until his retirement in 1870. 13. Brent, Descendants of Collo. Giles Brent, 164; Reed, Bench and Bar of Michigan, 160–61. Wilkin’s wife, Maria Duncan Wilkins, died in 1856.

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Eleanor Brent Poe—a previously unpublished image (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

that, within the era’s culture, held an almost mystical quality for romantics, the perfect blend of physical maturity and youthful innocence. That introduction by a third party was not coincidental but rather an essential part of antebellum courtship. A “respectable” young woman was not allowed to approach and introduce herself to an unmarried male who was not a close relative. The young man and woman had to be formally introduced by a third person, who, in essence, vouched for the good moral character of both the man and woman.14 Their respective ages and the eleven-and-a-half-year age difference between them—perhaps somewhat shocking to twenty-first-century sensibilities given Eleanor’s youth—was not uncommon for the pre–Civil War era. Young women were expected to begin seeking a suitable husband within their social class upon reaching adolescence, for a woman was defined in antebellum society primarily through her marriage and its attendant dependency as keeper of the home. Indeed, the entire point of formally introducing debutantes to society in their early teen years was to acquire a future husband. 14. Bayard, Life of George Dashiell Bayard, 141; Volo and Volo, Family Life in 19th-Century America, 38; Riegel, American Women, 86.

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my dear nelly

Even the era’s staunchest proponents of gender equality acknowledged that a woman’s primary focus should be her husband and family. Men, on the other hand, faced considerable anxiety, for they assumed the cultural responsibility of family provider upon saying “I do.” This need for him to project what was termed “a certain competency of means” had to be established with an appropriate occupation or inheritance; a husband’s failure to provide adequately equated to a loss of “manliness.” Antebellum financial dependency had no age constraints, but family “breadwinner” generally did.15 In most midwestern states young women were allowed to marry three or four years prior to young men, thus helping ensure a smooth transition as a dependent from one man’s household to another. Michigan, for example, allowed girls as young as fourteen to marry when it became a state in 1837, though it did require the parents’ permission if she was not yet eighteen years old. Nevertheless, most Northern women in the antebellum era tended to marry in their early twenties, which was on average four years later than their Southern counterparts. Furthermore, pragmatic considerations for marriage, such as suitability, wealth, and family name continuation (that is, fertility), were generally deemed more important by antebellum culture than notions of romantic love. Moreover, a purely romantic relationship was often discouraged by a young woman’s parents because even the merest hint of premarital sexual impropriety could create a public scandal that would leave the daughter unmarriageable. With no father in the Brent household to provide an income, and therefore obligated to reside in her grandfather’s eleven-resident household, there is little doubt that Eleanor’s family viewed Poe as a suitable and potential spouse, not because of their respective ages, but regardless of them.16 Poe’s letters to Eleanor, who was almost always referred to as “Nell” or “Nelly” by both her husband and her family, simply overflow with the flowery romantic prose endemic to the era. Poe admitted in an early letter to her that he was quite undemonstrative, as well as “proud, imperious, exacting, and unforgiving.” Two years later Poe reminded her that he possessed “a very forgiving disposition but not a very forgetting one.” Yet he always 15. Syrett, American Child Bride, 5–6, 56; Lystra, Searching the Heart, 142, 186; Riegel, American Women, 84; Volo and Volo, Family Life in 19th-Century America, 48; Rose, Victorian America and the Civil War, 149. 16. Syrett, American Child Bride, 17, 31–32, 45; Volo and Volo, Family Life in 19th-Century America, 37; Wayne, Women’s Roles in Nineteenth-Century America, 4. Wilkins’s full household included four servants. See 1860 Federal census, 3rd Ward, Detroit, Wayne County, MI, Ancestry.com.

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strove to keep those traits in check. He claimed his love for his future wife was “too pure to be paraded on all occasions,” indicative of the strong, silent male so often portrayed as part of the era.17 In young Eleanor, Poe had a wife and correspondent whose educational level was higher than most women of the era. She was born into a family who were firm believers in education for both men and women. Her paternal grandfather, William Brent Jr., was a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He ran a school for the sons of elite Virginians from the 1820s to the early 1840s and consequently taught his sons French, Latin, mathematics, and other subjects. His son, Thomas (Eleanor’s father), then went on to attend West Point. Eleanor’s mother, Jane, was also a well-educated woman who passed this value on to her children. Like practically all soldiers, Poe’s wartime letters to Nell consistently sought more correspondence from her while relaying his feelings of distant isolation. Readers will also note how, on occasion, he wrote to her using an instructional or gently scolding tone that modern readers might consider more fitting for a father to his daughter than for a husband to his wife. This was also not uncommon for the era, given the dominant patriarchal society, Eleanor’s youth, her worldly inexperience, and after December 1863, her newfound responsibility in caring for a newborn, all the while running a household on her own.18 It is almost impossible to overstate the importance that Civil War soldiers placed on letters from their loved ones back home. In return, many soldiers— and Poe was certainly no exception—wrote home as often as battlefield circumstances and access to pen and paper allowed. If Poe, or any soldier for that matter, wanted to relay some important piece of news, he often wrote of it in several successive letters in case one or more of them were somehow lost in transit. Meanwhile, each day’s mail call prompted every man’s heart to beat just a little quicker with the hope that a treasured word from home was in the offing. Like all soldiers, Poe relayed how buoyed he was when he received a new letter from Nell and how his heart sank when he returned to his tent emptyhanded. Union and Confederate officials and commanders were well aware of how important letters from home were to their soldiers’ morale and how homesickness could be almost as a dangerous to an army’s overall health as the enemy. One officer still noted almost seventy years after the Civil War ended, “Homesickness may well be the occupational disease of the American 17. Poe to Eleanor, Oct. 10, 1860; Sept. 21, 1862, Poe Papers, LC. 18. Rose, Victorian America and the Civil War, 158.

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my dear nelly

Union army mail wagon (National Postal Museum, Curatorial Photographic Collection)

soldier.” It is therefore of little surprise that Poe often wrote of his loneliness to his wife. To deal with such potential widespread melancholy, each unit often designated specific individuals as responsible for collecting and delivering mail. Specialized tents and wagons routinely served as mobile post offices. These letters from family provided an essential psychological link with loved ones and a citizen-soldier’s “normal” domestic life back home. Moreover, they gave him peace of mind if all was routine and secure in his family’s world. Unfortunately, if the family was struggling or in financial peril, such letters only added to a soldier’s worry and in many instances could lead to him deserting in order to go home. For the family, because newspaper information was often unreliable if not outright wrong, a letter from their man in uniform off in some faraway state provided them with a reasonably accurate representation of what was happening in his immediate world and, hopefully, his safety in it. This was why Poe wrote so much of his own travails and actions within his own letters rather than the grand movements of great armies. In reading Poe’s Civil War letters, his love and longing for his wife and family is obvious as well as his patriarchal role that men held at the time. Considering their age and life-experience differences, Poe’s admonitions and instructions to his young wife in the early years of their marriage are also quite apparent.19 19. Frank, Women in the American Civil War, 1: 257–58; Wiley, Life of Billy Yank, 189–90; McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 131–33; Dalessandro, Army Officer’s Guide, 311.

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Poe agonized over career advancement and often displayed considerable anger in his letters when other officers were promoted over him or when he felt he did not receive the recognition due him. He disparaged the army’s internal politics and the obvious role it played within promotions yet exhibited no hesitation in using whatever influence he possessed in order to promote himself. On those occasions when public acclaim did come his way, Poe showed little hesitation in displaying some peacock-like vanity to his wife, but then he cautioned her against showing such letters to the public or sharing his prideful sentiments with others. He knew that to be seen as tooting one’s own horn in public was viewed by his era’s genteel society as a considerable social faux pas. Poe’s sense of professional superiority was certainly not without merit, however. In the eighteen months from September 1861 to February 1863, when he set his engineering skills aside to hold regimental, brigade, and even temporary division commands within the Army of the Potomac’s infantry, he again earned the respect and admiration of his men and superiors, though the volunteer privates did not initially care much for his strict martial bearing. Throughout his professional life, he was considered by his colleagues to be a superb military and civil engineer as well as a master of the mathematic formulas necessary for such work. Poe’s longest and most insightful obituary observed that he was never happier than when deeply engaged in challenging mathematical analysis.20 When the Civil War started in April 1861, roughly 70 percent of the army’s professional officers were West Point graduates, including most of its senior commanders. In war West Point’s professionally trained engineers were the men who designed and oversaw construction of permanent garrisons, field fortifications, breastworks, and siege works. They also designed trestle and pontoon bridges, oversaw corduroy road construction through fields or swamps, kept existing roads passable, and determined whether and how captured enemy works could best be converted to their own army’s use. It was these engineers who also planned and oversaw the destruction of enemy resources—such as railroads, foundries, and factories—in the most expeditious manner. When the topographical and regular engineers were consolidated in March 1863, such distinctions vanished.21

20. Detroit Free Press, Oct. 3, 1895. 21. Newell and Shrader, Of Duty Well and Faithfully Done, 51; Public Resolution No. 57, Mar. 3, 1863, US War Department, War of the Rebellion, ser. 3, 3:93–94 (hereafter cited as O.R., all references are to series 1 unless otherwise stated).

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It must be noted, however, that in the antebellum and Civil War era, the term “engineer” was also given to those skilled workmen who operated machinery as well as to the West Point–trained “professional engineer.” This joint usage of the same descriptor caused no confusion to those engaged.22 Poe carried out each and every one of those specialized, professional duties during the Civil War. The five campaigns in which he served as his army’s chief engineer were all decisive Union victories.23 Every commanding general he served under—whether George Meade,24 George McClellan, Philip Kearny, Ambrose Burnside, or William T. Sherman—all sang his praises and formally recommended him for promotion without hesitation. His colleagues on General Sherman’s staff described him as “a man of genius,” “sensible, judicious . . . and thorough,” as well as “a man of marked ability.”25 What ego and pride Poe may have possessed as a natural part of his psyche was only reinforced by the four years he spent at West Point. The academy’s motto of “Duty—Honor—Country” was repeatedly drilled into the young cadets along with the belief that they were acquiring talents and culture not held by average men. In a society that disdained the idea of a permanent standing army while glorifying the unprofessional citizen-soldier, Americans admitted that their West Point–trained officer cadre possessed not only the functional skills they acquired as engineers or topographers but also the necessary martial expertise required to lead those citizen-soldiers in time of war. Thus, an acquired byproduct for the academy’s graduates was a sense of professional elitism. Poe was fully immersed in this growing culture of “the professional”; he became a man whose immense engineering expertise was matched only by his professional pride. He displayed no hesitation in touting any acclaim sent his way, but he only did so in the privacy of his own letters to and conversations with his wife.26 Religion did not appear to play a significant role in Poe’s life. In an early letter to Eleanor, he referred to “churchgoing” only as “an agreeable duty.” He had little use for public servants, including men of the cloth, for Poe believed their actions often stood in sharp contrast to their lofty words. He and much of refined mid-nineteenth-century society considered a man’s honor 22. Calhoun, American Civil Engineer, x; Merritt, Engineering in American Society, 5. 23. Those campaigns were Rich Mountain (1861), Knoxville (1863), Atlanta (1864), the March to the Sea (1864), and the March through the Carolinas (1865). 24. Then Capt. George G. Meade served as head of the Great Lakes Survey from 1857 to 1860 and was Poe’s immediate superior. See Warner, Generals in Blue, 315–17. 25. Nichols, Story of the Great March, 44; Howe, Marching with Sherman, 131; Tidball, “On General Sherman’s Staff as Aide-de-Camp, 1881–1884,” John C. Tidball Papers, 65. 26. Hsieh, West Pointers and the Civil War, 2–3.

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and character to be his most important possession and a type of transcendent wealth. Character was noble willpower, tempered by self-restraint, and coupled with principled actions and a devotion to truth. A commitment to these traits abound in Poe’s letters to Eleanor. Beyond that, there is little, if anything, in his writings to indicate an intense spiritual path. This is not surprising considering his early years spent at West Point. The Episcopalian faith that was dominant at the academy’s chapel melded nicely with the army’s need for bonding and fellowship. “Getting along” was essential in the tightly bound army fraternity.27 Religion and race posed very few contradictions to most whites of the middle and late nineteenth century. In fact, virtually all mid-nineteenth-century white Americans, North or South, would be considered racists when examined through the lens of current twenty-first-century values. Much, if not most of white society’s antislavery convictions did not equate to a belief in racial equality. Prior to the Civil War’s commencement, only a relatively small handful of antislavery abolitionists believed in true racial equality, and they were generally regarded by polite society as agitators and troublemakers. In the context of the antebellum era, white society’s acceptance of its inherent superiority was simply taken for granted, due in large measure to the scientific, technological, and cultural progress that white European and North American civilization had generated compared to other races and ethnicities. Poe was certainly no different in this regard. A handful of his Civil War and postwar letters reveal a commonly held and matter-of-fact racist perspective toward African Americans, Mexicans, and Native Americans. In this regard he was simply a man of his time.28 Orlando M. Poe’s Civil War letters to his wife offer a bird’s-eye view of the front lines of some of the Civil War’s most hard-fought military battles and campaigns, all written by a man whose engineering work and advice to his superiors played an integral role in his army’s ultimate victory. His chesslike prescience in correctly predicting the Confederates’ upcoming moves is often striking. In addition, they serve as a social-history lens into the midnineteenth century’s perspectives on “manliness,” duty, and domesticity as well as the marital dynamic between a soldier and his wife and how the home front and battlefield affected each other.

27. Poe to Eleanor Brent, Oct. 9, [1860], Poe Papers, LC; Orlando M. Poe, “On Character,” Folder 3, Box 16, Poe Papers, LC; Volo and Volo, Family Life in 19th-Century America, 49. 28. Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 230–31, 264–65.

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my dear nelly

one

R “This Is a Holy War” From the Great Lakes to Regimental Command, October 3, 1860–December 26, 1861

A

fter his West Point graduation, Poe was ordered on September 19, 1856, to report for duty to Lt. Col. James Kearney at Detroit to be part of the U.S. Great Lakes Survey. Michigan and its Great Lakes thus became Poe’s home up until the start of the Civil War.1 The following letter is the earliest-known surviving correspondence from Poe to Eleanor. They were introduced in Detroit in the summer of 1859 and were recently engaged by the time of this letter. (1) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Grand Haven [Michigan] Oct. 3rd / [18]60 My dear Nelly, After one of the most tedious rides I ever was compelled to take, I have reached this detestable port, and taken room at a “tavern.”—If there is any language capable of expressing sufficiently the disgust I feel, from my first impressions of G.H. [Grand Haven] may I be imbued with its spirit that it may find utterance whenever this place is alluded to. And here does fate doom me to pass the next few weeks. It would not be so bad, were you here—for then, methinks the town and its surroundings would be but of little moment. Judging from my feelings this evening, it will be the merest chance that I do not render myself ridiculous from the number of visits made [to] Detroit. 1. Orders to Poe, Sept. 19, 1856, Orlando M. Poe Papers, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan Univ., Mt. Pleasant.

12

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from the great lakes to regimental command

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Imagine all the sand you ever saw. Then try to imagine a hundred times as much more. Then more sand—ad libitum, and pile it up in big piles, and you may form some idea of the topography hereabouts (We must speak topographically now.)—Then if you can, imagine the effect of a windy day. Eyes full, mouth full, nose and ears full, & all of sand. As yet, nothing has been done to further the object of my visit, beyond putting on an air of importance, using big words, and creating an immense sensation among the natives hereabouts. It is known that an observatory is to be located here, and the excitement may yet be too much for G.H.-ites. The most ludicrous remarks are made about it, and one man thinks it will be a very good idea, if the thing don’t “blow up.” It is new and strange to me this feeling I experience in writing to you— my promised wife. Yet I hope I am fully impressed with the importance of the step we have both taken, in solemnly pledging ourselves to each other. I know the oath before the man of God can no more bind me to you than I am now. I don’t know how to express it—but I feel as though the sacred ceremony had actually been performed—so high is my respect for you—so little of the Earth is there in its nature. I can say these things now—for there can be no taint of flattery in a single word of what is written, neither am I willing to believe there can be anything ridiculous in the love I here give. The sentiment is too holy for that.—My dear, you may or may not have noticed that in my nature I’m extremely undemonstrative. If the former—don’t suppose that—I don’t feel as sensitively as if I acted otherwise. My love for you is too pure and unaffected to be paraded upon all occasions—and if I have been led rather far on this, a very slight check from you will prevent future transgressions in that direction. In writing or talking to each other let us be frank and clear, it will save us many a heart burning. Let us at once establish between ourselves as perfect confidence as if we were already married. I’m satisfied it is our most judicious course, and one we will never regret. Don’t be afraid at any time to say to me just what you think. Doubtless it will sometimes be bitter to hear it, but it will be better in the end. I will write often, if only ten lines, and I beg you to do the same. If you don’t hear from me as regularly as you think you ought, don’t think that I neglect you, but depend upon it. There is good reason for my silence. Or if I write too frequently, don’t become impatient with my importunity, but remember that I’m alone, and always thinking of you. Let us be tolerant with each other, in everything, for a measure of our happiness lies therein. Above all, let us each study the other’s disposition, & nature, and as completely as we can conform ourselves accordingly, for a lifetime of pleasure or of woe

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depends upon it. I believe we both have a juster idea of the obligations we are assuming than the majority of those who marry. Let us never for one moment forget those obligations, but always keeping them in view, live for each other. My Nelly, I have high hopes of our future, for I believe our marriage will be one, not only in the sight of men, but in that of God, wherein will be found the peace of our lives. My love to you all Yours Orlando M. Poe My address will be Grand Haven Michigan (2) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Oct 9th, 1860 My dear Nelly, Last evening I was delighted to receive your letter of the 6th—and the more so—that I hardly hoped for it before this evening. Your promptness, evincing, as it does, the feeling which should now actuate us both, is extremely gratifying. But more than all am I obliged to you for the expressions of regard you make. A man is always proud to inspire respect & love, how much more so when he is convinced that such are the sentiments of his chosen wife. No one in the world is more fully acquainted with the total heartlessness and want of true affection to be found in many a wedded life than I am, and there is nothing which would more completely crush me than to find that such was the case in my own. With a deep sense of what was necessary to conduce to the happiness of married life, I sought you, because I knew that I loved you, and I did not doubt but any love you professed for me, would be profoundly felt. I believed in your truth and constancy, in your power to make me happy, in your goodness & your womanly virtues, and I am convinced a single doubt will never cross my mind. As for the faults you mention, which I will be likely to find in you, I can only say that it would be impossible to so completely blind me with love as to make me insensible to them. Neither of us is by any means perfect. I imagine we are very much like other human beings, and forbearance will be a virtue to be cultivated by both of us. But my dear Nelly—with a proper spirit to urge us on, with faith in each other, and a determination to work out our own happiness, our faults in each other’s eyes, will sink into insignificance, and since our manifest duty is to live for each other, we need care but little for the faults which others see in us. We are not going to escape the gossip & criticism of those whom we

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meet, and ten thousand faults invisible to ourselves will be reported of us. Let us pay no attention to such gossip and we will not be sorry for it. I know that there are many real faults in my character; that I am proud, imperious, exacting, and unforgiving, but it shall be my care that none of these traits shall ever give you annoyance. I have smothered them as much as I can and hope that I shall always have them under control. But of these you can judge, you have always seen me as I really am. I have never more than one plan, which was supposed to be admirable when conceived, was impossible for me to perform. I thought I would have a nice opportunity to say what I had to say. The day we went out riding—yet when the time came, I said nothing. So also, on the Sunday evening we went to church, and so it would have continued for a long time, had I not adopted the happy expedient which proved effectual. You women have the pleasure of saying yes, or no, and it gives you no trouble, but the men have to rack their brains for expedients, by giving rise to which an opportunity will be offered for you to refuse them. After writing the above I went to church, and heard, contrary to my expectation, a very good sermon, preached from one of my favorite chapters, the 15th of 1st Corinthians. The preacher was an old Scotchman, and had everybody supplied with a Bible, requesting each person to follow him in his references from place to place in the Scriptures. This he said, was in Scotch style, but be that as it may, it is a style which I like, and if universally adopted would prevent some of the abominable misquotation which is sometimes indulged in from what ought to be the “Sacred desk.” A more gloomy and disagreeable day I never saw. Fog and rain prevail and the sun seems to have tired of shining, and found something else to do. Please tell the Judge that I saw in the “Free Press,” a copy of his letter to the Union convention, and deem it one of the prettiest and most appropriate I ever saw on any occasion. What a rebuke was given there, to our elective judiciary! It is sometimes said that the judge is growing into his dotage. Never, so long as he can write such letters.2 I can scarcely wait until tomorrow evening for I will then expect to get a letter from you, in answer to my first. Though if you have written today and do not put your letter in the Post office until tomorrow, I will not get it before the day after. Sometimes I fear that your hand may have been so sore as to prevent you writing at all, though I hope not for it would be bad indeed and cause you much suffering. I know, before it would entirely prevent you from writing. 2. Judge Ross Wilkins in Detroit Free Press, Oct. 4, 1860. The Detroit Free Press was Detroit’s (as well as Michigan’s) leading Democratic newspaper during the Civil War era. It dates its origins to 1839.

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my dear nelly

Please remember me to all at your home. Tell Miss Brent jr. that I insist upon marrying her, and that no fancies of hers for Mr. Beckham3 will be tolerated. I have written nine letters today and am consequently rather tired. Goodbye my dear and God bless you. Yours Orlando M. Poe (3) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Oct 10th, 1860 My dear Nelly, I’m more and more gratified in your promptness in writing to me. This is as it should be. I wrote you a small volume last night—part of it, after the receipt of your letter of Sunday evening. In the one before me, you mention having written on Saturday and, again, on Sunday, but add that I “will not lose much if neither is received.” My dear, you were never more mistaken in your life. It would have been a great loss to me, for I never saw a more beautiful letter, nor one calculated to make me half so happy as yours of Sunday. Upon read[ing] it, I felt more than I ever can explain. I tried to answer it, but I fear much that I made but a poor attempt. It was a good, hearty, and wife-like letter, such as many another I expect to get from you. I’m sorry that my inveighings against G.H. should have made you feel so badly. Don’t be uneasy about me now—if you will only write me letters such as that of Sunday, I will be perfectly content during my stay at this place. This is one of the most terrible nights I ever saw upon the Lakes. I pity all poor sailors for they will have a hard time during the next twelve hours. The Wide Awakes4 are having a grand torch light procession and Mr. Chandler5 is enlightening the inhabitants hereof upon the political topics of the day. What nonsense! 3. Most likely Robert F. Beckham (1837–64), West Point class of 1859, who served alongside Poe on the Great Lakes Survey and later served in the Confederate army. Also see chapter 7, note 62. 4. The “Wide Awakes” were a semisecret Republican political marching club that emerged across the North in support of Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 presidential campaign. Clad in matching glazed black capes and caps, their martial appearance appealed strongly to young men primarily in their teens, twenties, and thirties. See Grinspan, “Young Men for War.” 5. Zachariah Chandler (1813–79) was mayor of Detroit in 1851 and a founding member of the Republican Party in 1854. He was elected to the US Senate in 1857 and served in that office until 1875. During the Civil War years, Chandler was a powerful leader of the “Radical Republicans,” who argued for immediate emancipation and a harsh prosecution of the war against both Confederate soldiers and civilians. See George, Zachariah Chandler.

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I’m certainly much obliged to the Judge for his good opinion of me. If you have not already delivered to him the message I sent, please say nothing about it, as it would be well enough not to imperil that good opinion by seeming flattery. I wonder what M. Smith would say if he knew the contents of the letters now passing between us. He would probably decide them “spoony,” as he call[s] it. But I don’t care, if it is ridiculous to experience a sincere and heartfelt affection for a good & true woman, then I’m ridiculous and it can’t be helped—and Smith must have his laugh. I’ll bribe him to quietness by proffering him a groomsman’s position one of these days. The grand observatory approaches completion, and the anxiety of the natives, concerning the proper adjustment of the safety valves, still continues. Before many days I hope to be able to give them the only glimpse they will ever have, of a better world. Without being at all anxious about the dog, I hope you will do as you say and speak of him in every letter. Nelly, I sometimes fear that I made a great mistake in offering the dog to Tom,6 and then half giving him to the rest of the family. I don’t know how sensitive Tom is, but it appeared to me that night as if his feelings were hurt. I hope not. Under any other circumstances I would not have committed such an error, but for the last day or two that I was in Detroit I was scarcely responsible for myself, delight with my success, and the prospect of happiness, first casting its beams over all my future life being an almost too much for me. Aunt Maria7 must be under a terrible fit of disgust. I would advise Mr. N. if he cares anything about his eyes to keep away from her. Should she get into a scratching humor someday there’s no telling what ill might befall him, poor fellow! She’d soon disfigure him. I hope I may be able to go over to Detroit to see the effect of the “great preparations being made at the Chester’s.” I know that there are to be nine flowers on each bridesmaid’s dress, and have heard all the other details but they have escaped my memory. The important affair will certainly come off before long, say next week Thursday morning. This morning the sky has cleared off and everything looks much more cheerful. In Tuesday’s letter I told you that I thought I might be at Detroit on Saturday. I now think it extremely doubtful, though it is not yet impossible, provided a happy conjunction of circumstances is brought about. Bulletin No. 3 6. Most likely Thomas Lee Brent (1845–80), younger brother of Eleanor. Also see chapter 7, note 61. 7. Maria Duncan was Nell’s aunt, the younger sister of Nell’s mother, Jane Wilkins Brent.

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The king’s health is good. I’m much obliged to the “family” for their love, as sent in your last, provided always that they knew it was being sent. Good bye. Yours, Orlando M. Poe (4) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Grand Haven [Michigan] Oct 12 1860 My dear, I had excellent luck yesterday, getting all my instruments up and today I expect to get my telegraphic connection made. Of this there is good hope, and if I succeed I will spend tomorrow evening with you. If anything happened making it impossible for me to come I will write—of course. I saw Mr. Chandler this morning, and was invited to a “little” party at his house on Monday evening. If I come to Detroit and find that you are going to Chandler’s also, I will probably stay and go with you. If you do not go, I certainly will not go. I have only time to write these few words before the train leaves. Yours Orlando M. Poe As 1861 dawned, Poe was still stationed in Detroit as part of the Great Lakes Survey team. He sensed civil war was on the horizon well before many other notable personalities who later achieved Civil War fame. As a native Ohioan, Poe wrote to Ohio governor William Dennison on January 10, 1861, offering to resign his regular-army commission in order to garner a more substantial position with the Ohio State Militia. Dennison demurred, not yet seeing the danger but thanking Poe for the offer.8 When George McClellan9 was later appointed head of the state’s armed forces following the rebellion’s commencement, he immediately asked the War Department to transfer Poe to his command. The two men had never met, but McClellan, like Poe, was an engineer and West Point graduate. He knew instinctively that Poe’s topographical training would serve him well.

8. Poe to William Dennison, Jan. 10, 1861, Poe Papers, LC. 9. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan (1826–85), West Point class of 1846. Warner, Generals in Blue, 290–92.

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Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

(5) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress State House, Columbus [Ohio] April 11th 1861 My dear, Enclosed you’ll find a copy of the bill now before the legislature of this glorious state. It has passed the Senate and will pass the House tomorrow. You will notice that it appropriates one million dollars for war purposes. I have had one interview with the governor, and am to meet him and his staff in council to-night. Two thousand men have been required at once for the defense of Washington. The telegraphic dispatch was [received] this morning and the troops leave tomorrow night. Quick work that. Show the enclosed bill to the “judge.” My love to you all, and above all to yourself. Orlando M. Poe

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my dear nelly

On April 12, Confederate land batteries opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter located in Charleston harbor, South Carolina. The garrison was forced to surrender the following day. On April 15 President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer militia to serve three months. Most everyone thought hostilities would not last any longer than that. The Civil War had begun. (6) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus [Ohio], April 18th 1861 My dear Since writing to you this morning, I have received orders for secret service. I leave for Cincinnati in a quarter of an hour. I will return here within a day or two. Let everything I write you remain with yourself and Mrs. Brent alone. Say nothing about this trip. Yours Orlando M. Poe (7) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus, April 19th 1861 My dear, I will leave Columbus on the 3 o’clock train to-morrow morning for Massillon.10 The Secy. of War [Simon Cameron] has refused to detail me for service here or to extend my leave of absence. I left here at 2 o’clock yesterday for Cincinnati, and was in that city about five hours—getting back here at 3½ o’clock this morning. I will remain in the Govs’ office until the last moment that I can spare. All are excited by the news from Baltimore.11 To-day the legislature passed a bill punishing treason against the State.12 No man dare talk secession here now. By this time next week Ohio will have ten thousand men in the field. I have just come from the campground and am cabining under a strong a fit of disgust at the appearance of volunteers. They will look better before long.13 10. Massillon, Ohio, is in Stark County in the northeastern part of the state, about fifty miles south of Cleveland and eight miles west of Canton. 11. That morning, April 19, 1861, a prosecessionist mob in Baltimore attacked elements of the 6th Massachusetts Militia as the troops passed through the city on their way to defend Washington. See Ezratty, Baltimore in the Civil War. 12. “An Act to Punish Treason and Other Crimes,” Acts of the State of Ohio, 110. 13. Like almost all West Pointers and professionally trained military men, Poe initially held a condescending view toward the volunteer citizen-soldier. For example, West Point graduate and future Poe superior Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman wrote in August 1861 that the volunteers “may eat their rations and go on Parade, but when danger comes they will

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I suppose I will be in Detroit on Tuesday morning, but may not get there until Wednesday. My regards to all. With love to yourself / I am yours O. M. P. (8) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus O. April 29th 1861 My dear, After a very dreary day yesterday—spent in Cleveland, I reached here this noon. As yet I have been assigned to no duty owing to the absence of Genl. McClellan, but as he is expected back to-night I can expect to be soon set at something. The Gov. has just intimated to me the nature of that duty, and I can assure you I will have my hands full. Last night—in Cleveland, I called upon Miss Julia Terry, and judging from the remarks of a youth, aged about nine, who appeared to be perfectly posted upon family secrets, and had no hesitancy about divulging them to the public. I should think that the Terry’s fully expected Mr. Beckham to marry Miss Julia. We will see. I visited Camp Taylor14 yesterday—and had the ill luck to see a man shot. He was a volunteer, and was injured by a ball from a pistol in the hands of a comrade, an accident of course, but the man was badly hurt and [having] been told that it was by accident did not seem to revive him much. At Cleveland, there are in camp 4500 men—at this city 8100, and at Cincinnati about 3500, making a total of over 16,000 men, already encamped exclusive of the two regiments which have gone east. 80,000 men have been tendered to the Gov’t and there would be but little difficulty experienced in raising an army of 100,000 men in this state alone. The camps present a most motley appearance, and altogether would disgust you with their want of discipline and utter disregard of that “Divinity that doth hedge about” officers.15 My love to you all but particularly to yourself. I hope that my dear sister

be sure to show the white feather.” This early prejudice was washed away by the end of the war. Simpson and Berlin, Sherman’s Civil War, 132. 14. Camp Taylor was a Cleveland training facility for new Union recruits. It was created in mid-April 1861 following President Lincoln’s call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to subdue the rebellion. It closed in October 1861. 15. Poe paraphrased a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, act 4, scene 5: “There’s such divinity doth hedge a king,” meaning to protect or shield.

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my dear nelly

Unpublished Civil War–era image of Winifred Lee Brent, O. M. Poe’s sister-in-law. (Julie C. May Collection, West Chester, PA)

Winnie16 is better. Tell her she cannot delight me more than by adding to your letters, whenever her health will permit. O. M. Poe I go to Cincinnati tonight. Direct to me at this Columbus place. (9) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Cincinnati [Ohio], April 30th 1861 My dear, I write you in a great hurry in order that you may know my address. I have scarcely time to say anything more than God bless you, for I’m overwhelmed with work. I now see very plainly that I will have all I can attend two for the next few weeks. If at any time you should fail to hear from me for over three weeks, don’t imagine the mails have gone wrong, as the silence will be caused by matters of more importance than letter writing. I begin to see more clearly through the mists than I did when I left Detroit, but am not at liberty to write anything more. Since yesterday I have been offered the colonelcy of two different regi16. Winifred Lee Brent (1842–1930), Eleanor’s older sister, born March 15, 1842, was also known as “Winnie” or “Win.” See Brent, Descendants of Collo. Giles Brent, 172.

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ments, in one case that Col. offering to resign in my favor, and then go as my Lt. Col. But I have no fancy for such duty, and much prefer that position which I will probably occupy on Genl. McClellan’s staff. Direct your letters to me, in care of Burnet House Cincinnati Ohio. My love to you all and believe me yours, O. M. Poe It is nobody’s business but your own—and those in the house with you[—] where I am, or what I am doing. (10) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus O. May 1st 1861 My dear, After another somerset17 I turn up in Columbus again, having reached here to-night. I have just finished a long consultation with Genl. McClellan and am much better advised concerning future movements. He has formally applied to the War Dept. to have me detailed as a member of his staff, and promises me in case his application is successful the position (rank & pay) of not less than Lieut. Col. & Chief Topl. Eng.—and thinks he will be able to give me a colonelcy.18 This position becomes important when we remember that McClellan will rank next to Genl. Wool,19 and will command all the troops of the West and Northwest, which now number fifty thousand men and will be largely increased. It all seems like a dream to me, I can’t realize it, and often I have misgivings concerning my ability to fill so important a station, but I will give myself a fair and complete trial before I finally decide. On to-morrow I start for a somewhat lengthened trip to those counties which border on the Ohio River. I will write you frequently, tho’ I don’t expect to have time to write long letters, nor give you any information concerning my address, further than I have already written you. Nell—there is something extremely exciting about all this. One feels as though he were really amongst men and likely to take a part in manly deeds. This is no child’s play, as more than one excited step and fevered look fully 17. Alternative of somersault, as in a complete turn or reversal. 18. McClellan formally requested Poe’s assignment to his staff on April 27, 1861. Sears, Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, 14. 19. Maj. Genl. John E. Wool (1784–1869). At age seventy-seven when the Civil War began, Wool was the oldest general officer in the army. He commanded the Department of the East until August 1861.

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my dear nelly

shows. As McClellan remarked to me this evening, it is much better than managing Rail Roads and adding up columns of dollars & cents.20 We recd. twelve thousand muskets today, and will get five thousand more tomorrow. These will serve for the present, but of course we will be receiving more all the time. It is now about one o’clock and I am very nearly worn out. My love to you all. Yours, O. M. Poe Prior to what became the Rich Mountain Campaign in western Virginia, McClellan sent Poe off on a ten-day reconnaissance along the Ohio River to map out roads and bridges and to gauge resident sentiments within the Kanawha Valley. The general was impressed with Poe’s report, and it formed the basis for the upcoming campaign.21 McClellan’s trust in the young officer’s abilities never wavered, prompting Poe to repay that professional respect by identifying himself as a McClellan man, an alliance that would come back to haunt him over the next year and a half. (11) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus O. May 2nd 1861 My dear, I have just recd a telegram from Washington relieving me from further duty on the Lake Survey, and directing me to report for duty to Maj. Genl. Geo. B. McClellan. It is now 11½ at night, and at 4 in the morning I will go south on secret duty.22 It is perfectly glorious—this feeling that one has, that he knows what is known to but half a dozen others in the world, and that his duties are of the highest importance. No “peeking” at stars now, no winding up chronometers, but a struggle amongst men where the superior intellect must tell. This is a Holy War, and I enter upon its realities with a feeling which our dear sister Winnie may well call enthusiastic.—Nell, I wish you could see what I have experienced within the last few days. Men from all parts of the state—gray headed venerable men—come and take me by the hand, and wish me Godspeed, in my efforts to contribute my mite in support of our Govt. They go home, and tell their friends that the Poe’s are yet upon 20. McClellan served as an executive with the Illinois Central Railroad in the years prior to the Civil War. See Rafuse, McClellan’s War, 68–69. 21. See McClellan, Report on the Organization and Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, 5–36. 22. Poe, “Minutes of a Reconnaissance Made by Lt. O. M. Poe, U.S. Topographical Engrs between May 2nd and 12th, 1861,” Filson Historical Society, Louisville, KY.

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the side of progress and truth, that not one of them but has conducted himself so as to gain the confidence of good men. Is not such a reputation worth striving for? I think it is, and I will not be the first to fail. Do you realize that we cannot, for some time at least, see each other on each afternoon, as we have done? At these times I always think particularly of you, and you may rest assured the time will not soon come when I will fail to do so.

“Poe’s Ohio, with the Route of His Reconnaissance of May 2–12, 1861”

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my dear nelly

Had it not been for this war, we would probably be married now, but I suppose it is better as it is or else it would not have been so ordered. I don’t know where I may write from next, but will write at my first stopping place. Tell Winnie not to neglect writing some in your letters. I hope she is better, indeed well, for I want her to watch the events of the next two months. They are laden with Fate. My love to you all and especially to yourself. Yours O. M. Poe (paper scarce) (12) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Pomeroy, Meigs Co. Ohio May 7th 1861 My dear, Having, at last, a few minutes I will devote them to you. I left Columbus on last Friday morning by cars and Cincinnati the same evening by the fast sailing steamer Boston, on duty along the Ohio River. I’ve undergone all the hardships of a military campaign, and as yet have not acquired a particle of glory. On Saturday evening I reached Ironton O. where I remained all night, and on Sunday morning started by buggy to go to Proctorsville (sic), but could only get halfway when I was compelled to get a horse and ride the balance of the way, carrying before me on the horse, my carpet sack, and quietly submit to a soaking rain. This day I saw the first secession flag, which was at the mouth of Big Sandy River, which divides Virginia & Kentucky. It was on the Virginia side of Sandy. Kentucky as yet, was showing the Stars & Stripes. Nothing would have given me greater pleasure, than to have pulled down that secession flag, but a due regard for my health, and the consciousness of being on a more important mission prevailed over my rashness, and I still preserve my scalp. Since then I have become accustomed to the site of the vile things. People may say what they please of South Western Virginia, it is going to vote for secession. All Free state men, as well as those Virginians who have a strong union feeling are leaving in droves for Ohio, and other Free states. All these men breathe vengeance. They say they will first place their families in safety, and then devote themselves to the service of the U.S. until this matter is settled. On Sunday night I staid at Proctorsville, which is the extreme southern point of Ohio. Opposite this town stands Guyandotte,23 which is all for secession. The Union safety committee knew that I was coming, and five of them stood guard over the house where I stopped, not knowing but 23. In 1861 Guyandotte, Virginia, was a small village situated across the Ohio River from Proctorville, Ohio. Today it is a historic neighborhood located within the city of Huntington, West Virginia. The state of West Virginia was created in 1863.

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the secessionists might suspect me, and attempt violence. The safety committee was composed of very determined looking men, all of them being grey headed and hardened by their calling as boatmen on the Ohio & Mississippi rivers. My host was a member of the committee named Wilgus, and although a very rough uncouth man, yet he was possessed of a vast amount of sound, practical sense, and I really derive pleasure from hearing him talk. The population of Guyandotte, is made up of a vile set, indeed it is composed almost entirely of horse thieves and murderers, but if they dare to cross the Ohio river they will be warmly received. Yesterday morning when I left Proctorsville, Mr. Wilgus, and another member of the committee accompanied me ten miles. They were both armed to the teeth, and no nonsense about either of them. We were all on horseback, and the rain pelted us finely, giving me a severe ducking, and consequent cold, from which I now suffer. At a town called Millersport [sic], I left my horse, and took a steamboat to Gallipolis, the county seat of Gallia County, where I staid all night, coming up here today by steamboat. This is the county seat of Meigs County, and is quite a thriving town of some five thousand inhabitants. I don’t expect to leave here before morning though I may do so. I go to Marietta next. If you take your map, and trace out my route you will find that I have moved over a good deal of ground. When I was in Columbus on last Thursday, I fully expected a letter from you supposing that you had written on either Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday after I left, but was sadly disappointed in not finding the coveted letter. I hope for better luck when I go to Cincinnati again. I have written too, to Massillon for the one you sent there, for I intend to lose none of them if I can help it. From my window I can look over into Virginia, and right into a perfect nest of secessionists, and before I leave here I will know what they are doing, or I am much mistaken. You can form no idea of the intense excitement along this border. It would require but very little to set all hands to cutting each other’s throats. The Ohioans would invade Virginia in a moment, indeed, it is with difficulty that they are now restrained. And the Virginians are scared—they may bluster as much as they please and talk all kinds of big talk, but on this line they are scared. The prestige of Old Virginia is gone, and her people feel it. Her rash secession will never meet her fortunes. She has a bitter future before her, and in her great struggle she is so blinded that she refuses to be in the right. Let all stand from under her wreck—for it will surely come. In Ironton—the gentleman with who I conferred was a Mr. Campbell,24 a 24. Most likely John Campbell (1818–91), founder of Ironton, who became extremely wealthy in the iron business. His home served as a safe house on the Underground Railroad.

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man of immense wealth, indeed he himself told me he was worth five hundred thousand dollars. Mr. C. and a Mr. George accompanied me from Columbus to Ironton. Mr. George, who is a lawyer, slyly and kindly intimated to me that Mr. C. had a daughter who would inherit her father’s property, and whose affections were as yet disengaged, and advised me to make an effort to secure both daughter, and money. I told him that these were troublous times and I had no time in which to do courting. He thought it would pay to take time, when I struck out in the heroic strain and soon convinced him that at present I belonged to my country. I didn’t mention you, but I thought, all the time, that there was another who had some claim upon all the love I have. Nell, I sometimes wish we had been married before I left Detroit. I thought of it and looked at it in every point of view, and I thought finally that we had better not be, hence I said nothing about it, and now I often think it would have been better otherwise. It is too late now. Capt. Meade25 has some papers belonging to me, and I am going to write to Lyster26 to get them, and give them to you, and I wish you to keep these until we meet again. I would let them remain in the Capt.’s hands, but he will probably soon leave Detroit. The papers are of some importance to both of us. With love to you all, and particularly yourself. I am yours &c27 / Orlando M. Poe I hope Miss Winnie has entirely recovered by this time. Please remember me particularly to her. O. M. P. (13) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Woodsfield / Manor Co. Ohio May 10th / 61 My dear, I have wandered far up into the region of hills and have reached this village which the inhabitants thereof dignify with the name of a county town. I had supposed that I had seen all the most miserable places in the country— but Woodfield was reserved. It is scarcely so bad as Grand Haven for there is no sand, instead which is found a thick red clay so tenacious that horses can scarcely get through it. I am a stranger—and every man’s hand is against me for not being a Woods25. Capt. George G. Meade. See introduction, note 24. 26. William John Lyster or Henry F. Lyster, brothers and friends of Poe who enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry when the war began, Henry as assistant surgeon and William as adjutant. Also see note 45 below. 27. “&c” is shorthand for etcetera. In nineteenth-century letters this type of hastily written valediction implied that the recipient knew exactly what sentiments were being expressed.

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fieldian. I am considered legitimate game for all who wish to prey upon me. No money has been seen in Woodfield for many a month and the little I brought with me is eagerly sought after. Fifty dollars would suffice to buy the entire town. Yesterday I came from Marietta to Stafford over the worst road I ever saw. Hills more than a mile in length, and but a foot path over them at best, but which the recent rains had rendered almost impassable. I staid all night at Stafford, a town of almost twenty inhabitants. The only tavern in the place, and which was recommended to us, as one of the very best in Ohio, (this is literal truth) was used as a point of rendezvous for a singing society which shortly after our arrival was in full blast—the singer being accompanied by an accordion. Now of all instruments in this world, I most hate an accordion, but Nell, my eyes grew very misty when they (the singers) struck up “The Land o’ the Leal”28 and for once in my life I was reconciled to the accordion. Memories thronged so thickly and so fast upon me that for a while I really imagined myself in Detroit, and I saw you as plainly as if you had been visibly present. Stopping at the same tavern with me were a clock peddler—a horse doctor & his wife, and my own driver. Beds were scarce and I had my choice to sleep with the Clock Peddler, or with my driver, and the latter being the most decent looking man became my bedfellow. The Clock man and horse doctor had a dispute, each claiming to the most expert liar, and to ply his vocation with most success in consequence of his ability to deceive people. The pair were a villainous looking couple and as a mere matter of precaution I slept with a loaded revolver under my head—an act of precaution I deemed necessary when I found that the clock man was to occupy the same room with me and my poor bedfellow. Oh! The glory of serving one’s country— the room opposite the one I now am in is used for a practice room by the fifes & drums of two volunteer companies stationed in this town. The squeal of the fife is the sound I most frequently here. Like Douglas, I must speak of the weather, and I think I have a right to do so, for I have been exposed within a week to the worst that I ever saw. Now it is raining and snowing—is cold, wet, and disagreeable, yet I must go out into it, for I have to go to a town called Carlington,29 on the Ohio River about twenty miles from here, and with the bad roads, it will take us half a day to do it. I will start in about an hour and will deem myself fortunate if I get through before night. 28. “The Land o’ the Leal” is a traditional Scottish folk song. 29. Actually, Clarington, Ohio.

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my dear nelly

What renders my trip to this place particularly disgusting is the fact that I came a good many miles out of my way to see a man, whom I find away from home, so that I don’t get to see him after all. Nell, I don’t know what you think of the various commissions I have given you. It looks a good deal like making use of you, but my dear, I feel as though I might ask you to do anything in your power, and you would do it cheerfully. No favor nor any act could make you seem more completely my wife than now, and be assured that in anything I ask you to do, I only consult what I deem to be our welfare. With regards to all at the judge’s and love to yourself. I am yours Orlando M. Poe (14) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Wheeling, Virginia May 12th 1861 My dear Nelly, I have at last reached this place, where I am compelled to remain over Sunday. I will be able to leave for Columbus tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. In this country they have the most disagreeable hours for starting, that ever I heard of—always braking in upon the time one wishes to devote to sleeping. For so large a city as this, we have the most miserable hotels I ever saw. I have been for three hours trying to get the paper on which I write, and now that I have got it, I find it is so dirty as to be almost unfit to write upon, but I hope you will excuse that. I am very anxious to get to Cincinnati again, for I expect to find letters there, from you. This anxiety, you will acknowledge is but natural, when you remember that I have not heard a word from you since I left Detroit. After the receipt of this, you had better direct to me, in care of Genl. H. B. Carrington,30 Columbus, Ohio, as everything now indicates that we will soon be engaged in important military movements, and there is no telling where I may be. But Carrington is Adjt. Genl. of Ohio, and will be in constant communication with our own Hd. Qtrs. so that letters sent into his care, will reach me. I see by the telegraph dispatches this morning that Genl. McClellan is ordered to the command of the Division of the Ohio, comprising the states

30. Henry Beebee Carrington (1824–1912) was a scholar, historian, and abolitionist who reorganized Ohio’s state militia in 1857. He was Ohio’s adjutant general when the Civil War began and was soon commissioned a colonel in the regular army. Warner, Generals in Blue, 72–73.

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of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, which will give me, as a member of his staff, a very nice position. The great Union Convention, which has for its object, the separation of Western, from Eastern Virginia, comes off here tomorrow.31 I have talked with several of the delegates, and they seem determined to effect that separation, and I can assure you that they all look like men who mean that what they say. The most excited political discussions can be heard, all around me, and I would not be surprised if the matter wound up in a general row. I would like to remain here through to-morrow at least but I haven’t got the time to spare. I had an interesting ride from Woodsfield to Clarington, yesterday (Weather vs. roads)—for about ten miles of the way our road followed the bed of “Sunfish Creek,” and was of the wildest and most picturesque character, though somewhat rough—a peculiarity of all picturesque roads. It reminded me of what I had read of the cañons of New Mexico, though probably far inferior to those far-famed passes. Yet, as I said, for ten miles, we made our way through this pass—which could not have been wider than Jefferson Avenue,32 at any point, and generally much narrower, and was bounded on each side by a straight wall of rock some four hundred feet in height, partially covered with stunted cedars. It would have been perfectly impossible for us to have gotten out of the cañon by any other way than to go clear through it, for I saw no place at which I would have cared to attempt scaling its walls. An army caught in such a pass, would be in a terrible predicament. I wrote to Miss Bompert from Woodsfield, and took the liberty of mentioning you. I hope my doing so meets with your approval, I don’t like Miss B’s cause, in coaxing Mr. Fast (her fiancé) to remain at home. I hope her patriotism will yet get the better of her, and that she will start him off to the wars. It is the most gratifying thing to me that you and I agree so perfectly concerning the propriety of my present course, and that there is no division of sentiment between us on this great question. Your “God speed”—will be to meet my support in this conflict. Don’t think me over anxious to write to you. I would like to do so all the while, and intend doing so whenever I can, unless you grow weary of it. 31. The First Wheeling Convention began on May 13, 1861, and lasted for three days. There, 436 pro-Union delegates met to determine the most effectual means for resisting secession in western Virginia. See Newell, Lee vs. McClellan, 69. 32. In 1861 Jefferson Avenue was Detroit’s primary east–west road running along the Detroit River for the width of the city.

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my dear nelly

Then I will stop, but at present I judge your wishes by my own, for I am very anxious to get your letters, & I know that to deserve them I must write often myself. With warmest regards to all, and love to yourself—I am yours, O. M. Poe P.S. Tell [Aunt] Maria that I have commenced on my second roomfull of pork, and have already made good progress. Most Americans, North and South, initially believed the war would be over relatively quickly. Therefore, many servicemen believed their window of opportunity for career advancement was limited, thus their need to align themselves with rising stars, as in this next letter Poe admitted to doing. (15) poe to eleanor brent—poe papers, library of congress Columbus, Ohio May 16th 1861 My dear, You will notice that I am again on the go, having arrived here from Cincinnati early this morning, since which time I have been with Gov. Dennison receiving instructions. I am now on my way to the border and expect to be gone up about one week—my duty being to put into camp for regiments of State troops. These volunteers appear to be perfectly helpless and can’t make the simplest military movement without the advice, and assistance of an officer of the army. I take with me from Quartermasters and from Commissaries—to make arrangements for quartering & subsisting the troops who will follow on Monday. An hour ago, I had the satisfaction of taking by the hand the now famous Col. Anderson,33 and I believe the satisfaction was mutual—for he seemed glad to see an officer of the regular force—after what he has gone through within the last few days. He looks very much worn, and indeed he may well do so, for he has been almost pulled & hauled to death, by all sorts of people. And who do you think accompanied the Col. as “aid,” &, and who seemed to have charge of the col., standing at the door of the car & showing the greyheaded man, as wild beasts are shown in a menagerie[?] Nobody more nor less than your quondam friend, Thomas Woodruff Walker, 3rd U.S. Infantry.34 33. Col. Robert Anderson (1805–71), West Point class of 1825. Anderson was the Union commander at Fort Sumter. Though forced to surrender the Charleston harbor garrison on April 14, 1861, Anderson’s resistance made him a national hero. 34. Thomas W. Walker (1833–90), one of Poe’s 1856 classmates at West Point. Cullum,

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He asked about all his friends and I gave him such information as I could. I was tempted to tell him that I have recently seen Mrs. Brent, and daughters, and that he was mentioned by all—but particularly by Miss Winnie, who inquired after him in the most tender manner. But a recollection of what awaited me at the hands of Winnie, should she ever hear of it, was amply sufficient to restrain me from indulging in any such amusement. I dined at Genl. McClellan’s yesterday evening, where I met Mr. and Miss Shoenberger [&] Mr. and Miss Ducharme of New York, Majr. & Mrs. Marcy of the army, Capt. Seth Williams,35 Asst. Adjt. Genl. and Mr. Larz Andersen, the Col’s brother. Miss S— is rich & ugly. Miss D. is rather pretty but snobbish, also has a weakness for the 7th Regiment. Don’t understand me as meaning that it is snobbish to have such a weakness, but that snobbish, as well as other people may feel tenderly towards the pets of N.Y. I suppose that Miss D. belongs to the very highest society in N.Y. as she was a favorite with the prince and his suite, but I am afraid the honors then shown her, have had a bad effect upon her. Evidence—she abuse all who made their bread by toil, and that to me, who never made mine in any other way, and never expect to. But that she didn’t suspect to be the case, or I presume she would have been more careful. She ardently desires to live in Europe, and as far as I am concerned I have no objection for I think this country can well spare all who prefer another—at this or any other time. By the way—I have a very pretty cousin in Cincinnati, a daughter of Adam Poe, the preacher, and were it not that the laws of Ohio prohibit the marriage of first cousins, there is no telling but I might forget the promises I have made you. She is a little taller than you, in fact is just about the size of Miss Davenport, but very much handsomer, and I think a great deal smarter. I showed her your picture, and she was delighted with your appearance, which is further evidence of her good sense. Genl. McClellan has been appointed a Maj. Genl. in the Regular Army— which puts him next in rank to Genl. Scott36 and should the Genl. die within Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, 2:435. Hereafter referred to as Cullum’s Register. 35. Seth Williams (1822–66), West Point class of 1842. He served as Major General McClellan’s assistant adjutant general during the summer of 1861. From September 1861 through March 1864, Williams served as adjutant general for the Army of the Potomac. Cullum’s Register, 2:53–54. 36. Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott (1786–1866), nicknamed “Old Fuss and Feathers,” was a US Army general, a hero of the Mexican War (1846–48), and the unsuccessful Whig Party candidate in the then upcoming 1852 presidential election. During the early months of the Civil War, Scott would later conceive the “Anaconda Plan,” designed to choke off the Confederacy from necessary resources from abroad.

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my dear nelly

a year as he probably will—then M.C. will succeed him as Commander in Chief. Isn’t he in luck [?] I was glad of it on M.C.’s account for I like him very much, but it is not so good for me, for I am afraid I will be superseded by somebody higher in rank than I am. For the present I am hanging on to M.C.’s skirts, for he is decidedly a rising man. I fear that our Lt. Colonelcy is knocked into Pi37 but it won’t make any difference. I can get along as a simple Lt. when I know I am doing my duty. But what a fall for an ambitious man. Conundrum by one funny man—How should we treat the secessionists?— Lyonize them. Don’t send it to Vanity Fair. I certainly am much obliged to Mrs. Harbaugh for her good opinion of me, and hope that I shall continue to deserve it. I see that Col. Wilcox’s [sic] Regt. has gone towards Washington which will leave the 2nd for the Detroiters to expend their sympathies upon.38 How do the Brady’s stand now. Have they come out good & strong for the union[?] It appears to me that if Mrs. Scovell continues in the way she has begun that she will soon be getting herself into trouble. It don’t do to begin the burning down game, for that only would lead to retaliation, and both parties would be badly injured, in property. It is a dangerous beginning. I was delighted to see by your last letter that Miss Winnie was going to add to your letters sometimes. I hope she will—and I do assure you I would be much gratified, and doubtless benefited by some of her pungent sayings. It seems to me that the Tribune correspondent—“Clinton”, is disposed to pitch into some of our recent friends, who have left the army.39 Just this moment an alarm of fire was given, and on looking out of my window I saw the Penitentiary enveloped in smoke, and evidently on fire. It is burning now, but I suppose they will get it put out, as there are over a thousand prisoners confined there, and they will all work well. After the receipt of this, direct to me, at Cincinnati. By that time I will again be in that city. Tell Tom that he stands a good chance for rapid promotion. If this war 37. “Knocked into Pi” was a nineteenth-century expression, taken from the printing trade, to mean that something had been completely knocked apart or jumbled up. 38. Col. Orlando B. Willcox was the founding colonel of the 1st Michigan Infantry. The ninety-day regiment departed from Detroit for Washington on May 13. Warner, Generals in Blue, 558–59. 39. “Southern Chivalry—What It Is,” Detroit Daily Tribune, May 10, 1861. “Clinton” took several Southern men to task by name, including Poe friend and one-time Great Lakes colleague Robert Beckham, who readily spoke of chivalry and honor but then easily discarded their solemn oath of allegiance to the national army. The Detroit Daily Tribune was a Republican-leaning newspaper at the start of the Civil War.

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continues, he will probably not be kept longer than two years, before being commissioned. There is a report here to-night that the secessionists have crossed into Ohio, and are committing depredations. The Gov. has shown me the despatches. I told him very plainly that I did not believe one word of them although all they came endorsed by one of the state Brig. Genls. for I had passed through that section a few days ago, in fact was upon the very ground, now reported attacked, and believe it was only a shrewd operation—having for its object, to get troops sent there. Still he has sent arms & ammunition there, & I will be there myself, by to-morrow night, and I would bet high that the truth will turn out to be, that some man has set fire to his own log barn, and accused the secessionists of it, for the above named object. Love to you all, and a thousand times to you, Yours affec. O. M. Poe Despite Poe’s position on McClellan’s staff, he sought a cavalry or artillery position in the regular army, certainly in part due to his concerns over his continuing on McClellan’s staff as expressed in the prior letter. He considered himself a Michigan man and accordingly beseeched powerful Michigan senator Zachariah Chandler for a position—and not for the last time. Poe returned to Detroit for a brief leave of absence following his “secret service.” While there, he married Eleanor on June 17, 1861, at Episcopal Christ Church. Less than two hours later, he was on his way back into the field. (16) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Parkersburg, Virginia June 21st 1861 My dear Eleanor, At last we are in the field. Genl. McClellan is here and we all expect a forward movement to-day. We left Cinti yesterday morning, at such short notice that I did not have time to write and can only snatch a moment now, but will write again today if I can find time. The Genl. is determined to teach the rebels a lesson, and he will do so, if they oppose him.40 I have heard nothing from you since I left you, and even now cannot tell 40. “Teaching the South a lesson” was a common wartime metaphor. As Reid Mitchell notes, “The North was the schoolmaster, the army the rod, and the South the disobedient child.” Mitchell, “Soldiering, Manhood, and the Coming of Age,” 51–52.

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my dear nelly

you exactly where to direct, but you might do so, to me in care of Genl. McClellan, Parkersburgh, Virginia. Heaven only knows whether I will be back soon or not. We have about twelve thousand men, and can make a good show. I have many things to tell you but no time. Yours O. M. P. (17) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Grafton, Virginia June 23rd 1861 My dear, We arrived here about one o’clock this morning, after a hot & tedious ride from Parkersburgh. We are here in pretty strong force, and are going to do something. Somebody will be hurt, as we will have Western Virginia completely in our grasp. It seems scarcely possible that we are right at the seat of war, but it is true. Every day the picket guards41 are fired upon, and somebody is killed. Yesterday quite a fight took place near Fairmont, some 30 miles west of us, that is, between us and Wheeling. Our men were fired on from a house, and two men badly wounded. Our boys sent for reinforcements, and wiped that house out of existence, but unfortunately did not capture the enemy.42 We have about fifty prisoners now under guard and charged with treason, but it is not yet known what will be done with them. The Union men here want them shot or hung, but, we from the farms north are disposed to treat them more like human beings. I am sorry to have to say that four of these prisoners are named “Poe,” and are connections of mine. I’m sorry for them, only because they have so little sense as to be secessionists. One of the finest sites I ever saw was our departure from Marietta for Parkersburgh. Our boat—with one company of Regulars and one company of Chicago Rifleman (picked men) and the General and staff on board led the way, followed by eleven large steamers, all loaded with troops. It was a splendid morning & as we steamed down the river, with five regimental

41. “Picket duty” refers to a small group of soldiers placed in a front or forward position in order to provide warning of the enemy’s advance. 42. A small squad of the 20th Ohio Infantry was sent to the farm of Peter Righter, a noted secessionist. The men were ambushed and suffered casualties. More troops returned the next day and burned the premises to the ground. Haymond, History of Harrison County, West Virginia, 317–18.

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bands playing, it was a sight worth seeing, and I hope to have the pleasure of enjoying many more of the same kind before I die. To-morrow I am to make a reconnaissance some thirty miles in advance. I will go by railway to within some six miles of where I want to go—and will then move on horseback. I will be escorted by a company of cavalry, now here, and expect to be able to reach Grafton again before daylight of the next morning, provided some “seceshen” don’t pick me off, which, however I don’t much fear, for they will be looking for us in another direction from that which I intend to take. That last six miles will make all the difference in the world. To-day, for the first time, the General fully explained all his plans to me, and I am perfectly satisfied that we will be successful—it may be without fighting a battle. I am in the high tide of favor, for I was the only officer besides Seth Williams (Adjt. Genl.) to whom McClellan told anything, thus showing the confidence which he reposed in me. Hon. John Carlile,43 the celebrated Virginia union man is here with us but leaves for Wheeling to-night. The Coldwater Artillery44 is with us. I went to see Tom Spencer, but in the confusion incident to our march, could not find him. They will have an important position, and if we have a fight, will have an opportunity to distinguish themselves. This is one of the most beautiful spots I ever saw, and I thought last night as we passed each picket, what a shame and it was that we were placed in a condition of war by such scoundrels as manage the Southern Confederacy. The country is mountainous, and the rivers are like crystal. They may have a redder tinge before many days. With love to you all, and affections for yourself, my dear wife, I am yours, Orlando M. Poe Direct to me at Grafton, Virginia In care of Maj. Gen. McClellan [Will] Lyster45 is a first Lieut. in Col. Canby’s Regt.—Sullivan46 is apptd a Capt 43. John Snyder Carlile (1817–78) was a celebrated unionist who, as a Virginia delegate to the state’s 1861 secession convention, voted against disunion. 44. Battery A, 1st Michigan Light Artillery, also known as Loomis’s Battery, a Michigan state militia unit accepted for government service on April 23, 1861. Mustered in at Detroit’s Fort Wayne on May 28, the battery left Michigan for Cincinnati on May 31. It then went to Camp Dennison, Ohio, through June 12 before receiving orders for western Virginia June 12, attached to McCook’s brigade. 45. William J. Lyster of Detroit, initially with the 2nd Michigan Infantry, was commissioned a first lieutenant with the 19th US Infantry on May 14, 1861. The 19th was then commanded by Col. Edward Canby. Lyster was a close friend of both Poe and Eleanor. 46. Thomas C. Sullivan, one of Poe’s 1856 classmates at West Point. Cullum’s Register, 2:425–26. Also see chapter 4, note 8.

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my dear nelly William John Lyster, later in life, a good friend of Poe and Eleanor (Dunn and Guthrie, Records of the Guthrie Family, of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Virginia, 145)

in the Eighteenth Infty. Jo. Taylor is a Capt. of Col. Hunter’s Cavalry I am 6th on the list of first lts Top Engnrs (18) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Grafton, Virginia June 25th 1861 My dear, It seems a great while since I saw you, and I begin to fear that it will be longer before I can hear from you, as I see plainly that mail communication is going to be very uncertain in this direction. I had hoped that we would be able to write often and to receive those letters, but if we get more than one out of each dozen written we will do well. I never so ardently wished to hear from somebody as I do now. As you will perceive, Hd. Qtrs. are still at Grafton, though I presume we will not remain here much longer. Some of our regiments have taken up their march for the scene of operations, which will be about thirty miles from here. The enemy is entrenched there and we will probably try what we can do towards dislodging him. We have now with us 21 field pieces—of which

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12 are rifled guns. I don’t think they can oppose against us more than 10 guns—and probably not so many. Major Garnett, late of the 9th infantry is in command of the rebels.47 Quite a little skirmish took place last night. Some 35 or 40 men, all told were engaged in it. After a good deal of powder burning &c, with nobody hurt, all quietly went home to their beds like good boys. This sort of fighting is simply ridiculous. A few nights ago, one of our pickets, and another of the enemy’s met at a bridge. Ours stood at one end, and theirs at the other where they called each other all sorts of bad names, and then quietly withdrew. All this strikes me as being decidedly “Chinese,” though our force was only six, while theirs was twenty. Still I think that some shooting ought to have been done by one party or the other. I don’t know what has become of the cards I ordered sent to Cincinnati but suppose they are there. I had to leave suddenly, without making any provision for them. I have therefore sent none to anybody—and you will have to distribute to all whom you know, keeping a list of them all to guide me, when I reach the vicinity of my shore. Through some hocus-pocus as I came away from Parkersburgh, in pure forgetfulness that I even had a coat. In short, I left my coat in Parkersburgh. If you should hear that I had forgotten my sword some of these days, don’t be surprised. Yesterday evening I rode in company with Genl. M.C. and Lawrence Williams,48 beyond our outermost pickets, and forgot to take even a revolver with me—for which the General lectured me. I chose a splendid looking horse, but a short ride convinced me that the brute had what is called in “horse talk” [as] heaves.49 I have been trying all day to wheedle Dr. Wright out of his, but as yet have not succeeded, though I fancy I will, as this western Va. atmosphere proves conducive to horse trading &c. My dear wife—I still live in the hope that I may hear from you before long. With love to you all and affection for yourself. I remain yours faithfully O. M. Poe

47. Maj. Robert S. Garnett resigned his command of the 9th US Infantry on April 30, 1861, to serve in the Confederacy with the rank of brigadier general. Warner, Generals in Gray, 100. Also see note 69 below. 48. Capt. Lawrence A. Williams, West Point class of 1852, aide-de-camp to General McClellan. Cullum’s Register, 2:328. 49. Labored breathing or coughing by horses is commonly known as heaves.

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my dear nelly

(19) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Grafton, Virginia June 27th 1861 My dear, Still we are here and still we expect to go somewhere else. All have been excited to-day, for we have had all sorts of rumors. At Piedmont last night, or rather Patterson’s Creek, 13 of the Indiana troops had a sharp fight with 40 secessionists, and brought off the field 17 dead rebels, with a loss to themselves of only one man killed and two wounded.50 All the guards are doubled tonight, and I have just returned from placing a picket & guard of 3 companies at a cross road some 13 miles from here. We think we had none of our own men killed to-day, but it is hardly time to hear from all our out-posts. This whole campaign ought to be ended within a week, and as I know the plans, they having been settled in council to-day, I see no good reason why it should be extended beyond that time. The Western Va. Govt. has been recognized by McClellan, and has gone into operation. The officers are fighting with halters around their necks for by laws enacted by the rebel convention they will be regarded as traitors, and punished accordingly if caught. But we have promised to do our best to protect them, and we are going to do it. I had a long talk to-day with Stephen W. Poe,51 the head of the Poe family in this neighborhood, and who is a prisoner in our hands. He offered to take the oath of allegiance to the U.S., and I believe he would observe it, if he once took it. I don’t know what will be done with them, but I pitied the old man, for he is a cripple, and has at best, but a few days to live. Indeed his coolness, and daring, as well as the same qualities in his sons, have made me hope, or rather wish that they may be released. With love and affection to you all, I am my dear Eleanor yours &c, O. M. Poe (20) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Grafton, Virginia June 28th 1861 My dear dear wife, I have just been made one of the happiest of men by their receipt of your letter of the 23rd and 25th. It was the first I have recd since our marriage and 50. Skirmish at Patterson’s Creek. O.R., 2:134–35. 51. Stephen W. Poe (1774–1872), a distant relation of O. M. Poe.

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“Rich Mountain Campaign, 1861”

has been most patiently expected for ten days. Your letter directed to Cincinnati I did not get, having left there in a very great hurry. I sent to Cinti for my letters, but the man by whom I sent, forgot all about them, which was decidedly provoking. But he did not know that he was forgetting to bring to me the first letter of my wife, and we will have to forgive him. It was very kind in George Brady to assist you, and I will gratefully remember it. Please thank him in my name. I’ve no doubt but you have already done so in your own. I hope I may get your next letter, as well as all of them but particularly that one, as you say it is going to be a nice long one. Still, remember that it is you that I am most anxious to hear from, and when one is away, as I am now, a single line if not more, in token of remembrance, is enough to fill one with delight. Still we remain at Grafton but will certainly go forward in the morning. This may be the last letter I ever write you from this now celebrated place. I am all ready for a rough campaign having got from Co. “I,” 4th Artillery, a complete outfit of soldier’s clothing, and have bought some heavy cotton

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my dear nelly

shirts which can neither be washed nor torn, and I think I can now risk a soldier’s face. I am going to mess with Captain Mack 4th Arty. and D Wright.52 My secession relatives have been released. I am convinced that they were the victims of mis-representation. They told me that they had voted for secession, because they really believed it was the shortest way to end our troubles—and I find the same notion quite prevalent through this country. They have taken, voluntarily, (after their release) the oath of allegiance and I am satisfied they will observe it. The old man told me, that there were in this neighborhood some eighty able bodied men belonging to the family. I have seen several of them, and I never before saw such specimens of manhood. One of them is the most splendid looking man I ever saw, being 6½ feet tall, and finely formed, with a massive head, and deep voice, which makes him seem like a giant amongst pygmies. It was indeed nice to be together, and I only regret that it was for so short a time. Nell, there were some strange things connected with our marriage, which I would can’t tell you now, because I can’t write them, but I will tell you when we meet again. Thank God you are my wife now, and in future nobody on earth can interfere, no danger of broken engagements now. But I must not write any further. Next time that you go to the Post office I wish you would look in Box 991, to see if there is anything there for me. Direct to me at Grafton, in care of Genl. McClellan, until I advise you otherwise. The following four-page, undated, single-sheet letter is filed as part of Poe’s June 28 letter to Eleanor, but appears to be unrelated, if not actually written earlier. in this connection, as I will say what I ought not to, as well as what you could not understand. Saxton,53 and Macfeely54 of the regular army joined us to-day. One (the former) as quartermaster and the other as commissary. Of course we don’t get here much of the news of the outer world, but have to be content with little excitements of our own. Still I have seen the list of appointments to the new Regts. Sullivan gets a captaincy, but I get noth52. Capt. Oscar A. Mack, Battery I, 4th US Light Artillery. To “mess” in a military sense meant to take one’s meals in a particular place or with a particular person or persons. 53. Capt. Rufus Saxton, West Point class of 1849, served as assistant quartermaster on McClellan’s staff. Cullum’s Register, 2:239–40. 54. Capt. Robert Macfeely, West Point class of 1850, served as commissariat on McClellan’s staff. Cullum’s Register, 2:272.

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ing. Yet it will be all right, if those apptd. from our corps all accept. They are Franklin, Parke, Warren, and Ives all above me now. But I am afraid they will all decline in which case we will not receive the slightest benefit from the organization of the new regts. We are literally overrun with Genls, Cols, Majors & c. Indeed a first Lt. of Topl. Engrs. is very small potatoes here. Amongst the rank here, we find one Maj. Genl., 4 Brig. Genls, 13 Cols and more than 30 Lt. Cols. Think of that, and imagine the quarters we would have. But fortunately there are several hotels here, and the proprietors know no difference between a Genl. and a private. Consequently I have fallen upon a very good room, and am permitted to eat at the first table. My dear, within one week should the enemy stand his ground, we will have fought a battle. It may be a severe one. The general plan is already made, and the details nearly completed, so far as they can be so long in advance. It will be my first, but I hope will not be my last. My post will be one of danger, and I may be killed. I believe I am not afraid, for I have thought over all the contingencies, and feel myself personally prepared. It is true that I would rather come out of the fight unhurt, but if it is decreed otherwise, then “so mote it be,” to use that Masonic language for which I have so great reverence.55 And if I do escape, and am enabled to meet you again, how sweet will be our meeting! I feel differently from what I ever did before, for I burn with a desire to so conduct myself, as will meet your unqualified approval.56 It is but natural that you should feel anxious about the result of a battle, but you are too true a daughter, of a brave soldier, to wish that your husband should be elsewhere—when his duty is there. I may not have another opportunity to write you until after the fight, but I will do so if I can. Meanwhile believe me, with love to you all, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe Tell Winnie to remember me to Tom, when she writes.

55. A Masonic ritual phrase meaning “so it must be.” Often used at the end of a prayer in a similar manner to the word “amen.” 56. Poe knew that in the heat of battle, a “gentleman” was expected to display a brave yet calm sense of courage and honor, considered the defining hallmark of nineteenth-century “manhood.” As one scholar has noted, a man’s outward conduct was thought to reflect his inner virtue and character. Foote, Gentlemen and the Roughs, 57; Halttunen, Confidence Men and Painted Women, 97; McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 61; Linderman, Embattled Courage, 8.

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(21) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Buchanan [Buckhannon], Virginia July 2nd 1861 My dear wife, Another opportunity presents itself to write to you, and I gladly avail myself of it. We have advanced about sixty miles from Grafton, and thirty from Clarksburgh, from which place I wrote you last. This last thirty miles we marched in two days. Yesterday was a hard one, as it were rained nearly all the time, yet we plodded on fifteen miles, and turned into a very wet camp at night. The General kept sending for me and my maps, about every half hour, which kept me awake nearly all night. Campaigning is exciting, but it is hard and to-day when we had passed over almost half the distance between last night’s camp and this place, I was detached, with escort of Dragoons to come on & select a campground. Col. Lander57 volunteered to accompany me, as did also Judge Key58 and we rode on reaching this place a couple of hours in advance of our column. The people were all gathered along the road to see us pass, and many of them bade us “God speed.” Yet three days ago those same people were secessionists. So much for the moral effect of a few thousand bayonets. And less than a week ago it would have been almost impossible for me, with so small an escort, to have passed along the road by which we came. We have heard no news for a great while, and know nothing about what is going on in the east. A report reached us to-day that a battle had been fought at Manassas Junction, but we put no faith in it, for so many of such false reports have been brought here.59 The secessionists were in small force to-day at a mill six miles from where we are now encamped, but being only guerrillas, they didn’t stay long. I don’t know how long we will remain here, probably not more than a day. We have six full regiments here, and the seventh will join us probably to-morrow. This is exclusive of Batterys, independent companies, Virginians &c. On the other line, which is acting with us, are about four thousand men. A determined enemy in this country would whip us like Satan, for every road might be lined with ambuscades and every defile impassable. But such is not the nature of our foe, and our hopes of victory are very high. 57. Col. Frederick W. Lander (1821–62) was a volunteer aide-de-camp to General McClellan at this point. Warner, Generals in Blue, 274–75. 58. Col. Thomas M. Key (1819–69), a lawyer and judge before the war, became judge advocate on General McClellan’s staff and given the rank of colonel. 59. The First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas) did not occur until July 21, 1861.

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I saw a genuine secessionist yesterday. You would have laughed to see the look of consternation he wore when brought into our camp, and at the manner in which he took to his heels and run when Genl. M.C. told him he was at liberty. They all think that we have come with the intention of cutting their throats. We intend to celebrate the “fourth of July” on the “sacred soil,” perfectly regardless of the feelings of the inhabitants thereof. Please hand the enclosed to Winnie. She will probably remember it. I have no business with it now. With love to you all—I am dear Eleanor Yours, O. M. Poe The Battle of Rich Mountain was fought on July 11, 1861. It was the eponymous engagement of McClellan’s first military campaign. (22) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Roaring Creek Randolph Co. Virginia July 11th 1861 My dear wife, I have just recd. yours of the 3rd of July and I can assure you I was very glad to hear from you, and particularly at this time. This day the battle is to be fought. The enemy is in position less than two miles in advance. They have thrown up breast-works on the spur of the mountain, and are awaiting us. The order has been given to storm them, and one column has marched to the attack. This column is composed of four thousand men under command of Genl. Rosecrans.60 Genl. McClellan commands the reserve, which is to attack the enemy in front as soon as Genl. R— opens fire upon their rear which he had almost gained when the last courier came in a few minutes ago. The reconnaissance was made yesterday, and I made it. The reconnoitering party was a strong one under command of Col. McCook61 of the 9th Ohio vols., our “crack” rgt. and was composed of the 9th Ohio, the 4th Ohio, and 4 pieces from Loomis’ battery (the Coldwater artillery). We had one man killed and several wounded, but we forced our way right up to their works. I never saw anything done better than the way in which the 9th Ohio drove 60. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans (1819–98), West Point class of 1842. Warner, Generals in Blue, 410–11. 61. Col. Robert L. McCook (1827–62). Warner, Generals in Blue, 297.

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in the enemy’s pickets and outposts. They moved 1000 strong in this order[:] in which the ruled line represents the road, the single dots are two companies on each side of the road, and the marks parallel with the ruled line are three companies on each side of the road as skirmisher supports. The marks across the line represent the 4th Ohio, in column and occupying the road. The marks thus :: show the position of Col. McCook, Col. Lander, myself, and a bugler. It was 80 yards from the road to our skirmishers on either flank. In this order we moved forward, driving the enemy’s pickets before us, until we arrived within 400 yards of the works. I carried a spy-glass, and a compass, and made a complete survey as we went along, though the cracking of rifle & cannon balls through the brush around me rather tended to disconcert me. I have often wondered how I would feel when I saw men fall, shot down like sheep, but the very slight experience of yesterday seems to indicate all want of emotion of any kind. I have the field book and notes in pencil of my observations, and I am going to send it to you some day or rather bring it, to show you that it is possible to write under fire. We all wanted to go ahead and storm the work. Our men were eager for it, and were so close that they were picking off the enemy’s gunners with their rifles, but our orders were positive not to bring on an engagement—but simply to find exactly where the enemy was, and how to attack him. Good bye. I’m suddenly ordered to the front. Deepest—warmest love to you all Your affc. husband Orlando M. Poe

(23) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Beverly, Virginia July 12th 1861 My dear wife, The battle of “Rich Mountain” has been fought and we have won it. We succeeded in cutting a road over the mountain, and throwing Genl. Rosecrans with his brigade, in rear of the enemy. Genl. R— stormed their defenses at the summit of the mountain, and carried them up with a loss of only 8 men killed and 20 or 30 wounded, while the enemy had at least 60 killed (I saw 56 dead bodies) and 100 to 150 wounded. It was a bloody affair when we consider the number engaged. The main work was in front of Genl. McClellan and we expected to storm it this morning but the rebels ran, leaving all their wounded, camp equipage, provisions, horses, wagons, sword, cannon &c. It

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Battle of Rich Mountain (Leslie, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War)

is impossible to conceive of a more complete rout. I got from the tent of their engineer officer a plan of the works which he had left behind, in his haste to get away. His hurry was so great, that his supper was left half cooked on the fire. Their stampede was caused by a reconnaissance which I made yesterday evening, during the time that Rosecrans was fighting, the object of which was to place a battery so as to enfilade their works. I found the point I wanted, and at once cut a road to it, which was finished about dark. Just before we had completed it they gave us several rounds of grape shot, which rattled all around us but hurt no one. We were completely hidden by the woods and they fired at random. It was to do this work, that I was so suddenly ordered to the front, yesterday, and had to stop my letter. The chopping and the falling of the trees, alarmed them, and they didn’t stop upon the order of their going, but went at once. And who do you think was in command of the rebels? No one else than Johnny Pegram, late of a U.S. Dragoons.62 Dr. Archibald 62. John Pegram (1832–65), West Point class of 1854, resigned his US Army commission on May 10, 1861, to join the Confederacy, taking part in the Battle of Rich Mountain as a lieutenant colonel. Warner, Generals in Gray, 231–32. Also see chapter 5, note 32.

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Taylor,63 late of the army was there & we have him a prisoner. Genl. Garnett is still at Laurel Hill, with the main body of the force, and we expect to have another fight when we get there. I rather hope not, for it is dreadful to see the killed and wounded. To see human beings as I saw 28 this morning—thrown into a ditch and covered with earth, only sufficient to enable others to say they buried them, is horrible, men were torn and mangled in all sorts of ways, and horses killed. I don’t want to witness the effect of another battle. We are some distance from our supply depots, and have hard work getting up to this point all that we want, but still we manage it. We are now on one side of Genl. Garnett with 6000 men and Genl. Morris64 is on the other with 5000 more. Our numbers ought to ensure our success, but in the next fight the tide of fortune may be against us. I don’t know whether I will be able to be in Cincinnati, by the end of the two months which you wanted, before joining me, nor do I wish to go there until we have fully accomplished our purpose here, which is to restore peace & happiness to this truly unhappy country. May God preserve you from ever feeling the consequences of this sectional quarrel. You can form no idea of the distress which must be felt in this now wonderfully beautiful region, if this war continues long. This town of Beverly is on the Valley River, and is nestled between two ranges of mountains, in the most quiet and peaceful manner. It is just such a place as I would like to live in, in times of peace. I have thought of you ten thousand times, within the last 24 hours. Need I say that the thought of your commendation, was as strong an incentive as I could have, to do my duty? If we catch Pegram I will take the liberty of remembering you to him. With most devoted love—I am your husband, Orlando M. Poe Give my love to all the rest.

63. Dr. Archibald Taylor, graduate of the University of Virginia, entered Confederate service in April 1861 as a second lieutenant and was commissioned as assistant surgeon soon thereafter. 64. Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris (1811–1904), West Point class of 1834. Cullum’s Register, 1:445–46.

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(24) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Huttonsville, Virginia July 14th 1861 My dear wife, Our success here has been complete and decisive. We have captured Pegram and his whole command, and now have them in Beverly, our prisoners. There are about seven hundred of them in all, the balance are among the “killed, wounded and missing.” Amongst the prisoners, are the President of Hampden Sydney College,65 and the company equipped and organized from the college. They are brave young men, and are decided “F.F.V’s,”66 but they failed entirely to whip as many Union men, as they thought they could. Genl. Garnett is in full retreat from Laurel Hill, and Genl. Morris is chasing him with 5000 men, and we all hope and believe that “old Bob” will be caught. It’s impossible for him to escape. An hour ago I returned from making a strong armed reconnaissance to the front. I had with me the 9th and 4th Regts Ohio volunteers, and Capt. Howe’s Light Battery. The result has proved the fact that the rebels have run from Western Virginia, like a flock of sheep. I went through “Cheat Mountain Pass,” where they were expected to make a stand and continued my trip until I had crossed Cheat River, and was within four miles of the foot of the Alleghenies, the whole distance being eleven miles from here. As we marched into this place yesterday, we chased out of it a small party of Secession cavalry, but they being well mounted, while we had no cavalry, they made good their escape, & as they did so, burnt the bridge behind them. It was a splendid one, and belonged to the state, but its loss, or rather its destruction was an act of pure vandalism as we forded the river just above the burning bridge, and were not delayed ten minutes. Our present camp is one mile south of Huttonsville the point selected by Gov. Letcher,67 as a rendezvous for rebel troops in Western Va. I imagine they won’t rendezvous here very much, for some time to come. Indeed, we have swept rebellion from this part of Va. Just at this moment your letter of July 8th was handed me. I need not 65. Dr. John M. P. Atkinson (1817–83) was the president of Hampden-Sydney College, a private liberal-arts school in Virginia that dates its founding to 1775. 66. Company G, 20th Virginia Infantry. These young men were paroled by General McClellan on the condition that they return home and resume their studies. “F.F.V.” was shorthand for “First Families of Virginia.” 67. John Letcher (1813–84), Virginia’s governor during the Civil War. Catherine M. Wright, “John Letcher (1813–1884),” Encyclopedia Virginia, last updated Mar. 8, 2014, https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/letcher_john_1813–1884, accessed Oct. 31, 2016.

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say how much pleased I was to hear that you had enjoyed your day at the “Island.”68 When I last wrote, I supposed we would have a hard fight with Garnett, but as it is now certain that we will not, it seems to me that we may be in Cinti again before long, in which case I would like you to join me there. If we go there, I will telegraph to you, from the first point at which we reach a line of Telegraph, and I wish before that time, you would get over your absurd notions about opening dispatches. Remember that all danger is over for the present, in this section. Our fight the other day was even a more bloody one than we at first supposed. We have already buried one hundred & thirty one of the rebel dead, and doubtless enough more are lying about amongst the laurel bushes, where we can’t find them, to swell the number to 150. Pegram says that it was the chopping of my party which made him leave his fortifications, as he at once understood that we were going to place in position, a battery which would command him. I have been highly complemented by all the officers here, for my reconnaissance that day and the judicious selection of the point at which to establish the battery. Enclosed I send you some Laurel blossoms, which I got to-day, on the Eastern side of Cheat River, and within eighty miles of Staunton, the principal city of the Valley of Va. They are the only laurels I have got as yet. There need never be any trouble about my direction, as it always remains the same, as that last given you until I expressly change it. With affection for you all, and devoted love for yourself, I am your husband Orlando M. Poe (I noticed the signature of your name, thank you) (25) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Beverly, Virginia July 16th 1861 My dear Eleanor, Upon my return here, to-day I found your letter of July 8th. Your letters come regularly now, and I can assure you [they] afford me a great deal of pleasure, particularly since there was so long a time that I did not hear from you at all. You may be somewhat surprised that we have made a retrograde movement upon this place. It is done because we can find no foes before us, and 68. Poe was likely referring to Belle Isle, an island of more than 900 acres in the middle of the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

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hope that they will hunt us up. We have completely driven them out of this region, after one of the most successful campaigns. In my last letter I told you that Garnett was in full retreat. Since that our forces caught up with them, and after a sharp engagement whipped them killing Garnett and 20 of his men and capturing one rifled cannon, and nearly all in their baggage, with a loss upon our side, of 2 men killed and 8 wounded.69 So much for our treatment of the self-exalted chivalry. I have no pity for Bob Garnett. He was a cold, selfish and heartless man, and the world is well rid of him. I went to see Pegram to-day. He is in this place a prisoner, but is ordered to Ft. McHenry.70 All the rest of his command are released on parole.71 I would not be at all surprised if Pegram were hanged. His regiment was one of the finest in the rebel army. His major was Nat. Tyler one of the editors of the “Richmond Enquirer.”72 We feel somewhat proud of our achievements, for ours is the only army that has done anything as yet. Gov. Letcher was on his way to join Garnett, and to take command in Western Virginia, but our victories have turned him back and they are all on a good sound run for Eastern Va. and probably will stay there. Pegram looks very badly, and is confined to his bed. He is careworn, and I believe heartbroken. Whenever any of his old friends would enter the room, he would flush up, as though he keenly felt his position. The other Col. who was taken at the same time (Col. Heck)73 rather seems to enjoy his captivity. He is not gifted with either brains, or modesty, and only to-day was arguing that Northern men were no match for Southerners. That sort of brag was bad enough weeks ago, but after our recent battles, it was the purest, and most senseless kind of bombast. I can form no ideas as to where we are to go from here. I am growing impatient for it seems to me, that we stand a good chance of remaining some time in camp at this place. We have built a telegraph line, right into our camp 69. General Garnett was killed near Corrick’s Ford on July 13, 1861, becoming the first general officer on either side to fall in battle. 70. Fort McHenry is located in Baltimore harbor and was used to house political prisoners during the Civil War. 71. A parole meant the prisoner was released and could return home upon his word and honor as a gentleman that he would not bear arms again until exchanged. 72. Nathaniel Tyler (1828–1917). An 1848 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Tyler took over the Richmond Enquirer in 1858. He served as major in the 20th Virginia Infantry and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1862. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 353. 73. Lt. Col. Jonathan McGee Heck, 25th Virginia Infantry. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 171.

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and by simply stepping into the next tent I could send you a message to Detroit which would reach you, and be in your hands, in less than half an hour after being sent from here. . . . Hence you will comprehend that we are not entirely out of the world, although the world has seemed to think that the Army of Western Va. did not amount to much, and consequently directed their whole attention to Washington City, where they have gloriously done nothing, and will probably continue to do it, with accustomed vigor. I am in excellent health, though I am growing thin, and begin to look very brown. By the time the summer is over, I will look like an arab. The number killed at “Rich Mountain” is continually being swelled. 16 more dead bodies were found to-day, of which 9 were officers, D’Lagnel, late of the army, is among the dead of the rebels. He died fighting like the perfect tiger.74 Their whole loss cannot fall much short of 200 killed—or 1 man out of every three engaged. But I must stop. With love to you all and heartfelt devotion to yourself—I am my dear wife your affc. husband Orlando M. Poe After the Union’s signal defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia on July 21, 1861, McClellan was ordered east to Washington to take command of the battered Federal army there and whip it into fighting shape. The general brought Lieutenant Poe with him, though not before Poe was able to visit with Eleanor for several days. Upon his return, the young officer immediately began overseeing portions of the construction of and enhancements to the Washington defenses. (26) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress “Willards”75 Washington, August 1st 1861 My dear Eleanor, After no little tribulation, I arrived here last night, and have had my first experience of a hot night in Washington, and I can assure you it is awful. This morning I reported to Genl. Mc.C., but as yet have not been assigned to any duty. After reporting, I amused myself by strolling around to the Top-

74. Julius A. De Lagnel (1827–1912) resigned his US Army artillery commission on May 17 to join the Confederacy. Poe is correct regarding De Lagnel’s valor at Rich Mountain but incorrect as to his death. De Lagnel was seriously wounded during that action, escaped the battlefield, and was then captured near Laurel Hill on July 13. Warner, Generals in Gray, 71. 75. Willard’s Hotel was the largest and best-known Washington hotel at the start of the Civil War.

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ographical Bureau, where I spent a couple of hours. I met Capt. Raynolds76 there, & went home with him, to see Mrs. R—, who inquired kindly after you, and insisted upon my giving her one of your photographs, and as it did not take all I had, I gave her one. She said you look very dignified and stately to which you may be certain I heartily agreed. If people desire to win my heart they have only to praise you and the thing is done. I have seen a number of my acquaintances, and among them Colburn77 and Sullivan. Colburn will be with us on McClellan’s staff. My dear, you have no idea of the awful condition of things at this point. Imagine, if you can, fifty thousand men in an utterly demoralized condition—caring nothing for discipline, or anything else, with no restraint upon them, and you may then form some notion of our condition. I begin to be afraid that we have undertaken what we never can accomplish—to make good soldiers out of the “sovereigns”78 of the north. Nor are the Regulars any better. The 3rd Infantry had five companies in the battle. To-day they could not muster two good companies. The balance have run away and altogether have acted shamefully.79 Matters will have to get better here, or we are whipped. Day before yesterday Genl. Mc.C. issued an order that officers should not loiter about the city, but should remain with their several commands. One day passed over without any attention being paid to it, when the Genl. lost patience—and to-day detachments of Regulars were going about the streets arresting officers and sending them to their quarters, or rather to their several camps. To-night, for the first time in weeks this hotel has been clear of an army of volunteer officers. Of course I can’t tell how long we may remain here, but probably as long as a month. How would you like to come on and spend that time with me? There is nothing very attractive in Washington, and you would have to expect to be 76. William F. Raynolds (1820–94), West Point class of 1843. Raynolds was a noted antebellum topographical engineer who became the Department of Virginia’s chief topographical engineer in July 1861. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 499. 77. Albert V. “Sandy” Colburn (1830–63), West Point class of 1855. Cullum’s Register, 2:404–5. Also see chapter 2, note 21, and chapter 3, note 3. 78. “Sovereigns” was a slang term for volunteer citizen-soldiers, who were looked upon with disdain by many West Point–trained professional soldiers during the antebellum era and at the onset of the Civil War. 79. Union forces were soundly defeated at the First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas), which took place only twenty miles west of Washington. The subsequent haste with which the Northern soldiers fled back into the capital left the city and the troops in a demoralized condition for weeks. As a disciplined West Pointer, Poe was aghast at what he saw.

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able to find my society sufficiently agreeable to make the time pass lightly. Can you do so? I don’t want to urge you to come, but as we are to remain right in the city so long, I see no good reason for you not coming, provided always that you want to do so. Let me know when you answer this, how you feel about it. I miss you now more than ever. The few happy days that we were together only prove to me how much I love you, and how very, very dear you are to me. How long will the memory of last Sunday remain with us, when we quietly sat down in a home-like way and had a long talk? I for one will not soon forget it. Of course there were some unpleasant things attending my visit, but thank fortune you were in no way connected with them, and perhaps the less said about them, the better. Suffice it to say, that I am now afraid that I have been guilty of giving a “Judas Kiss.”80 I am trying hard to feel as a Christian ought to feel, and to “love them that despitefully use” me, but it is very hard work. I want to go up to the Capitol to-day & see what Congress looks like. Of course I don’t expect to see very much, for I am afraid that I can’t think of, or feel respectfully toward, that part of our government, but still I am anxious, at this juncture to witness the “assembled wisdom” of the nation. I am stopping—at present, at “Willard’s,” but intend going elsewhere as soon as possible. The Genl. has taken Senator Gwin’s81 house for Head Qtrs and I may get a room there though it is not yet certain. I see that Genl. Cox, in pursuance of Genl. McClellan’s plan has driven Wise from his chosen position at the Gauley Bridge.82 This success completely drives the enemy out of Western Virginia, and is in strong contrast with what has been done here. With love to you all, and devoted affection to yourself, I am your husband Orlando M. Poe

80. A “Judas Kiss” is an act of betrayal, especially one that is disguised as an act of friendship. 81. William M. Gwin (1805–85), Democratic senator from California. A vocal slavery proponent, Gwin had recently been arrested on a disloyalty charge. “Gwin, William McKendree.,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, http://bioguide.congress. gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000540, accessed Nov. 1, 2016. 82. Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox marched his Union command into the Kanawha River valley in late July 1861. In the face of this advance, Brig. Gen. Henry A. Wise, the former governor of Virginia, had his men withdraw and, on July 26, ordered his Confederate troops to burn the bridge over the Gauley River. Newell, Lee vs. McClellan, 191–94.

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A respectable young woman traveling alone was expected to have an escort for the journey, but if not, then at least another man who would see her safely through each portion of her journey, as evidenced by Poe’s explanations in this next letter. (27) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Washington D.C. Augt 10th 1861 My dear Eleanor, I have not written you for a week, as I have expected every day to receive a telegram saying that you had started for Washington, but each day I was doomed to disappointment. I telegraphed you yesterday evening, saying that if you came with an escort you had better not stop in Baltimore, but come at once to the Ebbitt House Washington. The arrangement about stopping in Baltimore was made under the supposition that you would either have an escort to Harrisburgh [Pa.], or would come the whole way alone. There would not be the slightest trouble until you reached Baltimore, and there I would meet you. There would really be no trouble at Baltimore, but there is a delay of some hours there and the time would pass heavily if you were alone. Even if you have an escort I will try to be at the depot when you get here. State in your telegram whether you are coming with or without an escort. Washington is as quiet, and much more free from soldiery than Detroit. All the troops are outside of the city, and are not permitted to leave their camps. No one would imagine for a moment that there are so many armed men almost within gunshot of the President’s House. No difficulty is ever met with in travelling, if one minds his own business, and pays no attention to what strangers may say. Conductors are always civil; and if courteously spoken to will gladly give any desired information. If I had supposed there would have been any difficulty about your starting, I would have written to Capt. Viger, who commands the Steamer May Queen, and he would have seen you safe across the lake,83 and at Cleveland would buy your ticket for you, and have your baggage checked to Baltimore, (you can’t have it checked further) and then give you a seat in the cars, putting you under the care of the conductor, who at Pittsburgh would have put you under charge of another and so on until you reached Baltimore. Still I supposed that this would suggest itself to some of your friends. I fully appreciate all the difficulties you have to contend with, and my 83. Lake Erie.

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dear wife I can assure you that it does not lessen my love for you, that you are willing to encounter them. I only hope, when you get here, that I may succeed in my endeavor to interest and please you, that you will not be sorry that you joined me. Please give my love to all who care for it. Tell Maria that I am flattered by her kind message. Remember me to Winnie, and believe me, my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe Don’t forget my remembrances to the judge. Part of Poe’s work entailed a reconnaissance in force on September 11, 1861, to the northern Virginia village of Lewinsville, where he was to survey the ground to determine if a Union force should permanently occupy the area. The mission ended in a skirmish with Confederate cavalry, prompting the bluecoat’s hasty withdrawal.84 Shortly thereafter, McClellan offered Poe command of the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which he accepted and formally assumed on September 16. The transfer resulted in a promotion to colonel of volunteers, though he also technically remained a first lieutenant in the regular army. The 2nd Michigan was mustered into service in late April 1861 and immediately garnered a less-than-stellar reputation due to its antics traveling from Kalamazoo to Detroit. When Poe took command, the regiment was camped near Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the Washington defenses. The men were in need of a tough new colonel since their prior commander, Israel Richardson,85 had just received promotion to brigadier general. Within a year, Poe’s discipline and training had flipped the regiment’s reputation from doubtful to that of a crack fighting unit. Poe’s affection for what he termed his “Old Second” was lifelong. His surviving men felt the same toward him. (28) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp of 2nd Mich. Oct 12th 1861 My dear, We march for Fort Lyon86 below Alexandria at 8:00 this morning. I will be up tomorrow night, if my duties will permit. Yours &c, O. M. Poe 84. Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 47–50. 85. Brig. Gen. Israel B. Richardson (1815–62). Warner, Generals in Blue, 402–3. 86. Fort Lyon, named for Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, killed in Missouri at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek (August 11, 1861), was a preeminent Union fort built on high ground just south of Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the defenses of Washington, DC.

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(29) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Michigan Dec 26th 1861 My dear, I reached here safely, after meeting on the road an A.D.C. [aide-de-camp] of the Generals’, with a verbal order to me to report at once—which order I obeyed.87 I found here the enclosed letter which I knew to be from Tom, I therefore opened it, knowing that you would not object. I also found your letter to me, which I read with more interest than you seemed to attach to it, and will not destroy it. I don’t expect to be able to get in to town again for some time. When you answer Tom’s letter remember me to him. There is no news of importance here. The 3rd Mich. & 37th N.Y. went down to Pohick Church yesterday, but had no fight. With love, I am yours O. M. Poe

87. By this point, Poe and Richardson were constantly quarreling over what he viewed as the general’s meddling. Others noticed this as well, which led to Poe’s regiment being referred to as Richardson’s “pet lambs.” Sears, For Country, Cause, & Leader, 157–58.

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two

R “There Is No Justice to Be Found in This Army of the Potomac” The Virginia Peninsula and Career Frustration, January 12–June 7, 1862

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he 2nd Michigan Infantry spent its winter quarters at Camp Michigan, part of Washington’s southernmost defensive line near Fort Lyon. For Poe, the beginning of 1862 was his winter of discontent due to Brig. Gen. Israel Richardson’s consistent intrusions into his handling of the 2nd Michigan. Poe’s solution was to try to have his regiment transferred away from the general by becoming an artillery unit. At the last moment this request was denied, sending Poe into a fit of pique. He then pleaded with McClellan to return to his staff, reminding the general, “Your enemies are neither few nor far between, but in me you will find a man who will stand by you, and you may have use for such.” Poe even threatened resignation, but in the end everything remained status quo. Meanwhile, McClellan was planning what became known as the Peninsula Campaign.1

(30) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Jany. 12th 1862 My dear, I have the pleasure of forwarding to you a very nice letter from our aunt, who appears to possess more common sense than Providence deigned to confer upon some others. I recognized the writing, and being extremely anxious to know just what was her feelings, opened & read the letter. If it had not been a nice letter, you should not have seen it. 1. Poe to Maj. Gen. George McClellan, Jan. 3, 1862, Poe Papers, LC.

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When you answer it, give my warmest love to Maria, and tell her I am much obliged for the kiss she sent me, and hope that she will do so many times in the future. The 5th [Michigan Infantry] had a man killed two days ago while on Picket, and had another wounded. Very heavy firing has been heard all night & we suppose that the [USS] Pensacola was running the Blockade. Much of the firing evidently came from the broadside of a ship.2 There is no other news. Yours my dear wife, O. M. Poe (31) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Michigan Jany. 23rd 1862 My dear, Enclosed you will find a letter from Tom which although addressed to you, I have read, and afterwards graciously deign to send you. Our “Board”3 is grinding away, much to the terror of certain volunteer officers of Heintzelman’s Divn.4 Being a large body we move slowly, for we have no idea of allowing the “Board” to end its labors for several days. I got an omelette and a cup of coffee from our friend Pot. &c, which has served me for breakfast, and I trust Miss Collard will supply any deficiency which may now exist in the stomach region. Yours &c, O. M. Poe P.S. After writing the above [letter], the enclosed little & very rapturous epistle came. I did not know what it was, & thinking it might be something of more than ordinary consequence, I spied its contents. Do ask your correspondents to address you at Mrs. Bryant’s, No. 303 “G” Street, or I will discover all your secrets. 2. The USS Pensacola was a steam-and-sail warship. It successfully sailed out of Alexandria, Virginia, on the night of January 11, 1862, past the Confederate shore batteries blockading the lower Potomac River. Wills, Confederate Blockade of Washington, 112–14. 3. As a professional military man and West Pointer, Poe was picked to serve on a “board of examination,” authorized the previous summer by Congress, “to examine the capacity, qualification, propriety of conduct, and efficiency of any commissioned officer of volunteers.” 4. Brig. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman (1805–80), West Point class of 1826. Warner, Generals in Blue, 227–28.

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(32) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Heintzelman [near Fortress Monroe]5 Mch. 26th / 62 My dear, I was surprised to learn from Capt. Sawtelle6 to-day that you had not received my letters. I have written you two or three times, and can imagine no reason why you have failed to get the letters. Since I wrote you I visited the “Monitor.” Of course you must not expect a description such as would be available to an enemy should he succeed in getting hold of this scrawl. Suffice it to say that she is fearfully and wonderfully made. I don’t believe that anything can do anything with her. She seems to be impregnable to shot, shell, and rams.7 I believe that I get all the letters you write. Keep writing them for they do me a great deal of good. I am well and am only sorry that I can’t write to you more fully, but it is not prudent to do so, and I know that you would rather that your curiosity would remain unsatisfied than any risk be run of conveying information into channels where it should not go. With love, I am yours, Orlando M. Poe (33) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Heintzelman Fortress Monroe March 29th/ 62 My dear wife, I have just recd. three letters from you, one of which enclosed a couple of vignettes of yourself. For all these I thank you most heartily. I am glad to learn that you have heard from me. I have written often & if you have not recd. the letters it was through no fault of mine. But whether you hear from me often or not, I want you to write as often as you can, for I am yet more

5. Completed in 1834, Fortress Monroe (officially Fort Monroe) was a preeminent stoneand-brick bastion covering sixty-three acres located at the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Named in honor of Pres. James Monroe, it was under Union control throughout the Civil War. 6. Capt. Charles G. Sawtelle, West Point class of 1854. Cullum’s Register, 2:387. 7. The USS Monitor was the navy’s first ironclad warship. On March 8–9, 1862, the Monitor had engaged the CSS Virginia, a Confederate ironclad ram built on the hull of the former frigate USS Merrimack, off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in the legendary first battle of ironclad warships.

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lonely than you can be. I feel very sorry for you that you feel so lonely but you must not be offended if I tell you that I think you feel more of isolation than you ought. When we married, we did not expect to be always together and indeed I think we have been very fortunate in that respect.—You must keep up your cheer, for all will be right again one of these days. Your situation is not half so bad as is that of many another person. At least we should not complain of what can’t be helped. If Washington has become so bad as you say, you ought to leave there. I half wish you had gone to Detroit with Mrs. Trowbridge. You could have boarded there, just as well as in Washington. Or what I would deem still better, go to my mother’s, and remain until I either come, or send for you. Should you think proper to take this course at any time, you can get someone to go with you to the cars, to start you and your baggage, and you have the directions so that there would be no difficulty. If you do this at any time, you should buy a ticket for Pittsburgh, and have your baggage checked to that place, and then ticket and check to Massillon. I don’t know where we are going from here, but of course suspect. I wrote to Maria yesterday and I hope she may get the letter, for I don’t intend to write many letters except to yourself during this campaign. Doubtless you have recd. my letter, in which I speak of having taken tea, and spent the evening at Dr. Cuyler’s,8 and that Mrs. C insisted upon one of your photographs, which I have given her. I want to call there & will give your messages. Hoping you may soon be in better heart, I am your loving husband, O. M. Poe (34) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fortress Monroe Va. April 1st 1862 My dear, I can’t imagine why you don’t get my letters. I write every day, and to-day have written twice. I hope some of the letters will succeed in reaching you, for I have to grab at the time devoted to such purposes. In my letter of this morning I stated that I thought you had better go to my mother’s, and stay a while. I don’t like the idea of you either staying 8. Dr. John M. Cuyler, chief medical officer at West Point, 1848–55, and senior medical officer at Fort Monroe during the Civil War’s early years. Cullum’s Register, 1:65.

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any longer in Washington, or going to Baltimore. The disturbances in both places render it desirable that you should be at neither.9 I then must request that you start for Ohio, and follow the directions I have already given you, viz, get someone to take you, and all our baggage to the Depot, and start you on board the cars, with ticket &c. to Pittsburgh. There get a ticket, and have your baggage checked to Massillon. Of course you will have to pay for extra baggage. At Massillon, go to the “American House,” and tell the proprietor, Mr. George Zeilly who you are, and that you want to be taken with your baggage to Mrs. Poe’s, near Navarre. Zeilly knows me well and will take some trouble to take care of you. If your driver don’t know exactly where mother lives, go to Navarre and enquire for Enos Raff, and tell him who you are, and he will either take you out, or so direct you that you can’t fail to find where mother lives. There you will be safe, but very quiet. You will have to exert all your patience and Christian feeling for you will find everything very different from what you have been accustomed to. But be patient for my sake.—I propose to your considerable of an undertaking but I deem it necessary, and I have no doubt but you will get safely through it. Before you get to Pittsburgh, tell the conductor who you are, and ask him to help you. Tell him your husband is a Royal Arch Mason & that will serve you. After you pass Pittsburgh, tell the new conductor the same thing, and ask him to get you and your baggage ashore at Massillon. Don’t forget the fact that you are the wife of a Mason, and you will find plenty of friends who will only be too glad to serve you.10—I will write again to-morrow, and every day when we are in such a situation that I can do so. My dear wife, good bye and the affection of your husband attend & comfort you O. M. Poe Remember me to the Kingsbury’s and others.

9. Many areas in Washington and throughout Maryland contained a significant population with Southern sympathies. 10. Poe here reveals that he was a Mason, a fraternal and charitable “secret society” that had been present in the English colonies and the United States for almost 130 years by the start of the Civil War. Masons are known for their meetings’ spiritual overtones, secret signs, and passwords as well as their deep loyalty to brother members. See Halleran, Better Angels of Our Nature.

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(35) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Heintzelman Va. April 3rd 1862 [#1] My darling Nelly, I have just recd. your two letters dated respectively April 1st and 2nd. As usual both of them came together. If letters in unlimited quantity are calculated to make you feel better you certainly ought to be in the “seat of the happy.” Since the letters you speak of I have written urging you to go to mother’s.11 I don’t like the idea of you going to Baltimore. If we should be defeated in the coming fight, Baltimore would revolt,12 and there would be no safety in this city for you. Mother so far from not wanting you will feel highly honored and will do all she can, in her quiet way to keep up your cheer. Her house is a humble one, and it has been many a year since a luxury has been seen there, but your presence would light it up, and you could find so much for both hands & head to do, that you would feel better. Mother is not a demonstrative person. I even doubt whether she would kiss you, for I never saw her kiss anybody, but she would die for you. If you go and your reception don’t seem warm enough, don’t feel slighted, for it will only be so because they are afraid of you. You may perhaps remember the way in which she wrote about you when I informed her we were engaged—the doubt she had whether you would be pleased with her quiet home and unpolished manners. I pledged myself then for you, and I have no fear that you will ever do anything to make me regret having given it. Remember that you will go where I am extremely popular. Every man, woman, and child in the whole neighborhood esteems & respects me, & they will be equally your friends but they won’t tell you so. I am perfectly aware how lonesome you will be at first & how different everything will be from your present life. I know too how much we both owe to Mrs. Kingsbury—more than we can some repay, but she can hardly think we slight her when you go to mother’s. I would feel very much more comfortable if you were there, for I would then know that in any event you would be safe. I suppose that we will march in the morning. Rumors of that kind are in

11. Susanna Poe (age forty-seven) lived in Navarre, Ohio, in Stark County and just south of Massillon. Per the 1860 Federal census, other residents included her children, William and Rebecca, and an eleven-year-old girl named Ellen Elliott. 12. Baltimore contained pockets of significant Southern sympathizers. Also see Poe’s comments in his letters of April 19 and August 10, 1861.

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camp & I presume they are true. The battle is not far off and a big & bloody one it will be. God grant us the victory. I am, my dear wife, your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe My pay is due me from the 1st day of March. Bear that fact in mind. (36) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress April 3rd 1862 [#2] My darling, I wrote you one letter this evening, and dated it April 4th by mistake. Since that was written, we have recd. orders to march at 7 o’clock to-morrow morning. Our camp is all a stir, cooking rations etc., and the men feel good. They generally understand that we must win the battle13—that if we fail, we are gone, because we can’t retreat.

“Virginia Peninsula, March–June 7, 1862” 13. General McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign commenced from Fort Monroe on March 15, 1862. His command consisted of some 120,000 men, forty-four artillery batteries, tons of supplies, and 15,000 animals. Poe’s 2nd Michigan Infantry was part of the Third Brigade, Third Division, in Heintzelman’s III Corps.

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I will write to you every chance that I have. Try and make up your mind to go and stay with mother, and I will feel much easier. With a hearty good bye from your husband and an assurance that I will act as becomes a man in the coming fight.14 I am faithfully yours. O. M. Poe (37) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Before Yorktown Va., April 6th 1862 My dear wife, I have just received your letter of the 3rd inst., dear, good one that it is. I am much gratified by your decision to go to Mother’s, and will anxiously await the tidings that you have safely reached there. We go into battle tomorrow, and it will be with fewer cares upon my part. So you may notice by the heading, we are in position before the ancient town of Yorktown. The enemy, in force, is in full view, we estimate them at 40,000 men, and they are behind strong lines of entrenchments, but we hope to be able to carry them.15 The enemy amuses himself by occasionally throwing a shell or two, into our bivouac, and always with effect. Several have been killed & wounded already, but my regt. has suffered no loss yet. Some slight damage has been done to Griffin’s16 battery, but all is repaired again. Randolph’s battery,17 (of our division), has had six horses killed but no men. Another Rhode Island battery has suffered some, also a Massachusetts battery. To-morrow will be an eventful day for our cause or I am mistaken in the signs around me. The Regt. is pretty strong and in good spirits, and we will do our best. I saw Gordon yesterday. He was riding in view of his company being under arrest. He felt badly, but he got a good hearty shake of the hand, and a word of sympathy from me and that made him look brighter. He sent very kind messages to you.

14. As a West Point–trained officer, Poe saw himself as not only a man of military science but also a “gentleman,” whose foundational traits were courage blended with manly selfcontrol. Foote, Gentlemen and the Roughs, 56–59; Hsieh, West Pointers and the Civil War, 24. 15. In fact, Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder’s Confederate forces inside Yorktown initially numbered less than 15,000 men. McClellan became renowned for his habit of overestimating his enemy’s strength. See Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 84. 16. Charles Griffin (1825–67), West Point class of 1847. Warner, Generals in Blue, 190–91. 17. Capt. George E. Randolph, Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Artillery.

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I saw Col. Kingsbury18 on yesterday morning. He said that he would write to Mrs. Kingsbury and tell her that he had seen me, and I was to say to you that I had seen him. As this letter will find you at Navarre, my message to Mrs. K is scarcely necessary. I will write a line to Washington saying that I have written this for fear that you may not have gone from there when this [no additional]. And now, my dear wife, I have only to say that my next letter will be written after the battle of Yorktown.—With love to Mother & the rest.—I am, my dear, dear Nelly, your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe Excuse my writing. It is done under great difficulties. You direct your letters exactly right. (38) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Before Yorktown Va. April 10th 1862 My darling Nelly, Whiting19 has just returned from Fort Monroe where he saw Mrs. W and she told him that you had started for Ohio. My dear wife, how can I sufficiently thank you for your cheerful compliance with my request. It will be excessively lonely for you for a while, but bye & bye I will be back from the wars, and we will take particular pains to make such arrangements that we will not be separated so much in future. We have done little or nothing yet. The rebel position is an exceedingly strong one, and if we reduce it at all, it must be a work of time. The confederates are in high glee, and think they can whip us and they may be able to do so, though it looks to me like a drawn game. We have a big army and a good one. Among those who compose it, are all our old friends whose names you have heard all your life. The last two or three days have been perfectly awful. Rain, snow, & mud have been the order of the day until we have begun to anxiously enquire whether we were in the “sunny south.” Last night, my Regt. was turned out at 12 o’clock to repel an advance of the enemy. It was sleeting at the time, 18. Col. Charles P. Kingsbury (1816–79), West Point class of 1840, had a long and distinguished army career. At the time of this letter, Kingsbury was serving as chief of ordnance to General McClellan. Cullum’s Register, 1:592–93. 19. DeGarmo J. Whiting (1833–64) entered service as first lieutenant and quartermaster with the 2nd Michigan Infantry on October 28, 1861. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:182.

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and for the two hours we were out, we suffered intensely. Four men fainted and had to be carried off, and at one time I have begun to fear that the whole Regt. would fail. The fact is, that in the condition we were, two hundred good men would have whipped us. I send lots of love to mother and the rest—but my warmest affection is to you, my dear Nelly O. M. Poe (39) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Yorktown Va. April 15th 1862 My dear— I did not intend to write to you until later in the day, but we have just recd. an order to go out on picket, to remain out for 24 hours. I can’t help believing that the force of the enemy in this neighborhood is somewhat exaggerated. I don’t believe they have more than fifty thousand men in front of us, though I may be wonderfully mistaken. However we will soon know, for our heavy guns are coming up so rapidly that the fight must soon open. It is all we are waiting for now. I was over at the “Regular”20 camp yesterday, and saw many of my old friends. I looked for Col. Kingsbury, but could not find him as he did not appear to be in camp. I saw Colburn,21 who asked for you. Of course my letter today must be a short one—though not so short as to prevent me from sending you the enclosed leaf of Holly which I brought from within rifle shot of the enemy’s works. . . . With love to yourself, and all the rest. I am your affc. husband, O. M. Poe I will write again just as soon as we return from Picket. P.S. I have just opened my letter to tell you that I have recd. both your letters, one from Massillon, and the other from home. God bless you all. There are letters at Navarre P.O. for you & mother. O. M. P.

20. Poe was referring to those men serving the US regular army, not the volunteers. 21. Bvt. Capt. Albert V. Colburn was now assistant adjutant general for General McClellan. Cullum’s Register, 2:404–5. Also see chapter 1, note 77, and chapter 3, note 3.

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(40) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Winfield Scott Near Yorktown Va. April 19th 1862 [#1] My dear Nelly, Our Regt. has just been detailed for fatigue duty, and I have only time to write a word or two. I don’t know where we are going to work, but imagine that it is down near the right of the line, somewhere. The news here amounts to just exactly nothing different from what I have already written—almost constant skirmishing with little damage done to either party. You know my opinion of such work and how I despise everything which looks like “Picket firing.” Carlile’s battery22 of his six twenty pound Parrot guns is in position this morning and we may expect to hear from it before long. I had scarcely written the words when—boom—went the first gun, and the shell whistled off towards the enemy. Unless I am mistaken this battery will wake them up somewhat. It was grand to see the firing a day or two ago, and to notice its wholesome effect upon the Confederates. They may be extremely brave and chivalrous, but they appeared to me to run exactly like other people. By the way, I hope you took my sword &c with you to Ohio, for if it has been left in Washington, I will be certain to lose it. Let me know about it the first time you write. I have not recd. a line from you since the note announcing your arrival at mother’s. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe (41) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Winfield Scott Near Yorktown Va. April 19th 1862 [#2] My darling Nelly, I have just recd. your two letters—12th & 14th insts.—and they cheered me up very much indeed, for they seemed to be written in a cheerful spirit. You will be very happy where you are, after you have fallen into the habits of the people there. They are very simple in their manners, but they are good people.

22. Capt. J. Howard Carlisle, Battery E, 2nd US Artillery.

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I have no doubt but you and mother have resolved yourselves into a mutual admiration society, or rather into a society for the admiration of myself. I would like to drop in amongst you some day when you are indulging in that delightful amusement. I told you that you would find that I had plenty of friends at home, not being one of those men who must go amongst strangers in order to be appreciated.—You see that I am boiling over with egotism. Apr. 20—Yesterday evening I went on to Hd. Qtrs. To see Col. Kingsbury.— While there, he recd. a letter from Mrs. K— who said that she had had a letter from you.—Genl. Franklin23 was at Hd. Qtrs. while I was there. His whole division has come down. It is said that Secy. Stanton24 threatened to resign if Franklin was ordered down here, and that Mr. Lincoln grew quite wroth, and told him that he was at liberty to resign at once, but of course he did not carry out his threat. I heard yesterday that Genl. Heintzleman had disapproved of my appointment as Brig. Genl.—If I heard the truth, then Genl. H. has made himself busy in an affair which did not concern him, for he was not called upon to either approve or disapprove the proceedings.—In fact, the paper was not an application for the appt. but merely an official paper communicating to Genl. McClellan a knowledge of what had been done.25 There has been a good deal of firing along the line to-day, but with what result I do not know,—but presume that as usual no one is hurt.—The Prince de Joinville26 was over at my camp this morning, and by an expressive wink of the eye & a sagacious nod gave me to understand that something was going to be done before long, but I assure you that I don’t know what it is.—We are having a regular Easter storm—rain in abundance, and mud knee deep.—Gordon has been tried by court martial, acquitted, and returned to duty.—With love to you all, I am, my dear dear Nelly—your affc. husband O. M. Poe

23. Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin (1823–1903), West Point class of 1843. Warner, Generals in Blue, 159–60. 24. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton was appointed by President Lincoln to the position in January 1862 following the resignation of Simon Cameron due to corruption allegations. Though initially a War Democrat, Stanton quickly became an ally of the Radical Republicans. See Marvel, Lincoln’s Autocrat. 25. Poe’s first hint that Heintzelman was against him—for reasons unknown to Poe. 26. François-Ferdinand-Philippe-Louis-Marie d’Orléans (1818–1900). In 1861 the French prince sailed to Washington to offer his services to the US government. Lincoln appointed him to General McClellan’s staff.

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I write to you every day, or at most every two days. You ought to get letters often. Need I tell you how glad I am to learn that Mrs. Kingsbury’s conjecture has no foundation whatever. (42) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Winfield Scott April 23 1862 My dear Nell, Thank you for your last letter, for you have finally found out what my name is. Our letters would furnish food for amusement to others were they to see them for they would imagine that we were unmarried, so much do we indulge in sentimentality. My dear wife, I have much less repugnance for the term sentimental, than I had a year or two ago. It is very nice to get sentimental letters from you, and I hope I shall be favored with plenty more of them. There is no great news here. The siege of Yorktown drags its slow length along. The biggest fight ever fought on this continent will come off here. The forces on both sides are large, and the stake is a great one. Poor Wagner (of our corps) who had his arm shot off a day are two ago, is dead.27 I saw Col. Kingsbury this afternoon. He is hopeful. Don’t you find mother a great patriot? Wm. A. Howard, and Dr. E. M. Clark of Detroit, are here to look after the comfort of Michigan troops. Colonel Terry28 is monopolizing them. Bayard29 has distinguished himself again. He charged the rebel cavalry commanded by Fitz Hugh Lee.30 Bayard had his horse killed. He is now in Fredericksburgh. Why don’t you subscribe for the Detroit Free Press, & then you can get all the news. I would send the money to Detroit and subscribe for you, but the Pay master has not been here yet, and I am “broke.” You have with you all the funds of the firm. We expect the Pay M. every day, but it don’t make any

27. Capt. Orlando G. Wagner, West Point class of 1859, was mortally wounded while reconnoitering rebel positions. Cullum’s Register, 2:483. 28. Col. Henry D. Terry (1812–69) commanded the 5th Michigan Infantry. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 945. 29. George Dashiell Bayard (1835–62), Poe’s friend and an 1856 classmate at West Point. It was Bayard who introduced Poe to his future wife, Eleanor. Bayard, Life of George Dashiell Bayard, 141; Warner, Generals in Blue, 26. 30. Col. Fitzhugh Lee (1835–1905), West Point class of 1856, a nephew of Gen. Robert E. Lee and colonel of the 1st Virginia Cavalry at the time of this letter. Warner, Generals in Gray, 178–79.

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Union Troops Entering Yorktown, from a Sketch of May 4, 1862 (Johnson and Buel, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, 2:173)

difference about him, for we don’t need any money here. My pay is due from the first day of March—two months. Love to you all, and believe me, my dear wife your affc. husband, O. M. Poe McClellan’s siege of Yorktown ended during the night of May 3, when Confederate forces abandoned their positions, withdrawing up the peninsula toward Williamsburg. (43) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp Winfield Scott Yorktown Va. May 4th 1862 My dear— You will observe that I no longer say “Near Yorktown”, for I have just returned from Yorktown itself—having been inside the great works from which we have driven the enemy. About daylight this morning word was given us, from the front that the rebels were leaving. But a few minutes elapsed before our men were inside the lines which the rebels had just left. We have possession of quite a number of heavy guns—(all they had)—say thirty or forty in number. They have all the avenues of approach filled with torpedos,31 many of 31. “Torpedoes” was Civil War nomenclature for what are now known as land mines. They were viewed by Union soldiers as a despicable, less than honorable form of warfare.

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which have exploded within the last hour, killing & wounding quite a number of our men. Why the enemy left, I can’t imagine, for they were extremely strong. Our works about Washington were nothing in comparison with those we now hold. My own notion is that they are falling back in order to concentrate their forces and give us battle. We are ordered to move on just as soon as we can pack up, which operation is going on quite as fast as we can. I will write at the next stopping place.—Yours in great haste and with any amount of love. O. M. Poe My address will remain just as it has been until I tell you to change it. (44) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Williamsburg, Va. May 6th 1862 My dear Nelly— I recd. a letter from you yesterday morning (No. 10) just as we were about to march. We fought a severe battle here yesterday.32 The “second” was in the thickest of the fight. Our loss is 14 killed—39 wounded, and 15 missing. I only took into action about three hundred men so that we lost one out of every five engaged. The 5th [Michigan] and 37th [New York] suffered much more, though they were not in so hot a fire. I attribute this fact, to our being deployed as skirmishers, instead of being in line of battle. Genl. Kearney [sic] commands our division now,33 and most dashingly he does it too. No men ever fought better, than the three regts. of our Brigade which were engaged. Capts. Morse and McCreery, and Lieut. Johnson of the 2nd, are wounded, the first two very badly.34 Col. Beach of the 5th Mich. is perhaps mortally wounded.35 Col. Hayman was slightly wounded. That Capt. 32. The Battle of Williamsburg was fought on May 5, 1862. Union forces argued it was their victory as they held the ground following the Confederate’s withdrawal. The Confederates argued it was a successful rearguard action on their part that allowed their supply trains to escape. See Dubbs, Defend This Old Town. 33. Poe routinely spelled Kearny as “Kearney” throughout his letters. Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny (1815–62) commanded the Third Division in Heintzelman’s III Corps. Kearny lost his left arm due to a wound suffered at the Battle of Churubusco (1847) during the Mexican War. He was considered one of the most daring, dashing generals in the Army of the Potomac. 34. Capt. William R. Morse, Company F, and Capt. William B. McCreery, Company I. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:113, 125–26. On Morse, also see chapter 5, note 24. 35. Lt. Col. Samuel E. Beach was severely wounded in the thigh. He survived his wound, though he was out of action for the next three months. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 771.

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McGuire who rode up from Alexandria with us in the ambulance was mortally wounded. That Cap. Wilson whom you met when we were over to see the seminary was killed. The loss of our brigade is heavy but Genl. Heintzelman says we saved the day. Everything was in retreat when we came up, and it was only after four or five hours of the hardest fighting that we gained the victory. The 37th fought like devils. We will be complemented very handsomely. Genl. Kearney rode up to me in the field, and grasped my hand, thanking me. We are allowed to rest to-day, for we were in bad condition. Capt. Lefavour, & Sherlock, of the 5th from Detroit are wounded.36 I was not even scratched though I had a great many narrow escapes. It was currently reported in the rear that I was wounded because someone saw me limp at one time. But my lameness was caused by a sore leg which has troubled me for the last few days. I was bitten by a bug, which seems to have been poison. I am better now. Last night we lay upon the field of battle, the rain pouring down and most of us without blankets or overcoats. The mud was half knee deep, but we had no choice but to lie right down in it. Major Dillman37 lay at one side of me, and a dead man on the other. Truly there is a reality in war. I don’t know what the entire loss of either army is, but it was a bigger & hotter battle than Bull Run. With love to you all, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Few Poe letters exhibited his pride and sense of frustration over lack of public acclaim than the following one. He was far from alone, however. Numerous Northern soldiers and civilians expected the Peninsula Campaign to result in one grand battle at the gates of Richmond, which would inevitably result in the Confederacy’s defeat. For many Union officers, therefore, it was now or never to garner the public glory that would serve them well personally and/or professionally after the war.38

36. Capts. Heber Le Favour and Edward T. Sherlock, 5th Michigan Infantry. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 871, 928. 37. Maj. Louis Dillman (1831–1903) was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 26, 1862. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 813. 38. Rose, Victorian America and the Civil War, 98.

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(45) Poe to eleanor Poe—Poe PaPers, library of Congress Barhamsville, Va. May 12th 1862 My dear — I have just recd. yours of May 7th (No. 16)—a good kind letter, written in your better mood. (Nos. 13 & 15 have not yet been rec?) Before this time you have got my letters telling you about the battle, and probably have seen the newspapers, which seem to ignore the fact that our Brigade was engaged at all. Even Genl. McClellan in the dispatches thus far made public does not refer to us, but he has recd. such a waking up that the matter will probably be attended to. The Genl. has shown a disposition to play the old game—take us by the hand & thank us—and there let the matter rest, but there are fifteen thousand men now raising such a din about his ears that he don’t dare to do so. Unless the credit is given me which I feel is my due, I will quit soldiering, and I only echo what I have heard more than half a dozen generals say, including Genl. Heintzelman. I for one, am tired of working exclusively for the benefit of others. True—it is a great deal to be called in front of my Regt. by the Comd. in chief, & thanked, in the presence of thousands, but I want it to be known outside of the army. We are making history, and if I do anything which makes my name worthy of a place in that history, then I want it there, and I will have it, or I will leave the service. Hancock undoubtedly acted well, but his loss is about twenty, out of his Brigade, while ours, out of half the number, amounts to over three hundred & fifty. Yet Hancock is mentioned in telegrams to the Secy. of War and we are not.39 Genl. McC. tells us publicly that we saved the army from defeat, & himself from ruin, but he didn’t say so in despatches. These things can go on much longer, for there are those who will not submit to it. I send you a copy of Genl. Kearney’s report to the Gov. of Mich. Just notice, if you please the difference. He speaks of Col. Poe but, of Col. Terry’s Regt. We are at Barhamsville, about 40 miles from Richmond. Our advanced guard has been within 20 miles of that city. I suppose you have heard that great news that we have Norfolk and Suffolk, and that the Merrimac has been destroyed by the rebels themselves.40 39. Poe refers to Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–86). His brigade’s success in flanking the Confederate left prompted McClellan to remark that Hancock was superb. Northern papers reported the Union commander as describing him as “Hancock the Superb,” while mostly ignoring the general’s fellow officers. Warner, Generals in Blue, 202–4. 40. Following the battle off Hampton Roads, on March 9, 1862, the former Merrimack, rebuilt as an ironclad ram and renamed the CSS Virginia by the rebels, essentially remained in dry dock. Unable to venture into the Atlantic nor retreat farther up the James River, the ship was destroyed by the Confederates on May 11, 1862, rather than allow its capture by advancing Union forces.

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It is all true, and makes us feel much more confident than we did before. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if I should yet succeed in getting hold of your father’s Buena Vista sabre? I was at H. Q’s yesterday, and saw Col. Kingsbury. I took that opportunity to ventilate any opinion of the manner in which we had been treated. It did me a world of good. I have just been able to get hold of Genl. Berry’s41 report, and the supplementary report of Genl. Kearney. I send you such extracts as refer to myself. But remember, these are intended for private circulation only. Should they get into the newspapers I am ruined. Since writing the above I have recd. your two letters (Nos. 13 & 17). It is nothing new for E. M. Abbot to lie. The easiest way to stop her mouth is to know her. Tell mother that I said she should ask her out to see you. That will put an end to her jealousy for it is nothing else. With love to you all. I am, my dear Nelly, your affc. Husband. O. M. Poe P.S. The Detroit papers report me killed, don’t you believe it. Poe clearly expected that the personal relationship he had formed with George McClellan during his time spent on the general’s staff in western Virginia in 1861 would now merit him some measure of public commendation from the general commanding. His anger at not receiving such plaudits continue in this next letter. This exhibited a certain naiveté on Poe’s part, for major generals rarely publicly acknowledged the efforts of regimental colonels, opting instead to offer their praise to those generals (and colonels) who carried out their direct orders at the corps, division, or brigade level. (46) Poe to eleanor Poe—Poe PaPers, library of Congress Cumberland Landing Va. May 16th 1862 My dear, Last night I received your No. 18—and considerably enjoyed your “gardening story,” but more than all the good spirits evinced in the tone of your letter. You ask for the particulars of the battle of Williamsburg. I have written them and you no doubt have recd. them ere this. I have only to say that there is no justice to be found in this Army of the Potomac,42 and I am tired of service in it. If Genl. McClellan was the true man I always supposed him

41. Brig. Gen. Hiram G. Berry (1824–63). His brigade comprised the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Michigan Infantry along with the 37th New York Infantry. Warner, Generals in Blue, 31–32. 42. The Army of the Potomac was the Union’s main army in the eastern theater.

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to be, he would not permit such gross injustice. I tell you that I am disgusted, and were it not that we are here, face to face with the enemy, I would resign before I was ten minutes older. In spite of the official reports of Genl. Berry, Genl. Kearney, and Genl. Heintzelman, we are thrust aside to make room for others who are favorites. Bayard got a Brig. Genlcy. on less than quarter what I have done, but I have to stand aside. Great incentives one has to work hard—he gets so well repaid for it. This is the very muddiest place that I ever saw, and we are the crossest sett this morning in the whole army. Rain and mud have fallen most bountifully to our lot. Cumberland Landing is twelve miles up the Pamunkey [River], and 27 from Richmond. We are in hopes that we may lie idle today, for the mud in the roads makes them almost impassable. Excuse a shorter letter than usual, for it is written under the most adverse circumstances. With love to you all, I am your affc. O. M. Poe (47) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress On Picket At White Oak Swamp [about 8 miles east of Richmond] May 30th 1862 My dear— I have an opportunity to send a line, and a “Secesh” has kindly furnished me with pen, ink, & paper to do the writing with. We are out on duty for three days.—Things seem to move slowly. I supposed we would either be in Richmond, or be whipped before this—but neither of those events has yet occurred. And now there is precious little to write you about. I might describe this delightful locality, but don’t want to.—I will simply say that Moccasin snakes abound here. I ate breakfast this morning off plates & a table cloth. A “Secesh” named Allen furnished me this luxury without poisoning. My dear, I hope you will enjoy yourself in Detroit. Don’t shrink yourself in any way. Remember that there you are your own master, and can do what you please. Give my love to those who love me,—and believe me your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe The 2nd Michigan was hotly engaged and suffered heavily at the Battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks), fought May 31–June 1, 1862, eight miles east of Richmond. It was the largest battle in the eastern theater up to that point and was considered a tactical draw.

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(48) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near 7 Pines Sunday June 1st / 62 My dear wife Seated on the ground with a cartridge box between my knees, I will try and write you a line. Yesterday we fought another battle, and the bloodiest one, as well as the one most barren of results that this war has yet produced. Seven companies of the second were engaged, and our loss is about 70 men. I led five companies into an awful place, and somebody will be held responsible for the order that threw me, with less than 200 men forward at three regiments of the enemy in their chosen position. Of course the only effect was to cut us to pieces. I lost my horse, that good old bay, which was shot dead under me. I denounced the whole performance as pure murder, and nothing else, and did it to every general officer I could see. The reason that the Regiment went in in fragments was because we were on picket and went in to battle, as we were withdrawn from the line of outposts. But as usual Berry’s Brigade were in time to save the day, though not to make a decisive victory out of it, though this morning they were driven back handsomely by Hooker’s Div.43 Old Sedgwick44 covered himself with glory. Our loss is very heavy. Col. Terry has just told me that his loss in the 5th amounts to 152 out of 320, which he took into action. The Third Mich. has suffered nearly as severely. The 37th [New York] too got its share. I don’t know how to thank you enough for your compliments so freely spoken of me. They are peculiarly grateful to me. You must excuse me for not giving you a more extended account of the battle, for I don’t know how to do so. I am tolerably well but of course am very tired and sleepy. I slept none last night, but hope that the enemy will allow was to be quiet enough to take a good rest to-night. With love to you, and regards to our friends. I am my dear Nelly your affc. husband. O. M. Poe Like many other soldiers, Poe was starting to realize that after fourteen months of fighting, the Civil War was not going to be a short bout filled with gallantry and glory. 43. Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker (1814–79), West Point class of 1837, commanded the Second Division, III Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 233–34. 44. Brig. Gen. John Sedgwick (1813–64), West Point class of 1837, commanded the Second Division, II Corps during the Battle of Seven Pines. Warner, Generals in Blue, 430–31.

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(49) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savage’s Station Va. June 4th 1862 My dear I am at this place, about 1½ miles from our camp, in a tent with Dr. Bliss.45 I am right sick, but not dangerously so, much in the same way I was when I returned from Western Virginia. I have applied for a leave of absence, but I don’t know whether I will get it. I rather think not, though the appln. was endorsed by Drs. Bonine46 and Bliss, and Genl. Berry. At least I will remain in the hospital until I am perfectly well. I am as patriotic as most people, but the hard work of the past year has nearly used me up. I am very tired of the war. I would give everything for a little peace and quiet. The papers, are, I find full of our fights of Saturday and Sunday. They were big battles and the losses are very heavy on both sides.47 I had my noble horse killed dead under me. Only seven companies of the “second” were engaged. We lost 53 men killed & wounded. Love to those who love me, and my warmest affection to you my dear wife O. M. Poe (50) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Bottom’s Bridge Va. June 7th 1862 My dear wife, You will notice that I am at Bottom’s Bridge, some five miles in rear of my regiment. I am quite ill but am well sheltered, and taken care of. I think the trouble is a repetition on a larger scale, of my condition when I returned from Western Virginia. I suppose you have ere this received news of our great battles of Saturday & Sunday last. They were terrific. Our noble Brigade has again been amongst the heaviest sufferers. The design of the enemy was to crush our left flank, and get between us and the Chickahominy [River], and thus destroy the whole left wing of the army.48 The plan was 45. Dr. Willard Bliss (1825–89), surgeon with the 3rd Michigan Infantry. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 3:15. 46. Dr. Evan J. Bonine (1821–92), surgeon with the 2nd Michigan Infantry. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:37. 47. This was the two-day battle at Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks), May 31–June 1, 1862. Combined losses for both sides totaled approximately 11,000 men killed, wounded, or missing. 48. Two Union corps found themselves temporarily isolated from the remainder of the army on the south side of the rain-swollen Chickahominy River. Sensing their opportunity, the Confederates attacked these two corps. See Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 220–28.

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well conceived, and came so near being successful that it makes me shudder even now. They first attacked Casey’s Divn49 and drove it back upon Couch’s,50 which in turn was supported by Kearney’s. The losses in our Brigade are very heavy in proportion to the numbers engaged. The 3rd Mich. had 169 men killed & wounded: the 5th had 156 men killed & wounded: and the 2nd 53 men killed & wounded. The whole loss in the Brigade was 470 killed & wounded, out of about 1400 or one man out of every three. No more desperate fighting ever was done by any troops. There were only 7 companies of the 2nd engaged, which partially accounts for their loss being so much smaller than the other two. Genls. Sedgwick & Richardson, with their Divns have done good fighting and doubtless, by their timely arrival saved us all. I can’t help thinking about my poor horse. As I have told you before, he was killed dead under me. My men saved the bridle, saddle, sabre etc., which pleased me very much. We have been extremely fortunate in officers, not having had one killed. Capt. Handy’s brother, a nice lad, as is the Capt. himself, died while doing his whole duty. He was shot through the head.51 General Howard has lost his right arm.52 In proportion to the numbers engaged, this was one of the most sanguinary battles of the war. Berry’s Brigade has now lost in two battles 920 men and it is pretty well used up. We think it is about time that some other than Michigan men were relied upon to retrieve the battles lost by others. We receive compliments from all sides, in the army, but the N[ew] Y[ork] and Penna papers lavish upon the troops of those states the praises to which we are, in part at least, justly entitled. I’m glad enough that Tousie53 is well, or so nearly so that you can think her recovery certain. My dear, your return to my mother’s, where you are better loved than anywhere else in the world, is a source of the greatest pleasure to 49. Brig. Gen. Silas Casey (1807–82) commanded the Third Division, IV Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 74–75. 50. Brig. Gen. Darius N. Couch (1822–97) commanded the First Division, IV Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 95–96. 51. Capt. William J. Handy, Company B. His brother, Alfred S. Handy, was killed in action at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:81–82. 52. Brig. Gen. Oliver O. Howard (1830–1909), West Point class of 1854, commanded the First Brigade, First Division, II Corps. His right arm had to be amputated following two serious wounds to it. Warner, Generals in Blue, 237–39. 53. “Tousie,” or “Toosie,” was the nickname of Mary Brent, Eleanor’s much younger sister, who was born in 1858 shortly after their father died at Fort Leavenworth.

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me. There I know you are sincerely welcomed. But I cannot sit up much longer & therefore send love to you all, but above all to you my dear, dear wife. O. M. Poe I may possibly be home soon, though it is far from certain. The constant marching, mud, and combat had taken a physical toll on Poe. He was granted a twenty-day medical leave soon after writing his June 7 letter and returned to his Ohio home, where he remained recuperating until the end of July.

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three

R “We Have Gone through Terrible Scenes within the Last Ten Days” Union Calamity at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg, August 2–December 18, 1862

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ue to his medical leave of absence, Poe missed the June 25–July 1 battles known to history as the Seven Days. All but one of the six major engagements fought east of Richmond were tactical Union victories against Gen. Robert E. Lee, now in command of the main Confederate army in Virginia, yet Major General McClellan acted as if they were defeats. Thoroughly intimidated by the ever-aggressive Lee, McClellan withdrew the Army of the Potomac down the Peninsula to Harrison’s Landing. There the army camped under the protection of Union gunboats, thereby giving the Confederates an overall strategic victory in these battles and the overall Peninsula Campaign. Following his leave of absence, Poe returned to the Army of the Potomac via Baltimore and then Washington. (51) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Harrison’s Landing Augt. 2 1862 My dear wife, I reached here yesterday evening, and found everything in much better shape than I had supposed. Our camp ground is high and seems to be tolerably healthy. The landing is called (improperly) Harrison’s. It is really “Westover.”1 We were not molested in coming up the river, though there was some firing this morning, but I don’t know at what. The Regt. was glad to see me 1. Westover was the name of a plantation located near the Union supply base at Harrison’s Landing on the James River.

81

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back. I have hardly fallen into soldiers’ ways yet. Genl. Kearney thinks that I look exceedingly well. I expected the general to be cross but he was not. I went down to Genl. McClellan’s H.Q.s last night, but did not see the general.

“Maryland and Eastern Virginia, 1862”

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Col. Kingsbury has been relieved from duty with this army, and I believe has gone to Washington.2 At Baltimore I was intercepted by a dispatch ordering me to report in person to Washington, to the War Dept. My heart leaped into my mouth, but imagine my disappointment when I found that those wretches in Canton had reported me as a secessionist, and that I was called upon to explain my position. I reiterated exactly what I did say, and the Secy. threw the papers from Canton to one side, and told me not to trouble myself about the matter. Say nothing about this, though it is known to everyone in the Army of the Potomac. Conceive if you can, my dear, you who know every thought I have, how discouraged and disheartened I must be, to have all the past crowned by a doubt concerning my loyalty to the Union. I traveled from Washington to Fort Monroe, with Dr. Cuyler, the dear, good, soul. At W. I saw the Turnbull’s, having called there and spent the evening. They were very polite & asked after you, and urged me to stay with them while in W. I try to find the Kingsbury’s but could not. I saw Mrs. Bryant, whose hair is much greyer, but is handsome than ever. She asked after you. Augt. 3—I made a second attempt to see Genl. McClellan last night and succeeded. I had quite a talk with him but owing to the presence of others could not say all I wanted to. This morning much to my surprise I recd. a note evidently not intended for me, tho’ directed to me on the envelope. It was signed by Genl. Kearney, who recommended (in it) that I should be promoted to be Brig. Genl. of Vols. and brevetted major in the Regular Army for gallant conduct at Williamsburgh and Fair Oaks. I think the “sir” on it was meant for the Secy. of War. I am greatly obliged to the general but his kind efforts in my behalf can produce no result, for the powers that be are down upon me. Genl. Terry is still here, but supposed to be detailed to organize the Michigan Regts. now forming. Whiting has been detailed for temporary duty as quartermaster of Robinson’s brigade. I guess I am in a fair way to get the pay for my horse, as the Treasury Dept. has notified me that a check would be sent me for the amount. Tell Winnie that Sandy Colburn3 enquired very particularly about her last night. He desired me to remember him to all of you. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe 2. Col. Charles P. Kingsbury was relieved of duty due to illness, then sent on special duty for the War Department. 3. Lt. Col. Albert V. Colburn, served on the staff of General McClellan. Cullum’s Register, 2:404–5. Also see chapter 1, note 77, and chapter 2, note 21.

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Direct as formally, except to say “Harrison’s Landing, via Ft Monroe.” PS Captain Norris4 of the cavalry also sends kindest remembrances. I have just received your letter of the 29th (No. 1) (52) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Harrison’s Landing Augt. 5 1862 My dear wife, I have just recd. your Nos. 2 and 3, also Toosie’s enclosed. I recognize the portrait of Bob as most admirable. Tell her I am very much obliged to her for her condescension, and that I sincerely hope that she will frequently repeat the favor. This is her part of this letter. I wrote to Mrs. Biddle yesterday and my conscience now feels easier. I know I ought to have written sooner but you, better than anyone else, can understand why I did not. It was not because I was not disposed to do so. Tell Maria that she ought to know better than to talk in such a strain. I will not only write to her, but will be very proud to do so. I am general officer of the day but will be relieved this morning.5 I had hard work yesterday and have not been so tired & worn for a long time, as I was last night. While at the advanced posts yesterday, I stumbled across Doc Sanders,6 who was on duty with his squadron. He asked after you all. The first thing I saw him do was to take a drink of whiskey and the last, was to try to take another, but his bottle was in the condition of a celebrated one, you have heard me sing of. I also saw General Robinson,7 who inquired about you all. Genls. Hooker and Sedgwick went out to the front with their Divs. last night, and while I am writing, a heavy cannonade can be heard in their direction. Our brigade is ordered to hold itself in readiness to move at a moment’s notice, with two days rations. 4. Capt. Charles E. Norris (1829?–75), West Point class of 1851, served with the 2nd US Cavalry at the time of Poe’s letter. Cullum’s Register, 2:293. 5. During the Civil War, the general officer of the day was responsible for transmitting and overseeing all orders to all camp guards and pickets as well as overseeing the camp or garrison’s good order and cleanliness. Kautz, Customs of Service for Officers of the Army, 260–64. 6. William P. “Doc” Sanders, one of Poe’s 1856 classmates at West Point, was a captain with the 6th US Cavalry at the time of Poe’s letter. Warner, Generals in Blue, 419–20. 7. Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson (1817–1917) knew Poe through the former’s 1861 troop recruitment in Michigan. Robinson was then commissioned colonel of the 1st Michigan Infantry in September 1861. Warner, Generals in Blue, 407–9.

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William P. “Doc” Sanders (MOLLUSMassachusetts Civil War Photograph Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA)

Please give my love to Mrs. Brent, and Winnie, and don’t forget Toussie. Remember me to the Judge, and believe me my dear wife, your affectionate husband, O. M. Poe (53) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Harrison’s Landing Augt. 6th 1862 My dear Nelly, We did not move yesterday, though we are still under orders, and may go at any moment. Genl. Kearney arrested me this morning, but by his own accord released me a couple of hours afterwards. I send you both his notes. When I was placed under arrest I knew he would make the amends before the day was over. I also send you a note I received from Miss Jennie Fish. Tom will please take notice that I am getting up a correspondence with each nice young girl that I can find. I did not receive my accustomed letter from you to-day and was much disappointed. Don’t, I beg of you allow yourself to be imposed upon by any more soldiers. The one you have written about, is only working upon your feelings, and swindling you. His reputation in the Regt. is very far from being good. With love to you all I am your devoted husband Orlando M. Poe P.S. I happen to have no postage stamp and therefore make you pay postage.

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my dear nelly

(54) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Harrison’s Landing Augt. 7th 1862 My dear, Your No. 4 was recd. last night, also “Vanity Fair,”8 for which you have my thanks. Since I wrote you yesterday no news of importance has been announced here, except, that a “draft” has been the ordered, which will stir the boots of some of our friends. What a scrabbling there will be, and some who have waited a good while will now have an opportunity to test their patriotism.9 Genl. Hooker, in command of a considerable force, is now some distance to the front, and we get all sorts of rumors regarding him. The last is that he took 1400 prisoners yesterday morning but I don’t know how much reliance is to be placed upon the report. I feel tolerably well though I had yesterday very much such an attack as I had the last day that I was in bed all day at home. I am better this morning. But the mail is waiting on me. Give my love to all at the Judge’s and believe me your devoted husband O. M. Poe The Army of the Potomac withdrew from the Virginia Peninsula August 14–16 with orders to proceed back to northern Virginia in order to aid Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia. Pope was positioned between Washington and Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson, which had been moving north in order to draw Union troops away from Richmond. In the process Poe assumed temporary field command of the brigade—which now included the 99th Pennsylvania Infantry— due to illness suffered by General Berry. In addition, Heintzelman’s III Corps was temporarily attached to the Army of Virginia. Poe now commanded the Third Brigade, First Division (Kearny), III Corps (Heintzelman).

8. Vanity Fair was a humor-oriented American weekly magazine that existed from late 1859 through mid-1863. 9. The Militia Act of July 1862 stipulated that the Federal government could forcibly draft young men into the army for up to nine months from any state that failed to meet its quota of volunteers, an option that Lincoln exercised on August 2. This marked the first time the US government had inserted itself in such a manner into the lives of ordinary Americans. Like many if not most soldiers, Poe had little use for those healthy men who did not wish to serve. Murdock, Patriotism Limited, 6–7.

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(55) Poe to eleanor Poe—Poe PaPers, library of congress Alexandria Va. Augt. 23rd 1862 My dear wife, We have not gotten off from here, though expect to do so momentarily. We are ordered to the Rappahannock, to join Pope. Robinson’s Brig. (Jameson’s) and part of Birney’s have gone and we follow the balance of Birney’s brigade.10 We expect to get into a fight immediately. The 2nd & 3rd Mich. of our Brig. are here, but the 5th, 37th, & 99th have not yet arrived. I would like to take the whole Brig. into action, but can get along with the 2nd & 3rd very well. The men feel good, and are chuck full of fight. So you may expect to hear a good account of them. Pope’s army is begging intensely for McClellan’s to reinforce & take care of them, and we will do our best. With love to you all, and (need I say) more particularly to yourself, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe I send you some packages upon which you will have postage to pay. They contain such letters as I have recd. from you since I was at home. Now I order you not to burn them, for I only send them to you to be put with the others, where they will be safe. One of the envelopes contains a letter to me from Gov. Blair. That I also want preserved. Genl. Kearney has just been to see me, and it seems that the man has gone clean daft. His praises of me sound like Irish Blarney, and make me blush— we stopped [at] Acquia [Creek] long enough to telegraph to Genl. Halleck,11 and we are now en route for Alexandria. Alexandria Augt. 23rd—We are here, and ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to march at a moment’s notice to reinforce Pope. With love to you all I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe

10. Brig. Gen. David B. Birney (1825–64), who would later take command of Kearny’s division following the latter’s death at Chantilly on September 1, 1862. Warner, Generals in Blue, 34–35. 11. Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck (1815–72), West Point class of 1839, was in Washington as general in chief of all Union armies at this stage of the war. Warner, Generals in Blue, 195–97.

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my dear nelly

(56) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Warrenton Junction, Va. Augt. 25th 1862 My dear, Your Nos 22–23 and 24, have been recd. and glad enough I was to get them. I have written you almost every day for a long while but you don’t appear to get many of my letters, though I suppose they will reach you yet. We are all prepared for an attack which we expect to-night. I have got the 2nd and 5th Mich., the 37th N.Y., & 99th Pennª in line, and have sent the 3rd Mich. some two miles in an advance, so that if the enemy comes we will give him a warm reception. I was in hopes that I would be able to go up to Warrenton, for I wanted to see Beckham’s folks, and hear from him. A citizen, a peaceable man, was murdered in cold blood within a mile of our camp to-day, by a cavalry man. I never before, regretted quite so much that I did not have power to order a summary execution, for I wanted to shoot the villain who had dared to blow out the brains, of an unarmed man, and that too, right in the presence of his family. The discipline of this army [Army of Virginia] bears no comparison with that of Army of the Potomac, and unless the authorities are very careful, the army will degenerate into a band of thieves and robbers.12 It has been very quiet for two or three days, which I suppose is the calm which precedes the storm. It must break before many days, and the result, so important to our country must be made known. At present I dare not conjecture. If the letters from Mrs. Brent to Genl. Armistead,13 are sent to me, I will endorse them. There may be no virtue in my masonry where another is concerned, but I am not afraid to make the trial. Remember I have been laughed & reviled for that same Masonry. With love to you all, including Aunt Lizzie,14 and devotion to yourself I am your loving husband, O. M. Poe 12. General Pope and his Army of Virginia had acquired a negative reputation for allegedly cruel treatment and liberal foraging against Southern civilians and farms, due in large measure to Pope’s own orders. McClellan referred to these orders as “infamous” while Lee described Pope as a “miscreant.” 13. Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead (1817–63). A noted Mason, Armistead was killed on July 3, 1863, while leading the famed “Pickett’s Charge” assault against the Union center at Gettysburg. Warner, Generals in Gray, 11–12. 14. Aunt Lizzie was Elizabeth Trowbridge Wilkins, wife of Capt. William D. Wilkins, the son of Nell’s grandfather, Judge Ross Wilkins.

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The storm that followed the calm Poe wrote of on August 25 was the Second Battle of Bull Run (called Second Manassas by the Confederates) August 28–30. Poe’s brigade anchored the extreme right of the Union line and saw little action during the three days of combat. Overall, the battle was a disaster for the Army of Virginia. Routed off the field on August 30, Pope’s forces fought a rearguard action at Chantilly, Virginia ( a battle also called Ox Hill) on September 1 just outside of Fairfax. During this fighting, both Maj. Gens. Philip Kearny and Isaac Stevens were shot and killed by Confederate troops. The next day the Union army began limping back into the safety of the Washington defenses. Like much of the Army of the Potomac, Poe’s dejection over repeated military failures had hit a low ebb. Meanwhile, an exasperated Lincoln restored Major General McClellan to command of the Union’s eastern-theater armies. (57) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Washington D.C. Sept. 4th 1862 My dear wife, I have recd. your Nos. 27 & 28. You must not be offended because I do not write more frequently, but the fact is that for some time we have been thrown around at such a rate that I could neither find time to write, nor had materials to write with. What little baggage I had, I sent to Alexandria, & thereby saved it, except one of those check shirts, a towel or two, & a pair of socks, so that you see I came out [of ] this most disgraceful campaign15 in as good order as could be expected. My darling, we have gone through terrible scenes within the last ten days. I wrote you a line from Centreville [Virginia], on Sunday last, but don’t know whether you recd. it. The whole army is now occupying very nearly the same lines that it did a year ago when you came on here. We are on the flat below Fort Lyon. I believe that the war is nearly over, for the enemy is an audacious one, and we are not going to be allowed to take our ease here. We were badly whipped on Friday & Saturday, on the old Bull Run battle ground, and had a sharp fight again on Monday evening. Genl. Kearney was killed by a rifle ball.16 I am perfectly safe & well, though terribly worn. McClellan is again in command and may be able to do something,17 but I am more desponding now 15. For further reading on the Second Bull Run Campaign, see Hennessy, Return to Bull Run. 16. Major General Kearny was killed during the Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill) while reconnoitering the Confederate lines during a thunderstorm. See Taylor, He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning. 17. Major General McClellan was restored to full command in the eastern theater by Lincoln. Pope was now left without a command. Kearny’s division, of which Poe’s brigade was a part, was declared temporarily unfit for duty, given its commander’s death and immense casualties. Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 339–44.

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my dear nelly

than ever before, for no one seems to rise above mere selfishness, and exhibit himself a man and a Patriot.18 I saw Mr. & Mrs. Johnson our old Ft. Lyon friends yesterday. They enquired very affectionately after “Nelly”, and it did my heart good to see how you was appreciated by the good old people. What an incentive to be good & amiable, and just what you are, when you are remembered with so much respect by those whose respect has no ulterior object. It was very gratifying to me to see that there are still two more who love you for yourself alone. God bless you my dear wife. Give my love to all at the Judge’s, and believe me yours devotedly, O. M. Poe I saw Bayard last night, as well as Genl. Sumner,19 & Jo. Taylor. They send regards to you all, and Genl. S. complains that Mrs. Brent has not answered his letter. Unknown to Poe, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia began crossing the Potomac River from Virginia into Maryland on September 4 to begin what became known as the Maryland Campaign of 1862. Poe’s depleted brigade remained mostly within the Washington defenses throughout the fall. He and his men were not part of the upcoming Union pursuit that culminated with the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) on September 17. Five days later, on the twenty-second, President Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, stating that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves held in areas still in rebellion against the Federal government would be forever free. (58) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Washington D.C. Sept. 5th 1862 My dear wife, I am still detained here in W—trying to settle my accounts with the Govt. and think I will have succeeded by now, and got rid of all public moneys &c, which I assure you will be greatly to my satisfaction. Of course Washington is all excitement, nobody seems to know just where the main body of the enemy is, and this uncertainty is making ev-

18. Poe’s dejection and loss of morale was endemic throughout the Army of the Potomac at this time. Gloom and demoralization were rampant. See McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 156. 19. Maj. Gen. Edwin V. “Bull” Sumner (1797–1863) commanded the Army of the Potomac’s II Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 489–90.

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erybody quite nervous. Much anxiety is manifested to know just where the ubiquitous “Stonewall”20 will turn up next. I met Mr. North this morning and he inquired very particularly for you, and seemed disappointed that you were not here with me. It may be my dear that you may wish to come on here now that it seems possible for us to be together again.—Don’t do so. Stay where you are for the present, and I will let you know in ample time if I think it proper that you should come. It is not safe just now. I constantly meet some old friends, and all inquire about you. If they did not, I’d pass around them the next time I met them. Charley Turnbull is to be married in a few days to a Miss Dale of Boston.21 I have not been able to go to the Turnbull’s this time, for my wardrobe was in such a woebegone condition, and my whole appearance so dilapidated that I did not dare to venture into the presence of ladies. Everybody I meet greets me as a Brig. Genl. but I have recd. no such appointment, nor am I certain that I want one. I am in command of the old Brigade, and have the reputation of deserving a Brig. Genl’s. appt.—and this I would rather have than to be a B. G. and have the reputation of not having earned or deserved it. And I am not at all sure that promotion is desirable. My reputation is now a good one, and will not suffer as long as I am with the “Second,” but if promoted, I might get some worthless brigade and in the first fight might lose all the good name I now have. There are no “sour grapes” in this for I have weighed the matter well.—and I really don’t care about promotion. There is no honor attached to it, nothing but pay & increased command.22 I have been trying to get some new clothes, and have raised a new cap (in my style) the crown having disappeared out of the straw hat which I wore in Ohio—also a new shirt, and have been measured for a Blouse,23 and a pair of pants. I still wear the big, old boots, which have been my “stand by” for more than a year, and can’t find courage to get a new pair. The breaking in process seems too terrible. 20. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (1824–63) commanded Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Left Wing at Second Bull Run and at Antietam. By this stage of the war, he had become legendary for his battlefield prowess. Warner, Generals in Gray, 151–52. 21. First Lt. Charles N. Turnbull, West Point class of 1854, on leave at the time of Poe’s letter. Cullum’s Register, 2:371–72. He married Mary Bliss Dale on September 10, 1862, in Boston. 22. With these sentiments, Poe revealed he was as cognizant of army politics as the next officer. His protest about no sour grapes rings hollow, however. His pride and ego clearly were hurt by his ongoing lack of promotion, especially considering his solid work on the battlefield. 23. A blouse was a loose-fitting upper-body garment generally tied at the waist.

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my dear nelly

The 24th Mich. wants to get into our Brigade, but I suppose it will be impossible.24 I have had no chance to send that letter of Aunt Lizzie’s to Richmond yet but I will watch, and if any opportunity occurs, I will certainly send it. Now that McClellan is in command, I hope that the condition of prisoners will be much bettered.25 Give my love to all at the Judge’s and to Aunt Lizzie and Maria. With much devotion to you, I am my dear wife yours. O. M. Poe P.S. I send you a couple of extracts from the papers. (59) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fairfax Seminary Va. Sept. 10th 1862—9 p.m. My dear wife, I wrote you this morning from Alexandria, stating that I was still under arrest. Since that time, I have been returned to duty, and am again in command of the Brigade.26 Genl. Birney told me this evening that he had sent in my name this morning for promotion to a Brig. Genlcy. But hope has been deferred so often that I attach no importance to it. Genl. Kearney recommended me, but it did no good—what then can I expect from one from Genl. Birney. If I had only a little political influence, I could get anything I wanted. One thing is certain, no other man can give the same satisfaction to the three Michigan Regts. that I have, since I have been in command of the Brigade. I had quite a letter from Mrs. Whiting which I enclose to you, for you must see all my letters from lady friends. She speaks very kindly, and I think you will not object to her letter, particularly when I tell you that it is the first I ever had from her. 24. The 24th Michigan Infantry was recruited in Wayne County (Detroit) and mustered in to service on August 15, 1862. See Curtis, History of the Twenty-Fourth Michigan. 25. Aunt Lizzie’s husband, Captain Wilkins, had been with Pope’s Army of Virginia when captured on August 9, 1862, at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Due to Pope’s stern treatment of Confederate civilians, any man taken prisoner from his army was certain to receive harsher treatment than an Army of the Potomac man, as Poe correctly surmised in this letter. Wilkins was sent to Richmond’s notorious Libby Prison but paroled one month later. Pickenpaugh, Captives in Blue, 52–54. 26. As in his letter of August 6, 1862, Poe gave no reason for his “arrest.” In a later letter to an unspecified friend, Henry Lyster wrote that Poe was “not looking very well & has been somewhat abused lately in being put under arrest for frivolous pretenses tho’ only for a short time each time.” Lyster to “dear friend,” Sept. 11, 1862, Lyster Family Papers and Photographs.

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We moved to this position this afternoon.—It is just a quarter mile south of the seminary. I don’t know what we are to do but suppose we are to act as a support to the forts just in our front. There are troops and artillery enough here, to make a tolerably good fight and I think the confederates would meet with some opposition if they were to attempt to reach Washington by this route.27 You must excuse the blots, for I did not make them. They were on the paper, which was all I could find, so I used it rather than not write at all. I have had no letter from you for two days. Give my love to all at the Judge’s, and believe me your devoted husband, O. M. Poe I have got the slippers. I have also had a present from a couple of officers of the 2nd Mich. of a pair of twenty dollar spurs, though I don’t know what I am going to do with so nice a pair. I saw Mrs. Woolley in Washington the other day, and spent the evening with her. She had much to say about you. I also saw Mr. North who sends you his regards. (60) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fairfax Seminary Va. Sept. 11th 1862 My dear wife, I commenced this letter now, but will probably wait for this evening’s mail before finishing it, for I am in hopes said mail may bring me a letter from you. And although I want very badly to write to you, yet there is nothing to write about. I might say all manner of sweet things to you, but prefer not doing so, leaving you to imagine all that you ever read of in storybooks. Genl. Birney yesterday morning again sent forward my name for promotion to a Brig. Genlcy (say nothing about it to anybody) but I will be very agreeably disappointed, if anything but hope comes from it. My name has so often been sent in, and so little attention has been paid to the sending, that I have ceased to look for anything in the shape of favor from the War Dept. It is but a poor compliment to be offered a Brig. Genlcy, but it is annoying not to have the position offered. One thing consoles me—I have never asked for such a position. Several of our officers were dismissed a few days ago. They were Capts. 27. For well over a week following the disastrous end to the Second Battle of Bull Run, Washingtonians lived in fear that the Confederates would make an attack on their city.

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my dear nelly

Whipple and Brownell, and Lieuts. Turver, Mahon, Barden & Seward. All had been absent sick, but no official intelligence of either their condition, or their whereabouts was ever sent to Regimental Hd. Qrs., hence they were reported on the morning reports “absent without leave.” Brownell is the only one of the lot that deserved dismissal, and he did richly deserve it, and he knows it. I don’t know what Whipple is going to do about it. I would like to help him, but am powerless. I have written to him, and suggested a plan, which I believe will be successful.28 Has Mrs. Dillman ever returned your visit, or have you seen anything of her since? I am anxious that you should cultivate that acquaintance, even though it costs you some little trouble. I have a very nice, carpeted room, in the next house to Genl. Cooper’s (Rebel Genl. Saml. Cooper),29 and I often catch myself wishing that you were here, but I soon come to my senses, and thank fortune that you are in Detroit. I saw Genl. Smith (W. F.)30 a few days ago, and he asked after you, and when I told him that you were in Detroit, he laughed saying that he would give a good deal if his wife was there also. (She was then in Washington). If I am apptd. a Brig?—the first thing I will do, will be to write to Mrs. Brent. I think that she has so far gotten over any feeling against me, that I might venture to do so, without danger of destroying the present condition of things, & more particularly if I wrote to her as a Brig. Genl. My dear, don’t you feel proud of the high name that Kearney’s Divn has got, all over the country[?] I do, and thank the fortunate star which placed me under his command. Heintzelman’s corps—composed of the Divns of Kearny & Hooker, is praised by all, and in the quarreling over the causes of our late reverses, nearly everybody comes in for some share of the blame, except this corps. Fortunate ones we are, and though I say it, who perhaps ought not; we have always been in hands in such a way as to deserve our reputation. Since writing the foregoing Genl. Berry has returned.31 I have recd. your No. 39 and my new clothes have arrived. I’m rigged up in a sixteen dollar suit, 28. Those mentioned are Capts. William Whipple and Benjamin Brownell and Lts. William Turver, Richard H. Mahone, Tilson C. Barden, and William H. Seward. None ever rejoined the army. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:29, 41, 116, 155, 174, 181. 29. Gen. Samuel Cooper (1798–1876), West Point class of 1815. He was then serving as adjutant general of the C.S. Army as the South’s senior general. Warner, Generals in Gray, 62–63. 30. Brig. Gen. William F. “Baldy” Smith (1824–1903), West Point class of 1845. Warner, Generals in Blue, 462, 464. Also see chapter 4, note 11, and chapter 6, note 26. 31. Brigadier General Berry was home on medical leave, recuperating from malaria, throughout August 1862. He had just returned to duty at the time of Poe’s letter.

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think of that, for a man who used to think nothing of giving thirty dollars for a coat alone. I suppose that Genl. Berry will take command of the Brigade in the morning, so that I’m really finishing for the present, my duties as a Brigade commander. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself I am, my dear wife, your husband, O. M. Poe (61) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Between Forts Ward & Blenker 4 miles south of Washington Sept. 13th 1862 My dear Nelly, I recd. your No. 41 last night but No. 40 is still back, and I am now anxious to get it for you make allusions to things said there which I don’t understand. I don’t know how to thank you sufficiently for writing to me every day since your letters, are so nice, and so impatiently expected. Don’t say there’s nothing in them, for they are everything to me, and are next to having your dear self with me. We again moved camp yesterday, and are now near where Mrs. Latimer, Mrs. Kingsbury, and you & I went to see Blenker’s review,32 one very hot day— just exactly a year ago. Genl. Robinson’s Brigade has gone to our old ground, where I first took command of the “Second.” We have a nice camp ground, and sincerely hope that we may be allowed to stay here for a while. I don’t know anything about what is going on, indeed we were never before so utterly ignorant concerning our own affairs. We can see Washington, lying almost at our very feet, yet are not allowed to visit it on any pretext whatsoever.33 Our Regiment goes out on Picket to-day for twenty four hours. I don’t expect to go along. Cols. are on the roster for detailed as Divn offc of the day, and during their tour have charge of the pickets of the whole Divn. They therefore do not go out with their own Regts unless their detail happens at the same time, which is seldom the case. I don’t see anybody here that you know, for all such have gone towards 32. The reference here probably is to a review of troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Louis Blenker (1812–63), German-born émigré and founding colonel of the 8th New York Infantry. Warner, Generals in Blue, 37. 33. General Orders No. 2, dated September 10, stated that no soldier could enter Washington or Alexandria without a pass approved by his brigade and division commanders. O.R., 19(2):245.

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96

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my dear nelly

Frederick [Maryland].34 We have all been expecting a great battle, but it has not been fought yet. It must come before many days. Excuse the shortness of this letter. If I can I will write again this evening. My love to you all, and devotion to you my dear wife O. M. Poe (62) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Fairfax Seminary Va. Sept. 14th 1862 My dear wife, Your No. 43 was recd. to-day, and the slip of paper it enclosed, which I return to you. Need I tell you how much I thank you for all the nice things you say of me? You know how much I despise those things, except when coming from those whom I have reason to believe are in earnest. Of your admiration I have no doubt, for you have proven your sincerity by becoming my wife, and if to receive praise from others whom I love gives me pleasure, how much more, I enjoy, when it is you my dear wife, who bestows it. I am very tired to-night, for I have not only inspected all the guards & camps of the whole division, but have gone over the whole picket line in our front. I was on top of both Mason’s & Munson’s hills—and returned via Cloud’s Mills, where so many skirmishes took place last fall and winter. Dr. Bonine undertook to go the rounds with me, but gave out before half the day was over. We have rumors of a battle fought yesterday, over in Maryland, and all day to-day we could hear a very heavy cannonading away off in the direction of Harper’s Ferry. There has been a good deal of hard fighting done up there, within the last 48 hours.35 It is said that Genl. Stoneman36 is to command this division. I don’t know how much truth there is in the report.—I wrote you this morning by Sergeant

34. The Confederate’s initial movements in Maryland were toward Frederick, with Stonewall Jackson’s men occupying the town on September 6. McClellan began moving the Army of the Potomac northward toward Frederick the following day. Hartwig, To Antietam Creek, 166–70. 35. The Union garrison at Harpers Ferry was surrounded and besieged by Jackson’s Confederates, eventually surrendering on September 15. Twelve thousand Union soldiers were taken prisoner. Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 368–69. 36. Brig. Gen. George Stoneman (1822–94), West Point class of 1846. What Poe heard was correct. Though trained as a cavalry officer, Stoneman was assigned command of the First Division, III Corps, following General Kearny’s death. Warner, Generals in Blue, 481–82.

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Lang of Co A,37 and sent you the pair of spurs which was presented to me a few days ago. I want you to stow them away with my things. In that letter I said that I would not scold if you, and one trunk containing some things for yourself, (I want nothing) were to make your appearance here some fine morning. If your “Hospital attendant” propensities have got the better of you, there are plenty of subjects here, in the glorious “Second” for you to exercise yourself upon. Mrs. Etheridge is here—has been with us in all the recent battles, and has dressed the wounds of our men, under an Artillery fire, from which every surgeon ran like mad. She was the last person to leave the battle field of Bull Run the 2nd—staying there, and ministering to the wants of all who needed her. She comes nearer the imaginary “daughter of the Regt.”, than anyone else I ever saw.38 If you should come here, she says she will be your servant. The ground we are on, is that where we went to see [Brig. Gen. William B.] Franklin’s Review [of his division], last fall, when Mrs. Richardson got so jealous because Genl. McClellan spoke to and particularly noticed me, and did not pay any attention to Genl. Richardson. Monday morning—Sept. 15th I feel quite ill this morning. My old complaint is again troubling me, and I am afraid to take any more morphine. I have taken opium in every form, until I am determined to take no more. Dr. Bonine says he can get along without using it. Heavy cannonading is now going on, far up the [Potomac] river. The sounds come booming along towards us, seeming to proceed from about the same place they did on yesterday and the day before. Imagine our suspense, being within hearing of the battle, but utterly ignorant as to what is going on, or whether fortune is with us or against us. All sorts of rumors are afloat but I can trace them to no reliable source. However they all give our troops the advantage. God grant that there be no humbug about it this time, for we have had enough of such things.39 37. Sgt. William Lang. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:106. 38. Lorinda Anna “Annie” Etheridge joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry in 1861 at the age of twenty-two as a “daughter of the regiment.” Such women served in a quasi-military capacity, generally as nurses. Etheridge was almost captured at Second Bull Run. For her bravery at that and other battles, she became one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross, a medal reserved for those who “most distinguished themselves in battle.” See “Annie Etheridge,” US National Park Service, last updated Sept. 14, 2017, https://www.nps.gov/ people/annie-etheridge.htm. 39. The Union army pushed through the South Mountain passes on September 15 following the previous day’s battles of South Mountain and Crampton’s Gap. For extensive treatments of these actions, see Hartwig, To Antietam Creek.

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98

_437894t

my dear nelly

With love to you all, and kindest messages to “Aunt Lizzie.” I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe I’ve had no opportunity to send that note to Richmond, but still have it, and will send it, if I get a chance to do so. If I could catch a flag of truce going over to the enemy’s lines, I might get into the hands of some officer who, on account of his personal feelings towards me, would send it to its destination. Fitz Hugh Lee certainly would. Should a chance to communicate occur, I will write the latest news, and send it with Aunt Lizzie’s note. O. M. P. (63) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Fairfax Sem. Sept. 16th 1862 My dear wife, Your No. 44 has been recd. Don’t you think I’m making up for lost time, in writing to you so often as I do now, but I couldn’t help it, if I wanted to. We all feel good to-night for McClellan has whipped the confeds, very badly up in Maryland, an occurrence over which we may well rejoice, so rarely has it happened of late days. It seems as though the tide had turned, and we were going to have another streak of good luck. God grant that it be so.—Such cheering as went up from these camps this evening, when the news was announced, you never heard in your life. My great admiration, Hooker, has been doing the hardest of the fighting again, and that too, with McDowell’s corps which was the one to break and run at Bull Run No. 2.40 This shows what a difference it makes whether men have confidence in their commander or not. In the movement towards Frederick, Doc Sanders squadron had the extreme advance, and he was continually skirmishing with the confeds, commanded by Fitz Hugh Lee. So much for old friendships.41 Genl. Stoneman has been assigned to the command of this Divn. I recd. the order this evening. This will retire Genl. Birney to the command of his brigade, though to speak frankly, I am much mollified towards Birney since he sent up my name for a Brig. Genlcy. So much are we influenced by selfish motives in this world. I think that I must “Kin Syl” [counsel] Allen the next time I see her for the sake of the good opinion she entertains of me. 40. Union forces were successful at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, pushing the Confederates back through the passes and setting the stage for the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) three days later. 41. Sanders and Lee were 1856 classmates at West Point.

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I see that the “Bar” of Detroit have presented Jim Romeyn,42 with a horse. Did you ever see a neater, prettier, and more appropriate letter than that he wrote accepting the gift? I’ve done but little duty to-day for the fatigue of yesterday’s work, combined with slight illness, has been sufficient to keep me in bed the greater part of to-day. I send you some more letters to take care of for me. I shall begin to look out for you about next Saturday. That is, I would not be surprised nor shocked to see you at any time after Thursday. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am your husband O. M. Poe (64) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Fairfax Sem. Sept. 17th 1862 My dear Nell, I have just recd. your No. 40, which had been entrusted to Mr. Town. He has not been here, but mailed the letter from Washington. Sometimes I hope that you will get started on here, before my last letter telling you not to come, reaches you. Anyhow I shall look for you. I think that Winnie is running the nurse hobby to the limit of its endurance. While it is well enough to do all the good she can, at Detroit Hospital;43 it would be entirely wrong for her to come to Washington to act in the same capacity. There are more nurses now in Washington than they know what to do with, but I suppose they would accept her offer because she is young and pretty. If she was as ugly as Florence Nightingale, or if nurses were scarce, then there might be some excuse for her coming into a public hospital so far away from home. If I could be in Washington, it would be better, but still bad enough. You were called all sorts of names, and Winnie felt insulted that you should come to Washington to join your husband. When she comes, even the poor protection, & improper, that a husband could give here might be worth something. Consistency is one of the most precious jewels in this world. How few have the honor of wearing in their crown, even the smallest gem.44 42. Lt. James W. Romeyn, 4th Michigan Infantry, served on the staff of Brig. Gen. Orlando B. Willcox. 43. At the time of this letter, Detroit’s lone major hospital was the 150-bed St. Mary’s Hospital. Taylor, “Old Slow Town,” 142. 44. Poe was well aware that respectable young women working as nurses in hospitals filled with hardened and sick men was, initially at least, not viewed as socially appropriate by many in the North, including most of the army’s male medical directors. In fact, only

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100

_437894t

my dear nelly

We are still waiting orders to march. I won’t repeat any of the rumors afloat. You get them all, much improved upon, in the newspapers. I hope you paraded Sergt. Lang as a fair sample of the Mich. 2nd Soldier, particularly before Mrs. Brent. I would like to see the “Regular” that could make a finer appearance. I sent Will Lyster’s letter over to Henry, as I suppose he had not had letters of so recent date. I have not heard from him yet, and I very much doubt whether he will have civility enough to walk over the few rods45 between our tents, to thank me for it. Selfishness is an engrossing element in his character. Don’t imagine my dear that I am out of humor with everybody this evening—but many things have occurred to-day to annoy me, and my temper just now is not as unruffled as that “deep blue thea” about which Miss Kitty Terry so vehemently sings. 18th—still in our camp. More rumors, and all kinds of doubts concerning their truth. With best love to you all and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your husband O. M. Poe (65) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Camp near Fairfax Sem. Sept. 21st 1862 My dear Nell, To-day I look for you, and I am very much afraid you won’t come. I kind of want you, & sort o’ don’t—so that all together I’m in an awful stew. I suppose you think I lack decision, and I do, but events change so rapidly that we cannot calculate a day ahead. It has begun to rain—the equinoctial storm, and there can be no doubt but we are a fixture until that is over.—I catch myself wondering whether you will be here this evening, and I must let the truth out, I will be much disappointed if you don’t come. If you were ready to start at a moment’s notice—then if you recd. my letter of Monday, on Thursday

two days before Poe’s letter, the Detroit Advertiser & Tribune reprinted a letter from Washington stating that the town was inundated with nurses. It went on to say that no young lady should leave home unless formally notified that a spot was open for her and had the means for her own support. Taylor, “Old Slow Town,” 140–41. Also see Schultz, Women at the Front, 15–16, 42–43. 45. A rod was a surveyor’s tool precisely 16½ feet long.

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morning, and on Thursday evening were on your way here—the moment’s notice would be a good long one. If however you staid until Friday then you got my letter of Tuesday telling you not to come and I may look in vain. I think however that if you can go to the hospital, and wash & serve a stranger that you need not be much afraid of what you would see about the camp of the “Second”. . . . . . . But what has caused the revolution in Mrs. Brent’s opinions[?] It is just as wrong for you to come here now, as it was a year ago—when it was so particularly outrageous. My dear, you must excuse me, I have a very forgiving disposition, but not a very forgetting one. Dr. [Henry] Lyster, after the lapse of nearly a week, happened to pass my tent and suddenly happened to recollect that I had lent that letter of Will’s to him, and actually received his civility so near the sticking point, as to stop & thank me for it. I didn’t tell him he was welcome, but I thought to myself that it would be sometime before I went to any more trouble to do him a favor. With love to you all, my dear wife, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe Henry Lyster wrote to his sister on September 28, “Mrs. Poe came yesterday and is looking very well and has been out on horseback already,” thus explaining the four-week gap in Poe’s letters.46 (66) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Edward’s Ferry [Maryland] Oct. 17th 1862 My dear wife, Your No. 1 from Pittsburgh was recd. this morning and I am glad to hear of your safe arrival amongst friends. Stay there just as long as you please or as it may be agreeable to yourself & them. When you get tired there, you know where you will be warmly welcomed. I’m sorry that the maps are lost, but don’t distress yourself about it. I may be able to replace them someday. I’m still in command of the Brigade, but expect that Genl. Berry will be here before long. We expect to join the main body of the army in a few days, but it is not at all certain.

46. Henry Lyster to “My Dear Bessie,” Sept. 28, 1862, Lyster Family Papers and Photographs.

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102

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my dear nelly

Heavy firing could be heard towards Loudon Heights [sic] yesterday all day, but we have not heard what it was.47 All the information I can get hold of goes to show that the enemy must attack us before long, and that they will do so. In that event there may be warm work in this neighborhood. Genl. Stoneman has applied to have me appointed a Brig. Genl. and assigned to this brigade. His endorsement of me was as flattering as I could wish. “Vive la promotion.” Remember me to your relatives there, particularly to Mr. Guthrie, whom I know personally. Devotedly your husband O. M. Poe Recruiting remained a state responsibility. Governors quickly realized that creating new regiments rather than filling up older ones afforded them the opportunity to gain political support for both themselves and local allies by handing out plum officer commissions in new regiments to ambitious loyal men. Such practices also created strong bonds among those who enlisted together in a new company. Older, existing regiments therefore suffered, as they could not fill up their depleted ranks fast enough with new recruits. The result was that many of the Union’s 1861 regiments, which typically started out with approximately 1,000 men, maintained that status in name only, as Poe complained of in this next letter. (67) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Edward’s Ferry Oct. 20th 1862 My dear wife, Your No.4 has just been recd. (what’s become of Nos. 2 & 3?)—also a letter from Winnie to you, which I have read, and send you. It is a treat I can’t forego that of reading Winnie’s letters, and you will have to bear it. I wrote her to-day telling her that I was in the habit of reading them. I took three cos. of cavalry & the 37th N.Y. and paid a visit to Leesburgh [Virginia]. We saw no enemy but destroyed some camp equipage which the confederates had stored there. Win Sumner was with us to Leesburgh, and sends his regards to you. He says that if we go into winter quarters anywhere, 47. General McClellan ordered a reconnaissance from Harpers Ferry toward Charlestown in western Virginia, which resulted in the fighting Poe heard. Loudoun Heights is the second-highest mountain surrounding Harpers Ferry. O.R., 19(2):90–97.

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that you must come on and bring with you some young ladies, promising to be one of those to do the agreeable.48 I tell him I would speak of it to you. I don’t know where you would get the young ladies. Winnie would be like sunlight in our house, but she would probably not come, particularly since Maria has gone. Maria would have come, but she has “other fish to fry” now. But we’ll see. There is plenty of time yet, to talk about the matter. I hope that Maria will be happy tho’ I don’t believe she will. When you write to her give her all sorts of kind messages from me. You can do so with an assurance of my sincerity. Why don’t they send on the men to fill the old regiments[?] It is perfectly awful. We have six old Regts. in this brigade, and mine is the only one that can raise four hundred men. Counting in the new Regt. we have less than 3000 men in 7 regiments. The 55th N.Y. has been assigned to this brigade. Col. De Trobriand49 has written me a very pretty letter. I send you a copy. I sent to Poolesville on Saturday for a gallon of whiskey, and signed the order this way “O. M. Poe, col. comdg., Brigade.” Lt. Noble is the Prov. Marshall there,50 and had the impertinence to draw his pen through “one gallon” and write 1 quart. Genl. Stoneman happened along just then, and informed him that the written orders of Brigade commanders must be treated with a little more consideration. A pretty pass things have come to, when a 2nd Lieut. of my own Regt. is to dictate how much whiskey it is safe to trust me with. I am well, and in pretty tolerable good humor, though not an angel by any means. I send love to all and devotion to yourself. O. M. Poe (68) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Edward’s Ferry Md. Oct. 23rd 1862 My dear wife, I have just recd. your No. 2. Has No. 3 “got drunk, and gone to the other side of the street?” 48. “To do the agreeable” was to act in a courteous manner. 49. Col. Régis de Trobriand (1816–97), a French aristocrat who became a naturalized citizen in 1861, commanded the heavily French-immigrant 55th New York Infantry. Warner, Generals in Blue, 121–22. 50. Lt. William Noble, 2nd Michigan Infantry. Civil War provost marshals were a precursor to the modern military police. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:128.

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104

_437894t

my dear nelly

We have all sorts of rumors to-day, of the enemy having crossed into Maryland again.51 It may be that they have done so, but I can’t believe it, for that would be too good news. There is an old saying—“Whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad,”—and if the rebels have become mad enough to cross into Maryland again, they will surely be destroyed, or ought to be. I don’t know what to write you about, tho’ doubtless you would see much to interest you, if you were here. The duty at the ferry is quite amusing. Every man who wants to avail himself of the store there, to replenish his stock of groceries, pretends to be a Union man, and will refer to someone whom we know. Another man will then slip around, and after taking us aside, will whisper in our ear that the first one is not to be trusted. Consequently I have come to the conclusion that they are all disloyal, and have ordered that no one be allowed to pass the Ferry. I wouldn’t give a scrap for all the Union feeling about here, and indeed think the people are worse than traitors for they try to aid the rebels by swindling our govt. but have not the courage to take up arms.—We have some little respect for the man who risks all, and taking up arms boldly confronts us, but for the coward that swindles the country at such a time as this, above all others we despise, and I for one would gladly assist in hanging.52 Don’t be afraid that I’ve grown bloodthirsty. I’m only down on swindlers. Love to you all, and devotion to yourself my own dear wife O. M. Poe Poe obtained a military pass to visit Washington for a few days in order to plead his case for a promotion to brigadier general. (69) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Washington D.C. Oct. 29th 1862 My dear wife, I will start back for my regiment this morning. I think they are at Leesburgh and glad enough I will be to get back. I never was so heartily sick and tired of Washington, as I am this minute. 51. Following the strategic defeat at the Battle of Antietam, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia escaped back across the Potomac River into Virginia. The rumors Poe heard were unfounded. 52. Poe’s sentiments here were common. Many Union soldiers wrote of a “manly respect” for their gray-clad enemy, but they held nothing but contempt for the Northern home-front skulker or swindler. Both soldier and civilian viewed the war through the lens of manly courage. See Linderman, Embattled Courage.

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I had an interview with Genl. Halleck yesterday, but got no encouragement at all. Indeed he assured me that there was no chance of my promotion, though I don’t all together despair. Genl. Berry is to have a Division, and he assures me that I shall have a Brig. Genlcy. I will wait a few days longer before I give up. I saw Mr. Sawtell last night. He asked after you. When I began to write, I had a great deal that I wished to say, but indignation has got the better of me and I have forgotten it all. You tell me to write to Maria, and then forget to give me her address. You also neglect to say when you and Winnie are to start for Pittsburgh, hence I don’t really know where to direct to you, with a feeling of certainty that the letter will reach you. Yesterday I sent you a hundred dollars. I hope you will get it, for your purse must be getting low. Yesterday afternoon I scarcely knew what to do with myself, and therefore went to the circus, along with the children, and horses, and enjoyed myself very much. Last night I went to see the Ravels’ and “Young America”, the latter in his Trapeze feat which is really astonishing.53 I have gathered a whole budget of stuff to tell you when we are together again which I sincerely hope may be soon, for I am growing very homesick already. Jim Romeyn doubtless has won as much glory as he wants in this war. He only went to show that he was no holiday soldier, and his two months experience now entitles him to the consideration of a veteran. We will hear in after times of the great feats of James, and eventually people will believe them.54 Give my warmest love to all at the Judge’s, and to Aunt Lizzie. Remember me to my friends, and believe me devotedly your husband O. M. Poe McClellan’s army was finally back on Virginia soil following the September 17 battle at Sharpsburg, Maryland, on the west side of Antietam Creek. Poe retained his brigade field command in Stoneman’s division, which was sent west into the Shenandoah Valley to join the Army of the Potomac. 53. The Ravel Family were well-known circus entertainers of the era and featured a trapeze artist nicknamed “Young America.” 54. Poe wrote sarcastically regarding Romeyn, who received his commission on September 8, 1862. Romeyn was at Antietam and then resigned on October 16, 1862, with an honorable discharge. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 984. A “holiday soldier” was one who viewed his enlistment as a vacation, or holiday, from their everyday life and displayed a corresponding lack of seriousness toward the war.

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106

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my dear nelly .

(70) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Millville, Va. [now West Virginia] Nov. 5th 1862 My dear Nell, I avail myself of a short halt, to scratch off a word to you. We are moving rapidly up this [Shenandoah] valley which lies between the Catoctin, and Blue Ridge Mountains. Averill is now skirmishing with Stuart at Manassas Gap,55 which is in full view from here, though twelve miles distant. The boom of the guns, can be heard and the shells seem to burst from the stump upon which I write. It seems to me as though everything was going all right, and that this time we were going to succeed in destroying the enemy. Shall I acknowledge it, my dear, that I am terribly homesick? And that the end of this war is as devoutly wished for, on that account, as because of anything like patriotism. We are an independent Divn known as Stoneman’s Division, intended I suppose for use wherever we may be required. While writing the above the bugles blew the “assembly,” and meanwhile we have marched 15 miles, and are now between “Thoroughfare Gap”, and “Manassas Gap”, at a small town called “Salem.” We are ordered to move at daylight in the morning. I can hear distant cannonading though it is now midnight. For the first time within a week, we had a mail this night, and I was the happy recipient of seven letters from you. Don’t fail to write to me every day. You can do it, while I find it impossible to write so often, being now constantly on the go. Moreover, a mail leaves so seldom that I can’t get letters away if I do write them. The last few letters I wrote you, I directed to Pittsburgh, where they will be forwarded to you, if you have not yet gone there. I will write again to-morrow if I can find time. I dined yesterday with Genls Wilcox, & Burns.56 I saw Genl. Seth Williams also and he said it was all a mistake that Col. de Trobriand & Regt. was put into this Brigade, and that the matter would be so arranged as to put me in command. I hope so, but scarcely think the words were remembered for five minutes. I never recd. the third letter from Winnie—consequently have never seen those drawings. I saw Genl. Meade this evening, he joined me, and rode two or three miles with me, at the head of my Regt. He was enthusiastic in praise of it. 55. On November 3, Union cavalry, including forces under Brig. Gen. William Averell, engaged and drove off Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart’s horsemen near Upperville, Virginia. The Union cavalry then retired westward through Ashby’s Gap. 56. Brig. Gen. William W. Burns (1825–92), West Point class of 1847, was Poe’s division commander at the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. Warner, Generals in Blue, 56.

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Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

The question is often asked, where are we going? No one but those authorized knows, but I guess to Acquia or Fredericksburgh, and thence to Richmond. Just remember this prediction, and see whether I am a true or false prophet. I send my love to all at the Judge’s, and assure you of my devotion to yourself, your husband, O. M. Poe Dissatisfied with McClellan’s glacial pace in pursuing the Confederates into Virginia following Antietam, Lincoln again relieved the general of command on November 7, his replacement being Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. Afterward, Burnside’s army reorganization resulted in Poe’s 2nd Michigan being transferred to the First Division, IX Corps. Poe still held brigade field command, which now comprised the 2nd, 17th, and 20th Michigan Infantry and the 79th New York Infantry Regiments. (71) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp on Rappahannock R[iver]. Nov. 9th 1862 My dear wife, I wrote you this morning & by way of variety will write you again this evening. I took quite a ride this day.—Saw Genl. Wilcox, and of course Genl. Burns, with whom I took dinner as usual. I also saw Col. Williams, who kindly inquired after “your lady”, just as though you were not my wife.

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By the way, what’s the odds whether Mr. So & So says “your lady” or whether Phillip Bretz says “your woman”? For my part I think the latter more truly polite than the former. I saw Genl. Sumner yesterday and he sent his respects to you. You’ve no idea what hosts of people ask about you, showing thereby that you are not entirely forgotten. As usual, Pleasanton’s pickets are hard pressed, and a Brigade of infantry has been sent to their support. The troops are being massed at Warrenton for some purpose or other, but I don’t know as yet, for what. If this country was desolate when you were here in August, it is much more so now. Plenty of people are suffering now, and with some, starvation is actually staring them in the face.—Good heavens—when will this terrible war cease, and men come to their senses. Bayard had a sharp little fight yesterday, and was successful in occupying Rappahannock Station, and getting possession of the bridge at that point. All parties are very much disheartened that a change should have been made just at this time. All agree that it ought to have been made before we crossed the Potomac or not at all.57 I want you to take some trouble to go see Mrs. Dillman. I don’t ask you to visit many places, and therefore I hope you will oblige me in this instance. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe On November 15 Burnside moved the Army of the Potomac toward Falmouth, with plans to quickly cross the Rappahannock River, seize Fredericksburg, and then march on Richmond. (72) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fredericksburgh, Va. Nov. 20th 1862 My dear wife, My anticipations have been realized and we are at Fredericksburgh, and I suppose we will try to reach Richmond from this direction, but I imagine a more powerful element than the Rebels will prevent that for the rains

57. McClellan’s dismissal generated considerable anger among many senior officers and enlisted men. There was talk of protests; some even feared a coup d’état. McClellan, however, urged the Army of the Potomac to properly follow Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, thereby quieting all dissent. Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 434–36.

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must soon commence, in which event we are bound to stick fast in the mud somewhere. Indeed we are even now in the midst of a big rain storm, and were we on low ground would find it quite as much as we had bargained for. My tent is flooded, and I am disgusted. A little firing has been going on to-day, but entirely confined to our batteries, which persist in preventing two or three locomotives and trains being moved, though I suppose they will be taken away just as soon as dark comes on. I said we were at Fredericksburgh, but we are only opposite it. You are aware that it is on the south side of the Rappahannock, while we are on the north side, though we can cross at any time we choose for the ground on this side is the most commanding. The enemy’s pickets are on the other side of the river and ours on this, separated only twice the width of [Detroit’s] Jefferson Ave.—They talk back and forth, and were it not for their muskets one might imagine them to be the greatest friends in the world. I don’t know what we will do if we don’t soon receive a mail. I have not had a letter from you of a later date than two weeks ago, and I can assure you that I am growing slightly impatient. And I suppose too that our letters will now be continually going astray—to Berry’s Brigade—and there are enough men there, at his Hd. Qtrs who now feel harshly toward us, who would take great pleasure in annoying us by detaining them.58 I am growing very anxious to see you, for I have so much to tell you. It seems to me that no one understands or appreciates any grievances but yourself, and if I could only see you, I would dilate at the greatest length. It would do me good, and would make you very angry, and ill-humored.59 We see papers but rarely, and know but little of what is going on, beyond the few miles that we can see. Nov. 21st—It has been raining now for 36 hours, just as hard as it can pour down, and matters look decidedly muddy—and I feel disgusted and that too, as much at the rain as at anything else, except seeing the cars run to & from Fredericksburgh on the Richmond road, right under our very noses, and no serious attempt made to stop them. I suppose if the cars were stopped, the people of F—burgh would be angry, and that would be bad policy. God save the north. Won’t it never be understood upon our part that we are engaged in bitter war, and that there must be suffering whether the people like it or not. 58. Poe’s no-nonsense martial demeanor had not endeared him to some in Berry’s brigade. For example, see Silliker, The Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah, 42–43, 50. 59. Poe’s confusion and bitterness at not being promoted to brigadier general, despite possessing numerous letters of recommendation from senior generals, continued to gnaw at him. Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 87–96.

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With love to you all. I am my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe (73) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Opposite Fredericksburgh Dec. 9th, 1862 My dear dear wife, I have just received your No. 46 and 48.—47 is missing—also one from your mother whom I can now call my mother. Oh! If you knew how happy I felt to-night, your prayers would not be any the less earnest. It is decided—we are to fight a battle here, and I know all the plans. Before you receive this the fate of the country will probably be decided. It certainly will be if we are the victors in the fight of day after tomorrow. I was unexpectedly called to take part in a council of war to-night, and I do assure you that the next several days will be the most important in the history of the country.—I cannot, of course tell you what is decided upon any further, than the first battle. The plan was strongly opposed, and I myself do not favor it, but I feel that we are breaking from pure inanition.—We must fight, and we will do it to the best of our ability. If we are defeated the responsibility must rest somewhere else than upon subordinates. Genl. Sumner, as usual, was full of fight.60 I will write tomorrow night and will then say more, but at present do not feel justified in saying any more upon the subject. I will enclose you Mrs. Brent’s letter to-morrow night when I write. Tell Mrs. Shoenbarger that I am under many obligations to her sister in law in Cincinnati for favors shown and attentions, which I scarcely had a right to expect. I have already told you of the civility which with they treated me. Of course your coming on here is indefinitely postponed. I think you had better go to mothers when you can. With love to Winnie, and devotion to yourself. I am your husband, O. M. Poe Excuse the haste with which this is written, it is very late, and I have a great deal to do yet before daylight.

60. Major General Sumner and some of his subordinates were against Burnside’s plan of crossing the Rappahannock via portable bridges in the face of enemy opposition. Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 450–51.

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The Battle of Fredericksburg occurred on December 13. Poe’s brigade was in line during the fighting but was never actively engaged. Fredericksburg was one of the most lopsided Confederate victories of the entire war. (74) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fredericksburgh Va. Dec. 14th 1862 (Sunday) My dear wife, We occupied Fredericksburgh on [the] day before yesterday morning, after shelling it all the day before. Yesterday was fought a most terrific battle, with no result. The enemy occupy a wonderfully strong position, and are in heavy force, and I doubt our ability to do much with them. Yesterday morning I received three letters from you, while the fight was going on. It is singular, but, if you remember, the same thing occurred at Fair Oaks.61 I’m sorry to have to tell you that Bayard was mortally wounded by a shell yesterday.62 He was still alive this morning but undoubtedly has died since. I believe no other officer of your acquaintance has been killed. I saw Bayard and took tea with him, at Genl. Franklin’s63 Hd. Qtrs. on the evening before last. He was in high spirits, and sent his regards to both you & Winnie. It is singular that he was not in the fight when he was struck but was at Genl. Franklin’s Hd. Qtrs. and was hit by a stray [artillery] shot. He was hit in the thigh, and a considerable portion of the thigh and abdomen carried away. Col. Sweitzer64 (of Pittsburgh) was slightly wounded—at least I was told so. I am certain that his wound is not a serious one. I have had a letter from Whiting. He has recd. his appointment as Brigade Qr. Master. My dear, one would think there is a world to write about now, & so there is—and that is just the reason why I have no more to write. There is so much that one might say and I have been so constantly on the watch that I begin to feel as I did when I came home from Western Virginia. Nell—I begin to feel that I cannot endure a severe mental strain. This is the third time, and I fear the worst. But for God’s sake keep it to yourself. It is 61. This is a reference to the Battle of Seven Pines. 62. George Bayard was the III Corps chief of cavalry at the time of his death due to wounds received during the battle. 63. Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin commanded the Left Grand Division at Fredericksburg. Warner, Generals in Blue, 159–60. Also see chapter 2, note 23. 64. Col. Jacob B. Sweitzer (1821–88) commanded the Second Brigade, First Division, V Corps, at Fredericksburg. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 600.

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terrible to think of and I don’t know to what to attribute it, but the fact forces itself upon me that I must have peace of mind and complete mental quiet.65 I send the three letters back to you and will try to write to you as soon as I can. [Remainder missing.] (75) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp opposite Fredericksburgh Dec. 16th 1862 My dear wife, After occupying F—burgh, and fighting a terrible battle on Saturday last, we have recrossed the Rappahannock and now are in our old camp. Our loss in the battle will not fall far short of thirteen or fourteen thousand, though the papers say that 8 or ten thousand will cover our loss.66 Our Brigade was not, at any time, under a musketry fire, though very close to the fight. We were in the centre, and I had a splendid opportunity to witness one of the greatest battles ever fought on this continent. It was a sublime sight. The Second had only one man killed, and one wounded. Both were hurt by shells. I was at no time in any danger—Indeed, I had never had, in any battle so few “narrow escapes,” yet the gutters actually ran blood within three quarters of a mile of me. All our labor was for naught, for we are on our old camp ground, and I understand that the Bridges have been taken up again, though I don’t know that to be true. Please excuse the shortness of this note, but I have had no sleep for so [long] and must get some now. Give my love to Winnie. I send you all the letters I have had from you yesterday & to-day. My love to you all, and devotion to yourself my dear wife. O. M. Poe

65. Poe was possibly feeling what became known during World War I as “shell shock,” now termed a “post–traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD). See Jones, “Shell Shocked,” American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/shell-shocked.aspx. 66. Poe’s estimate was uncannily correct. The Army of the Potomac suffered 12,653 casualties—1,284 killed, 9,600 wounded, and 1,769 captured or missing. The Confederates suffered an aggregate total of 5,377 casualties.

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(76) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp opposite Fredericksburgh Dec. 18th 1862 My dear wife, I have ample time now, and I suppose ought to write long letters, but everything looks so blue, that I have no heart to write. It just seems as though everybody was pulling and hauling in a different direction from everybody else. Don’t you believe any statements in the newspapers to the effect that our loss here is greatly exaggerated. We have lost fifteen thousand men, or I make a very wide guess, and all this army knows it. I am lost in wonder that so much pain is taken to conceal the result of a battle, which must pass into history. The fighting on the part of our troops was magnificent. Their devotion transcended anything I ever saw or even dreamed of. Men walked right up to their death, as though it were to a feast. Even the rebels themselves do not taunt us, but speak with the greatest respect of the gallant men who fought on the bloody field of Fredericksburgh. They say that to fight was hopeless upon our part, and therefore we were entitled to the greater praise for what was done. They do not exult over us though we are, as before within speaking distance of each other. Doubtless there will be plenty of people at the North, less generous than our open enemies, and who will speak of us in terms of disrespect, which those do not feel, who are compelled to meet us face to face. With love to you all, I am my own dear wife, your devoted husband O. M. Poe The year’s military and personal stresses had left Poe mentally exhausted. On December 22 he was granted a twenty-day leave of absence.

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my dear nelly

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R “God Grant That We Give Them the Deliverance They Seek” Congressional Disaster to Western-Theater Redemption, February 10–August 28, 1863

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oe returned to the army in early 1863, feeling reinvigorated following his leave of absence. The IX Corps was in winter quarters at Fort Monroe, the same spot from where the Army of the Potomac had commenced its ill-fated Peninsula Campaign nine months earlier. He was gratified to learn that despite his career concerns of the previous fall, his name had been approved by Lincoln for an appointment to brigadier general retroactive to November 29 and sent to Congress for confirmation. Unknown to Poe, however, Congress was having quite the debate over such promotions. Sen. Zachariah Chandler and his Republican allies believed the army had too many generals and did not need more, especially if the potential general viewed himself as a Democratic-leaning George McClellan supporter or had a West Point background, all of which boded ill for Poe.1 Upon arriving at Fort Monroe, he was given temporary division command. It was easy garrison duty for him, and he even had the pleasure of Nell coming to visit for a few weeks. Yet despite the calm surface, Poe felt an undercurrent of dread. He knew that his presidential appointment to brigadier general was nothing more than a formal recommendation subject to congressional approval. (77) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Harrisburgh, Pa. Feby. 10th 1863 My dear wife, I reached here at 3 this morning, and missed the connection for Baltimore, hence have to spend the day here. I have been to see Miss Biddle and 1. See Williams, “Attack upon West Point.”

114

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Miss Julia & have spent all morning with them. They have just started for a short visit to Carlisle [Pennsylvania]. The dear old lady was perfectly delighted to see me, and kissed me with her usual enthusiasm, both on meeting with & parting from me. She sends her love to you and mother. At Pittsburgh I met lots of friends. Henry Murray, and the Shoenbergers, both from Pittsburgh & Cincinnati came east on the same train, so that I had lots of company. The Shoenbergers were all going to Phila. where two of their nieces are to be married to-morrow night—one to Clarke Merchant2 of the Navy, and the other to a Mr. Twells. The young ladies are sisters named Watts. I received a pressing invitation to go, but of course that was out of the question. I was delighted to meet Mrs. S— of Cinti. for I think her one of the sweetest women I ever saw. I was sorry I could not accept the invitation for you know that everybody will be there as a matter of course. I find Capt. Gentry3 here, and several other acquaintances, so that the day does not seem long to me. He gave me his picture, also one of DeHart. Both are classmates, and you know that DeHart is dead so that I have made quite an acquisition.4 I send you both pictures. Our corps is embarking for Fortress Monroe, and it is said, will go from thence to North Carolina. It would be strange if it should be so, for you have so ardently wished it. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe Address my letters under cover (an outside envelope) to the Bureau of Topl. Engrs. at Washington, until I tell you otherwise. O. M. P. (78) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Washington D.C. Feby. 13th 1863 My dear wife, I am still here, and will remain until to-morrow. I complied with your request to call upon Mrs. Break.—I also called upon Mrs. Wilkins, but she was 2. Clarke Merchant (1836–1904), US Naval Academy class of 1857. Morris, Men of the Century, 310. 3. William T. Gentry (1832–85), one of Poe’s 1856 classmates at West Point. Gentry was a lieutenant in 17th US Infantry in May 1861, then was promoted to captain on October 24, 1861. Cullum’s Register, 2:440. 4. Capt. Henry V. De Hart (1835–62) one of Poe’s 1856 classmates at West Point. De Hart was mortally wounded on June 27, 1862, at the Battle of Gaines’s Mill. Cullum’s Register, 2:421. Poe was an avid collector of small photographs of friends and colleagues.

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not at home. Mrs. Break gave me a good blowing up for not bringing you along. Of course I tried to laugh it off, but it was up-hill work. She is about to leave Mrs. Bayard’s and is going to the “Drinkard House,”5 where we saw her last summer. I saw Capt. & Mrs. Whiting and send you “cartes de visite” of them.6 Mrs. W— is in her element, and in her way has some influence here, but God save such a way. Miss Julia Biddle seems to be engaged to a Mr. Huntington. Major Bannister told me that he sent you, on Monday, a check for my pay for January. I suppose you remember what I told you to do with it. Let me know when you get it. I also sent you from Harrisburgh pictures of Gentry and DeHart, who is dead, of wounds [suffered] on the Peninsula. Old Bill Gentry was very frequently spoken of while at Loranis’. I will leave to-morrow evening for Fortress Monroe. For the present you had better direct letters to the Topogh. Bureau. As soon as I know what my address will be, I will write you and let you know. They are going to confirm 20 Major Genls. and 50 Brigs. I suppose that out of this pile I will stand but little chance. With love to you all. I am my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe I hope you have Mary West with you. Also keep her as long as you can. (79) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress New Port News, Va. Feby. 16th 1863 My dear wife, I arrived here to-day where I found myself suddenly called to the command of a Division.7 I found my [presidential] appointment as brigadier general waiting me here, and by virtue of seniority have now a very nice position. Wilcox commands the 9th Corps and I have the 1st Divn. I spent Sunday in Baltimore with Sullivan,8 and of course talked over old times. 5. Poe refers to the home of Dr. William B. Drinkard. 6. Cartes de visite were 2½" x 4" photographic portraits mounted on a cardboard stock. They were inexpensive and designed to be handed out to friends and relatives. See “The Cartes de Visite Craze,” New York Times, Aug. 6, 2013. 7. Poe was placed in temporary command of the First Division, IX Corps, pending the arrival of its new commander. 8. Thomas C. Sullivan was chief of commissariat, Depot Commissary, Baltimore. He was Poe’s West Point roommate and a lifelong friend. “Orlando Metcalf Poe. No. 1716,” 42. Also see chapter 1, note 46.

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We have a splendid camp ground, high—dry—& comfortable. It is said that the New Merrimac is above us ready for an assault upon us, but we have two monitors, and the [USS] Galena ready for her, and even indulge in the wicked hope that she may come on as we think we could end her.9 I wrote to your mother from Baltimore yesterday but will write again soon, and also to Winnie. I gave Mrs. Brent some hints about Tom,10 though I’m conscious that I did so at the risk of offending her. I have a great many letters to write and must cut this one short. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affectionate husband. Orlando M. Poe P.S. My address is— 1st Divn, 9th Army Corps Newport News Va. via Ft Monroe. (80) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Newport News, Va. Feby. 21st 1863 My dear wife, I am disgusted—Here it is Saturday night, and not a word from you, or anybody else since Monday evening. What has tied your tongue? Have you become so wrapped up in the “Doughtyites” that you can’t spare me a single word? Genl. Smith has arrived, and of course my nose is out of joint.11 I go back to my Brigade again and that will cause another change in my address. Letters should be directed to me as commanding the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps via Fortress Monroe. I was down to Ft. Monroe this afternoon, where I met a Capt. Phenix,12 of the navy, of Baltimore. Can he be a near relative of your friends, of Garter memory? He seemed like a very nice man. We have had a day or two of most delightful weather, but it now bids fair to repeat the experience of the first three days of this week. I have a beautiful engraving which I tore out of an old magazine which I would like to send you, but am afraid it would get broken in the mail, so that I will have to wait awhile. 9. The “New Merrimac” Poe wrote of was actually the CSS Richmond, built as an ironclad ram in the summer of 1862. It served on the James River. 10. Thomas L. Brent Jr., Eleanor’s younger brother. 11. “Baldy” Smith had been serving as a major general, but his commission was not confirmed by the Senate before it expired. He thereafter reverted to the rank of brigadier general. Warner, Generals in Blue, 463. Also see chapter 3, note 30, and chapter 6, note 26. 12. Lt. Cdr. Dawson Phenix, naval ordnance officer at Fort Monroe at the time of Poe’s letter. Phenix died on February 20, 1864.

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Genl. Wilcox wrote a nice letter to Mr. Howard for me.13 I enclose a copy— written and signed by himself, which I hope you will preserve as these papers will be worth referring to one of these days. We are going to have a grand Review for Genl. Dix on Monday next.14 I wish you could be here to see it. I intend to make my Brigade shine out. The sorrel pony is all right and goes cavorting along as gaily as can be. When the war is over, I will certainly try to bring [the pony] home for your sake. The little rascal looks me in the eye with the most knowing look, as much as it can say that he “is all right” but I can’t help laughing in the brute’s face. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband. O.M. Poe (81) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Feby. 26th 1863 My dear wife, I have just recd. your number three & send it back to you. In after letters you do not speak of meeting Mrs. Ricketts.15 I think you would have done so if you had thought her as pretty as I used to think her. She & I have had some royal times together. She can make buck-wheat cakes & cook sweet potatoes with the next one—valuable accomplishments, I can assure you. Our grand review came off yesterday, much to the delight of everybody. Several ladies were present, amongst them Mrs. Phenix, the sister-in-law of the young lady whom you knew. She is a very nice person with a most delightful lisp. I had quite a chat with her and am going down to the Fortress to see her in a day or two. I was down there to dinner yesterday evening, at John Taylor’s. He and C. W. Thomas16 (your—or Father Winnie’s friend) both— through continuous good living have grown quite fat. The weather is quite fine, and I had a grand Brigade drill to-day. I’m getting my quarters fixed up very nicely and am living with some degree of comfort.

13. Jacob Merritt Howard (1805–71), Republican US senator from Michigan. Willcox was writing on Poe’s behalf, asking Howard to use his influence to gain promotion for Poe. 14. Maj. Gen. John A. Dix (1798–1879), US senator from New York (1845–49) and the first major general of volunteers appointed by Lincoln in 1861. Dix transferred to Fort Monroe in June 1862 to take command of the Department of Virginia. Warner, Generals in Blue, 125–26. 15. Frances “Fanny” Ricketts, wife of Brig. Gen. James Ricketts. Frank, Women in the American Civil War, 1:479. 16. Capt. John Taylor, US Army Commissary Department, and Lt. Col. Charles W. Thomas (1833–82), West Point class of 1855, chief quartermaster of the VII Corps and the Department of Virginia. Cullum’s Register, 2:409.

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My dear old girl, gold has gone up to seventy one cents premium. Let me urge you to do something with the paper money. Better buy almost anything that can afterwards be turned into money.17 There’s business for you. Love to you all, from your devoted husband, O.M. Poe Quietly read the enclosed from the Detroit Advertiser,18 and keep quiet. (82) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Mch 4th 1863 My dear wife, To-day I received two letters from you, one written on the 26th, and the other on the 27th ult.19 I cannot tell you how glad I am that you found Mrs. R[icketts] all that my fancy painted her, and your implied compliment upon my good judgment is reflected upon yourself whom I ever thought superior to Mrs. R. I have fixed up quarters for you, which will smack greatly of the “tented field.” Still I hope we may enjoy them for some time, rude though they be, and I must beg of you beforehand to make up your mind to like them as well as you can. I wish I could meet you in Baltimore, and thus save you the annoyance to which you will be subjected in getting a “Pass.” Newport News is about eight miles from Fort Monroe. It is the scene of the fight between the Merrimac and Monitor.20 It is the prettiest camp ground I ever saw. With regards to Sullivan, I am my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe 17. The US government began issuing a legal-tender paper currency in February 1862 as a means of combating wartime inflation. This money, known as “Greenbacks,” was officially not convertible to gold. Nevertheless, a secondary and speculative market in New York soon emerged that allowed anyone holding greenbacks to turn the paper currency into gold. Like most such markets, the greenback’s daily price in gold reflected the public’s outlook for the future, in this case the war’s costs and military successes. Poe’s remark indicates that a greenback would now fetch only seventy-one cents in gold—nowhere near the initial one-to-one ratio yet higher than it had been—was indicative of the Northern home front’s dispirited war outlook in early 1863. See Willard, Guinnane, and Rosen, “Turning Points in the Civil War,” National Bureau of Economic Research, http://www.nber.org/papers/w5381. 18. A then recent article in the Republican-leaning Detroit Advertiser & Tribune titled “A Case for Military Men to Examine” denounced the possibility that Lt. Col. Louis Dillman of the 2nd Michigan Infantry might replace Poe as the regiment’s colonel. A clipping of the article is attached to Poe’s letter within the Library of Congress collection. 19. “Ult.” is the abbreviation for “ultimo,” defined as in or of the month preceding the current one. 20. The legendary first battle of ironclad warships on March 8–9, 1862. See chapter 2, note 7.

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Eleanor arrived in Virginia soon thereafter, and obviously, no letters passed between them. In a heavily partisan ten-day session in early March, Poe’s appointment to brigadier general of volunteers was formally denied by Congress as part of the rancorous debates mentioned earlier. Even worse, in anticipation of confirmation, Poe had earlier resigned his volunteer commission as colonel of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, thereby leaving him without a command. Nonetheless, recent rule changes within the Engineer Corps had allowed army officers to simultaneously hold commissions in both the volunteers and the regular army, which meant that Poe was still considered a first lieutenant in the regular army. With one swing of the congressional sword, Poe tumbled from a brigadier general holding temporary division command to a first lieutenant with no station. It was an embarrassing demotion almost unheard of in the army. In early April Poe learned that he had been transferred to Kentucky, as had General Burnside, the IX Corps, and Poe’s beloved 2nd Michigan. His next extant letter to his wife is from Cincinnati, Ohio. (83) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Cinti., O. April 22nd 1863 My dear wife, I reached here in due time and have been assigned to duty, with my office in this city, but am directed to report for temporary service to Genl. Wilcox at Lexington. I’m going out there to-morrow to “Prospect” a little and find out what is going on. If my reconnaissance should prove satisfactory then I will send for you. I was awfully tired when I got here. Yesterday at four I laid down, on the outside of the bed, with all my clothes on. When I woke up, it was broad daylight this morning. What do you think of that for such a restless creature as I am[?] I saw Genl. Hartsuff this morning. Genl. Burnside has applied to have a corps formed for him.21 I will write you as soon as I get to Lexington. Love to you all. I return the $100 that I borrowed from you. Your affc. husband, O. M. Poe Direct to Lieut. O. M. Poe U.S. Engineers Lexington Kentucky 21. Maj. Gen. George L. Hartsuff (1830–74), West Point class of 1852, had been severely wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Following his return to duty, he was placed in command of the new XXIII Corps in Burnside’s Army of the Ohio. Warner, Generals in Blue, 212–13.

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Maj. Gen. George L. Hartsuff (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

Two days later, on April 24, Poe was appointed chief of engineers for the District of Central Kentucky, headquartered at Lexington.22 He was promoted to captain in the regular army soon thereafter. (84) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Lexington, Ky. May 12th 1863 My dear wife, I leave to-day for Louisville in a great hurry, to join Genl. Hartsuff. I enclose a couple of letters to you. One of them—from some lady friend, was addressed to me, and therefore opened by me. I have been officially notified by the War Dept. that I have been appointed a Captain of engineers, to take my true place in the corps, so that is all right. Direct to me, in care of Maj. Genl. Hartsuff, Comd. 23rd Army Corps, Louisville, Kentucky. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe Col. Babcock23 & Col. Bowen24 desire to be remembered to you. 22. Willcox order, Apr. 24, 1863, O.R. 52(1):354. 23. Bvt. Lt. Col. Orville E. Babcock (1835–84), West Point class of 1861, was assistant inspector general and chief engineer for Burnside’s IX Corps. He later served as aide-de-camp to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the 1864 Overland Campaign. Cullum’s Register, 2:521–22. 24. Lt. Col. Nicolas Bowen (1836–71), West Point class of 1860, was chief of staff to Brig. Gen. O. B. Willcox, commanding the District of Central Kentucky. Cullum’s Register, 2:496–97.

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(85) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Louisville Ky. May 17th 1863 My dear wife, I was strongly in hope that I might hear from you this morning, but the mail brought me no letter. Still I suppose you got home all right or you would have telegraphed me. It is fearfully stupid here, and as yet, no signs of our leaving here within a reasonable time. I wish something would be done, for this thing of living at a hotel, at an expense of two & a half dollars a day is more than I can stand.25 I have not seen either Mrs. Forsyth, or Miss Sylvia since Wednesday, but am going around there this evening. I telegraphed to your mother about your dress, and also wrote to her. I hope it came safely to Massillon. Col. Bowen has sent for his wife to join him at Lexington, and was very much disappointed to find that I had sent you home. (He wouldn’t believe that you went of your own free will.) I suppose you are anxious to know if I went to church this morning. If I had I couldn’t have written this to you, so be content. Do you remember Capt. Royal, who went up to Cincinnati with us on the boat[?] He has just brought his wife, a pretty woman here to the Galt House26 to board. Why do the Fates prevent our being constantly together? I am exceedingly anxious to hear of Winnie, but suppose I will have to wait awhile. I think I will write to her today. With love to you all, I am your affc. husband, O. M. Poe (86) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Louisville Ky. June 7th 1863 My dear wife, We will leave here to-morrow morning (Monday) to go along down the line of the Louisville [&] Nashville R.R.27 I have seen Capt. Forsyth.28 Mrs. 25. Top hotels in New York City could charge $2.00 to $2.50 per night, but less expensive hotels in smaller towns often charged $0.50 to $1.00 per night. With no elevators in existence yet, upper-level floors cost even less. 26. Built in 1835, Louisville’s Galt House was a well-known sixty-room hotel located at the northeast corner of Second and Main Streets. It burned down in 1865. 27. This rail line was a crucial, 180-mile north–south route spanning the two towns and held significant strategic importance to both the Union and Confederate armies. See Klein, Louisville & Nashville Railroad. 28. Capt. James W. Forsyth (1834–1906), a Poe 1856 classmate at West Point, was serving as acting assistant adjutant general. Cullum’s Register, 2:434.

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F— has gone to Washington, her brother having died. I suppose you recalled him well. Genl. Willcox invited me to go to the theater with him last night, and we occupied a conspicuous position, in a private box. I was so fortunate as to meet the old Brigade, or at least a portion of it here, on its way West & South.29 We were glad to see each other. They cheered me, and begged me to go along with them. If you should leave the hotel, remember when you pay the bill that the bargain was that we should each pay one dollar & a half per day, for what time we were actually there, that is:—that you should pay one dollar and a half for what time you staid, and my bill was to stop whenever I was not there. If they should demand more, tell them to wait until I get back. I am led to make these remarks, because they cheated all the rest of Genl. Hartsuff ’s staff and there is no reason why we should escape. I ordered me a coat & pair of pants yesterday, which I hope will meet your approval. With much love, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Remember me to Mr. and Mrs. Bowen On June 26 Poe and his men began construction of a large and fortified supply garrison in central Kentucky to be known as Camp Nelson, after the late Maj. Gen. William “Bull” Nelson. Within a year, it had also become the North’s third-largest recruitment center for the US Colored Troops (USCT). (87) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Danville, Ky. Saturday evening Aug 15th 1863 My dear wife, I have recd. your note by Col. Drake,30 enclosing one from your Aunt Lizzie, I re-enclose them both to you, having been fully informed upon certain matters. I should think you would have your laughs at Maria,31 more on account of her unnerving confidence than any other. It is the old & oft repeated story, of the “best laid schemes” &c &c.

29. Poe’s “Old 2nd”—the 2nd Michigan Infantry—was sent west from the Army of the Potomac to the Army of the Ohio in April 1863 along with the 17th Michigan, the 19th Michigan, and the 79th New York. Effective with this letter’s date, the brigade went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to reinforce Major General Grant’s forces then besieging that vital city. 30. Lt. Col. George B. Drake, assistant adjutant general, XXIII Corps. 31. Probably Maria Duncan, daughter of Judge Ross Wilkins and aunt of Eleanor Poe.

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my dear nelly

We had a hot one here to-day, and I am perfectly covered with dust and dirt. It would make me look better to be shaved but that is a luxury I scarcely think I will indulge in. I saw the “second” at Hickman’s Bridge. They had a sharp fight at Jackson.32 One of the lieutenants, Sheldon33 by name, was badly wounded. After he fell, he drew his revolver, and watched his chance, and when a good stout rebel showed himself, he made him come and pick him up and carry him off the field. Think of a rebel carrying one of our wounded officers to our own hospital, propelled by a loaded revolver in the hands of said officer. Sunday evening We remained all day at this place. I don’t know whether we will move in the morning or not. It rained today harder than I ever saw it before. Direct to me in care of Lieut. Col. Drake, Head Quarters, 23rd Army Corps, via Cincinnati and Lexington With love to you all, I am my dear Nell, your affc. husband. O. M. Poe Major General Burnside had recently returned from Vicksburg. With 15,000 men under his command, he intended to advance through Kentucky into East Tennessee, with orders to drive the Confederates out of that strongly pro-Union region. His campaign began in mid-August. (88) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Stanford, Ky. Aug 18th 1863 My dear wife, We reached here yesterday and have been lying idle all day, and there is no certainty that we will march tomorrow. Genl. Burnside is along with us, though not camped on exactly the same ground. This is a very quiet little town, not near so large as Lebanon [Kentucky], but presenting much of the same tumble down appearance. In fact the town is completed. We had hard marching yesterday—some half dozen cases of sunstroke 32. The 2nd Michigan Infantry was engaged on July 11, 1863, at Jackson, Mississippi. The Confederates evacuated the capital on July 16. By August 4 the 2nd was marching back to Kentucky. See Col. William Humphrey’s report, Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:9–10. 33. Stephen A. Sheldon was wounded at Jackson, Mississippi, on July 11, 1863. He was breveted captain and major in 1865 for gallant services during this action. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:157.

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occurred, two of which were fatal. I don’t think I ever felt greater heat. And to add to it all, I was riding a rough horse. Tell mother that Daniel Poe is with me, and that I saw Andrew Adam yesterday. Alfred Norvell has gotten well at least he tells me so.34 The 104th Ohio is right along with us.35 I have seen some of the officers, but have not yet seen Young Kelley, or Ricks.36 I met in Danville another of the men of the 2nd who was captured with that wagon train. He had just got in from Tennessee, whence he had escaped. It seems as though the rebels could do nothing at all, with the men of that regiment. They complained to me, that “it was no trick to whip the rebels in Mississippi, that they didn’t fight like the Virginia rebels.” At Jackson, they whipped eight regiments of the enemy, and then complained that the rebels wouldn’t fight!! Capt. Lyon is fussing around, in fact is almost as bad as the itch. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband. O. M. Poe (89) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Crab Orchard, Ky. Aug 20th 1863 My dear wife, I recd. your note written from Cincinnati. Maj. Simpson37 has certainly been very kind, tho—he could have been more so by ordering me to Cinti and Capt. W. A. into the field. We reached here last night, and will probably move on to-morrow morning. I expected a letter from you by last night’s mail but was disappointed. I hope it will come to-night. Daniel Poe got a telegram from his wife last night saying that his child was dangerously ill. He of course could not go home. I felt very sorry for him.

34. Alfred C. Norvell, 23rd Michigan Infantry, suffered from exhaustion during the pursuit of Brig. Gen. John Morgan, who led his Confederate cavalry on a raid across Indiana and Ohio during June and July 1863. The 23rd Michigan became a mounted unit during that pursuit. Simon, Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, 36–37. 35. The 104th Ohio Infantry was organized and mustered into service at Massillon, Ohio following President Lincoln’s call for 300,000 more men in July 1862. Pinney, 104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 6, 17–18. 36. First Lt. Augustus J. “Gus” Ricks, Company E, 104th Ohio Infantry. Born in 1843 in West Brookfield, Ohio, Ricks attended public schools in Massillon, Ohio, with Poe most likely being one of his teachers. Upon the Civil War’s outbreak, Ricks recruited a company from that town for the 104th Ohio Infantry. One of Poe’s most oft-mentioned friends, he became a US federal judge in later life. Smith, Republican Party in Ohio, 1:788. 37. Maj. James Hervey Simpson (1813–83), chief engineer for the Department of the Ohio.

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my dear nelly

Genl. Burnside was certainly very complimentary, if he used the language reported. But I was not inclined to put the most implicit faith in everything that Miss Brande said. I know very well that Genl. Burnside is pleased with my work for he told me so, but I don’t think he indulged in language quite so extensive as that reported. I wrote to Ross Mellon to send my boxes to you. Open them, and put them in the bookcase, and lock it up. Amuse yourself with the books & your sewing machine. Put all the books I have at mother’s in the “case.” “Doc” Sanders paid me, today twenty dollars that he borrowed from me last November, so is it a wonder that he remembered it? I had forgotten all about it. I believe Col. Bowen has got back at last, at least I’ve heard so. Give my love to all my own dear wife. O. M. Poe (90) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Smith’s Ferry / south of the Cumberland Aug 23rd 1863 My dear wife, I have recd. two more letters from you, making five in all. I am glad you have bought a buggy for you can now run around as much as you please. I recd. your mother’s letter but forbear all comment. I wrote to her just before I left Lexington, and expressed my opinion, which doesn’t exactly coincide with hers. If she is determined to spurn all aid from me, then I have nothing to say.38 We crossed the Cumberland River last night and this morning, and are now encamped about a mile from it. I worked all day with about fifteen hundred men, in making a road, over which to bring our trains. We are truly in a rough country. I thought Western Va. was a rough country but this excels it far enough. I don’t know when we will move on, but suppose it will be in the morning. Don’t you think that some of our friends have gone “soldier mad.” It is rather discouraging to see that attention wasted upon Sergeant Whitton which is not vouchsafed a father. I feel very hopeful, it seems as though we must succeed. We hear very little of what is going on, beyond the region we are in,

38. On July 18, 1863, Jane Brent (Nell’s mother) wrote to the US Army’s adjutant general seeking to apply for the position of keeper of Fort Gratiot, about fifty miles north of Detroit and then unoccupied by the army. In her letter she explained she was the widow of Capt. Thomas Brent and with no other means of support. Upon learning of this, Poe offered to help but was rebuffed, which clearly annoyed the proud soldier. Miller, “Brent Family Letters,” 54, typescript.

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tho’ our mails are somewhat regular now. I suppose that before this you have received my letters, and have seen from them where we are going for. I don’t know but it would have been better for you to have taken the Gazette,39 as there is a reporter for that paper along with us—but still there will be plenty said about us in the Commercial. I believe it is no longer a secret that our destination is Eastern Tennessee—so you are at liberty to speak of it. If we don’t move to-morrow I will write again. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe Poe’s heart, professional pride, and sense of God-given duty was on full display as the army was warmly greeted by the dirt-poor but loyal East Tennesseans. These unionists had suffered severely at the hands of the Confederacy. The region’s physical devastation was heart wrenching. (91) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Aug 26th 1863 Chetwoods Tennessee 40 miles south of the Cumberland River My dear wife, We reached here at 11 a.m. to-day, after a march of 19 miles. It is a very romantic spot about 3 miles south of the line between the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. I wish you could only see the delight of the people. Such loyalty to the Union I have never seen in my life before. We don’t know at the North what loyalty means. Here it means to be robbed of everything one has in world, to have one’s house burnt over his head, and himself hunted through the woods like a wild beast. Women stand by the side of the road, and weep with joy to see us. And well they may. The fate of Scout Reynolds’ family has been that of many another one. Never before in all my life did I feel more strongly convinced that I was doing a holy duty in coming here to rescue these people. Today they turned out, (the citizens) and repaired the road in front of us, and others are now at work far in advance of our troops. God grant that we give them the deliverance they seek. They are ignorant, poor, and uncouth, but without any noise or vaporing they are ready to die in support of their faith. Indeed scarcely a family but has had at least one member murdered. It is reported that the rebels are gathering in some force in our front. We will have fighting to do before many days. 39. Poe was most likely referring to the Cincinnati Daily Gazette.

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“Eastern Tennessee, August–December 1863”

The scenery along the road to-day was truly grand. We traveled along the very top of the mountain range, and frequently could see on either side of us for thirty miles, the pine air, and cool weather made the march the delightful one, and I must confess that my heart bounded more than once as my mind reverted to the object of the campaign and the right for which we marched & fought. But don’t imagine my dear, dear, Eleanor, that I once forgot that it was your birthday. I would have been happy with you but I could not have been more so than I was with the consciousness that I was doing that which was more manly, and which our God would more highly approve. It was no Quixotic feeling, but a genuine thrill of happiness to know that one, perhaps the greatest other pleasure, was sacrificed to my sense of duty. My dear wife, with your good heart, & right perceptions, will you not agree with me? But I may congratulate you upon this auspicious day and hope & pray that we may both live till many more have passed over your head. When “the

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cruel war is over,”40 and we are united for age, we will talk over these old times, and never regret that in wisdom, they were ordered as they have been. Many desertions are taking place in the rebel army. We passed more than fifty of them to-day. Last night thirty deserters came in, and joined our army.41 Genl. Burnside is here, and as far as I can judge all is going on right. I feel very hopeful, not alone because I feel that we are in the right, but because everything seems to be well ordered. And the people are so ready to aid us. Instead of complaining because we take their hay and corn, they say to us, there is “what I have—take it, and God’s blessing go with it.” But I ramble—from congratulations upon your birthday, to enthusiasm over loyal east Tennessee. It is late, & I am tired, so good night. My love to you all, but more than all to you my own dear wife. O. M. Poe At this auspicious time allow me to say that I hold you to what you once said about names, Winnifred, or Charles.42 (92) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Aug 28th 1863 Chitwood’s Tennessee My dear wife, Col. Drake just now came in, and told us to write what letters we wanted to send, as the line of couriers would be withdrawn to-morrow and we would have no further communication with the North for several days. I am very sorry, for I cannot get your letters, neither can I send any to you. Yet I hope most sincerely that it will not last long. I am going to send my pay accounts for this month to Maj. Simpson, to have them cashed for me, and send the money to you. I don’t know whether or not the accounts will go through all right but trust they will. Let me know just as soon as you get the draft. Genl. Burnside went on this morning, and we will follow in the morning. 40. Poe’s quoted words are from the then popular 1863 song “When This Cruel War Is Over,” which was also known as “Weeping, Sad and Lonely.” It was a favorite among both Union and Confederate troops. 41. Many loyal East Tennessee unionists had been forcibly impressed into the Confederate ranks. Once Union troops marched into the area, they deserted over to the blue at first opportunity. 42. Eleanor was pregnant at this time with the couple’s first child, the names chosen being Winnifred or Charles.

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my dear nelly

You must write to me all the same, and I will get your letters some time, probably when we get into Knoxville, (if we are going there). I heard Genl. Hascall43 say some very nice things of you to-day, not alone of your physique, but of your character also. You may be sure that I was gratified. I would like to tell you a great many things but the uncertainties of the mail and the interests of the service forbid. Several deserters from the enemy came in this evening. They were just from Loudon, on the R.R.44 They say that it is currently reported in Dixie, that our force is eighty thousand men. They would be somewhat surprised if they were to find that it was even greater than that. Be very careful what you write to me, for the mail is liable to be captured at any time, and I would hate to have letters fall into the hands of others, that I would not be willing to put there myself. I have a tremendous appetite, eat everything I can get, and would like to eat a great many things which I can’t get. This is a very poor country, a cornfield here & there, with very little on it, is all of cultivation that is to be seen. Generally it is a wilderness.45 When you write to your mother and Winnie, give them my love. I will write to Winnie very soon, and you may tell her so. Give my love to all, and believe me, your husband O. M. Poe

43. Brig. Gen. Milo S. Hascall (1829–1904), West Point class of 1852, commanded the District of Indiana at the time of Poe’s letter. Warner, Generals in Blue, 213–14. 44. Loudon, Tennessee, was an important junction on the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad and about thirty-four miles to the west-southwest of Knoxville. 45. The Confederate armies marching to and from East Tennessee as part of their 1862 Kentucky campaigns had all but decimated local fields and foodstuff supplies. McKenzie, Lincolnites and Rebels, 116.

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five

R “My Praises Are in Every Man’s Mouth” The Hero of Knoxville, September 4–December 7, 1863

B

urnside’s army reached Knoxville, East Tennessee’s largest town, in early September 1863. Its large pro-Union population was ecstatic, their Confederate tormentors having departed prior to the Federal army’s arrival. (93) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 4th 1863 Knoxville Tennessee My dear wife, At last we have reached this place. We have had long and toilsome marching, but not much fighting as yet, though it may come at any time. We now occupy both Loudon and Knoxville. The enemy burnt the splendid bridge at Loudon. We saved the depot & machine shops here, also a couple locomotives and some cars. I have seen Capt. Davis, who went on that expedition, and that we all supposed had been hung. He tells a wonderful story and when I see you again I will tell it to you. He has been for the last two months amongst the rebels all the time, and being a telegraph operator, he has acquired a mass of information which is doubtless very valuable. I thought I had seen loyalty in the mountains, but it is not so intense as that we find here. The people seem to be wild with joy. Their houses are open to us, and more than all, they meet us with pleasant faces, instead of the sour looks bestowed by the Secesh women upon those who fight the battles

131

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my dear nelly

of the Union. Yesterday & to-day people (men & women) with flags have been parading the streets, and shouting loud enough for the union.1 Last night I recd. a letter from you. I enclose it. I got it late last night and very unexpectedly, but none the less welcome for all that. I marched 22 miles this morning before I got breakfast. You may rely upon it, when I did get a chance, I pitched in, and ate until I was perfectly satisfied. Secesh money is at a decided discount here. It took a hatful to buy a bushel of potatoes. A meal at the hotel cost rebel officers two dollars each, we get meals for 50 cents each in greenbacks. Quite a difference. Sanders is a great lion here. The people all think him a wonderful man. If my letter is disjointed don’t blame me, for there are a dozen men all around me talking at once. I will write every opportunity. I expect to send this to-morrow by Capt. Harris or Dr. Church both of whom go to Cinti to-morrow. I sent you my pay for August. Have you got it? With love to you all I am your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe (94) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 5th 1863 Knoxville Tennessee My dear wife, We have had a great time here to-day. Speeches were made to the assembled multitude by Genls. Burnside & Carter,2 by some of the citizens, and then Doc Sanders was brought out and “showed,” as the man who had scared the rebels so badly.3 The people cheered all and everything, until they fairly grew hoarse, and all went merry as a marriage bell. This morning we have a rumor that the rebels have left Chattanooga, and if so, it indicates that for the present they intend giving up Tennessee.4 1. Dr. William Henry Church, the IX Corps medical director (and referenced in this letter), concurred with Poe’s assessment. He wrote that Burnside’s lead troops “were received with expressions of the profoundest gratitude by the people. . . . Knoxville was radiant with flags.” Moore, Rebellion Record, 7:407; Woodbury, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, 499–500. 2. Brig. Gen. Samuel Powhatan Carter (1819–91) was the only American officer to become both a major general in the army and a rear admiral in the navy. Warner, Generals in Blue, 74. 3. From June 14 to June 24, Col. William “Doc” Sanders led 1,500 cavalrymen on a successful raid from Kentucky into eastern Tennessee, with orders to learn Confederate troop strength and to damage the vital East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad prior to Burnside’s invasion. Sanders’s men captured some 300 Confederate prisoners and ten pieces of artillery. 4. Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee was centered in Chattanooga and warily watching Union armies approaching from the north and northwest.

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the hero of knoxville

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I saw Judge Kelly’s son,5 and Lieut. Ricks this morning. They are both well. If you are up at Massillon soon, be sure to let their people know, as it may be impossible for them to get letters through. In my letter yesterday, I spoke of enclosing one of yours, and then didn’t do it, so I do so to-day. As usual I have been looking around for pretty girls, but they are not so plenty as in Kentucky, hence I have seen but very few, and they were not of the most attractive of those my eyes have beheld. There is not a handsome woman in Knoxville.6 We have always heard of this place, and from the stir it made in the world, one was led to believe that it was a great place. But it is not larger than Massillon, & has not half the enterprise. You can scarcely imagine such utter standstill-a-tive-ness [sic]. The houses all look as if they were ready to tumble down. A strong infusion of Yankee blood is needed to give things some life here.7 And the people have become reconciled to the term “Yankee.” Plenty of the crowd to-day proclaimed themselves “Tennessee Yankees,” and seemed to take pride in the term. I do myself, now that it means loyalty to the government, and nothing more. I saw a party of Confederate prisoners brought down the street to-day. They had been out in the mountains to catch conscripts, but the conscripts got word before the rebels did, that we were here, so they turned on their pursuers, captured them, and brought then in as prisoners.8 I think it is one of the most amusing affairs I have heard of for a long time. I scarcely know how to tell you to direct to me, but I think perhaps that it would be as well to continue to direct as you have been doing. 5. The son is George VanStavoren Kelley (1843–1905). Kelley was born and raised in Massillon and served as sergeant in Company A, 104th Ohio Infantry. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. 6. Despite Poe’s dry and teasing humor with Nell, Union soldiers were routinely curious about and fascinated by Southern women. Many ended up marrying Southern women from all social classes. Massey, Bonnet Brigades, 230–31. 7. Like Poe in this instance, Union soldiers frequently remarked about a lack of personal industry and even outright sloth within the South, often through their descriptions of Southern housing. Other letters described Knoxville’s decrepit condition. One soldier asserted to his wife that the town’s thirty-nine houses of ill fame seemed to be the only thriving businesses. Mitchell, Civil War Soldiers, 90–101; McKenzie, Lincolnites and Rebels, 148–49. 8. On April 16, 1862, the Confederate Congress passed the first conscription act in American history, which made all able-bodied Southern white men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five liable for a three-year term of military service. Those already in the army for a one-year enlistment saw their terms automatically extended to three. In September 1862 the upper age limit was raised to forty-five. Therefore, many loyal Tennessee men chose to flee for Kentucky via the mountain paths. Those captured by the rebels were often forced into the Confederate army at the point of the bayonet.

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134

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my dear nelly

With love to you all, I am my dear wife, devotedly yours, O. M. Poe While many, if not most, whites of the era were antislavery and considered slavery barbaric, that conviction did not translate into a belief in racial equality. Most whites simply took it for granted that the white race was superior to the black race. Poe was no different in that regard, as illustrated in this next letter. (95) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 10th 1863 [#1] Knoxville Tennessee My dear wife, I write this morning, only because I can no longer resist the desire to do so, but when this will reach you, goodness only knows as we have no mail communication with the north yet. My impressions of this place have not changed in the least. It is a small, insignificant, worthless town, not half so large, or so enterprising as Canton [Ohio], the city you love. I am more disgusted than I can express with the attempts being made at the north to evade the draft. I hear from Capt. Paul Cornevin, of the 9th Mich. Cav., who has just arrived from Detroit that the draft has been postponed there for 30 days and that meanwhile they are going to try to raise two new Cavalry Regts by volunteering.9 Did you ever hear the like? I have had to help open a rebel mail, to look for information. All the letters spoke of the horrors of the war. As the letters were on their way to the army & not from it, they contained little information. Whenever I came to one headed—My dear son, or my dear husband, or, my dear brother, I did not read it. It seemed to me like sacrilege, though of course I would have smothered that feeling if I had felt assured that there would have been a commensurate return to the country. 9. The Union’s Enrollment Act of 1863 went into effect on March 3. The controversial law mandated that any able-bodied, single male US citizen between the ages of twenty and forty-five, or married men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, were subject to the new national draft, though with a few exceptions. For many Northerners, the most contentious provision allowed any man to remove himself from the draft merely by paying a $300 fee (an immense sum at the time) to the Federal government through what was known as the “commutation clause.” Some Northern men sought to evade the draft by “skedaddling” to Canada, especially through Detroit. Others tried to maim themselves. These were the nation’s first “draft dodgers.” As a primarily Democratic town, Detroit faced serious antiwar and antidraft resistance. See Taylor, “Old Slow Town.”

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I saw young Mr. Ricks yesterday. He spoke of having seen you, only a few days ago, and it did me good, next to seeing your own dear self. I hope you got my letter from Chitwood’s, in which I said that we were to have no mail communication, as that would serve to allay any uneasiness you might otherwise feel at my silence. I sent a couple letters by Capt. Harris, who has gone to Cincinnati, and who promised to mail them there for me. I hope he will not forget to do so. There is a great deal of interest which I might write you, did I feel certain that this would reach you, but as long as doubt exists, it were better that I said nothing. I am boarding at the hotel, but a gentleman in town has offered to take Col. Kautz10 & myself as boarders, just as soon as he can get a cook, his own having run away. He could get his own again but he will not have him. Serves the nigger right. His master was a good & kind one, and he found that in the world all are not good & kind. With love to you all, but to yourself my dear wife, more than I can express. I am your husband, O. M. Poe (96) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 10th 1863 [#2] Knoxville Tennessee My dear wife, I wrote you this morning, but the receipt a few minutes ago, of the enclosed note, encourages me to write again, though it should prove nothing but a song. I am perfectly delighted that you bought the buggy, as you now have the means of running around, and are somewhat independent. I hope you will amuse yourself in every way that you can. Make the time pass as pleasantly as possible. I can’t tell you how much I thank you for repairing from grumbling, and, for writing in the cheerful tone you do. It lessens my burden here very greatly, and makes our lot appear as bright as circumstances will allow. And my dear Nell, you ought to be thankful that you are so far from the seat of war. If you could only hear the tales that are told me here, you would thank God for the little trouble you have had. When I hear people at the 10. Col. August Valentine Kautz (1828–95), German-born colonel of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. See Kautz, August Valentine Kautz, 107.

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North bewailing their condition, it simply disgusts me; that they express so little thankfulness for a condition, which so many of their fellow mortals so greatly envy. We met a slight reverse yesterday, in the capture of about 200 men of the 100th O[hio] V[olunteer] I[nfantry]. They met the enemy at Telford, about 100 miles to the eastward of this [town] yesterday morning, and had a sharp fight, easily whipping five times their number of the enemy. They then fell back 13 miles to Limestone Station, where they were attacked in the evening by 1800 of the enemy, with cavalry & artillery, and were captured.11 There is no other news just now, but there may be soon, and since I have been so fortunate as to get one letter from you while here, I am encouraged to hope that others will find their way through some how. But the latter “how” is not the “Howe”, to which you refer. If I only can think of it when we meet again, I will tell you a very funny story, in connection therewith, which I heard some eighteen years ago, and had forgotten until your allusion brought it to mind. I would write it, but can’t very well without making the story too long. I want to tell you before I forget it. I went to Episcopal church on Sunday, followed the service out of the little prayer book, as of old, and heard the minister—in Knoxville, devoutly pray for the President of the U.S. You see that I’m a better boy, when you are absent, than when you are near me. I’m afraid I think more of you than I do of the church, or anything else, hence cannot bear to be away from you long enough to go to church, when it is possible to be with you. Love to you all O.M.P. I use a Knoxville secesh envelope. Poe mentioned Cumberland Gap six times in his letters to Nell written between September and November 1863. That natural thoroughfare through the Appalachian Mountains possessed significant strategic importance, with both blue and gray seeking to control the pass between Kentucky and Tennessee. The gap changed hands three times in the early years of the war but remained under Union control for the duration of the war following the skirmish Poe mentioned in this next letter.

11. Action at Telford (or Limestone Station), Tennessee, September 8, 1863. See O.R., 30(2):590–91.

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(97) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 10th 1863 [#3] Knoxville Tennessee My dear Eleanor, At intervals during the day, I have recd. letters from you, and I now write the third to acknowledge the receipt of the third from you, to-day. I am sorry that box of books was opened before the book-case was done. I want it distinctly understood, and I want you to show this letter to mother so that she may understand it also, that I will not have my books & papers scattered to the four winds of Heaven. If the Book case is not done yet, I want you to fasten the box up again until it is done. If I had supposed that the books were going to be scattered I would have left them with Ross Mellon. In the first letter I got from you, you spoke of the great prevalence of Cholera Morbus,12 and said that you had had a slight attack of it. That letter was dated Aug. 30th. By that dated Aug. 28th, I noticed that you had been at a cider making, and had, to use your own words, drunk as much of the nice new cider as you could. Verily I say, cause & effect were closely allied. It needed no prophet to predict Cholera Morbus, consequent upon an engagement of new cider. The 104th it is reported had a fight to-day at Cumberland Gap. The report further says that we carried the works, and captured 1200 prisoners. It is not official but is probably true. It is certain that there is fighting there.13 There are rumors of all kinds afloat but I will not repeat them. Andrew Adam Poe, was in the fight to day. I have not heard yet whether he was hurt or not. With love to you all I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (98) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Sept 11th 1863 Knoxville Tenn. My dear wife, To-day an opportunity presents itself to get a letter through. I don’t intend

12. A seasonal gastrointestinal discomfort characterized by cramping, diarrhea, and occasional vomiting. 13. Union forces attacked and eventually captured the Confederate position at Cumberland Gap on September 7–9, 1863. McKnight, Contested Borderland, 167–68; Pinney, 104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 20–21.

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to write much, but I want to enclose you our paper. You’ll find it very interesting, and its columns replete with highly valuable matter. . . . I suppose now that we have possession of Cumberland Gap, that a mail line will be established, and then I will be able to write more frequently. I am going to surprise you by saying that I have become somewhat attached to Col. Pleasants.14 How our prejudices disappear, as we grow better acquainted with the persons who excite them. But I promised you a short letter, & short it must be. With love to you all, I am devotedly your husband O. M. Poe (99) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept 14th 1863 Knoxville Tenn. My dear wife, All my efforts to send letters have proved futile. Yesterday, all the letters I had in the mail came back, after having been well on their way to Cumberland Gap. Unfortunately Capt. Williams was sent in charge of the mail that was going through to Lexington. Genl. Burnside met him on the way and peremptorily ordered him back. He (Genl. B) told Genl. Hartsuff that if anyone else had been sent he would not have interfered, but that he had no confidence in Williams. It is now advertised that the regular citizen’s mail will leave to-morrow morning, so that I hope my letters will go through in future. I have recd. nothing from you of a later date than Aug. 30th, so you see that I am no more highly favored than you. I am suffering most intensely from an insignificant looking sty on my left eye, and, if this note does not prove interesting, you can attribute its inanity to the proper causes. There is very little in the shape of news to write you. You will get everything in the papers, much sooner than I can write it to you. We hear rumors of further success at Charleston [South Carolina]15 but not getting any 14. Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants (1833–80) was provost marshal for the XXIII Corps. He later achieved fame as the officer with the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry who designed the explosives-laden mineshaft that, when detonated, resulted in the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864. Bosbyshell, The 48th in the War, 111, 114. 15. Union naval shelling and land assaults against Battery Wagner in South Carolina occurred during the summer of 1863. That coastal bastion guarded the southern entrance to Charleston harbor. Following almost two months of nonstop bombardment, the Confederates abandoned the position on the night of September 6–7, 1863.

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newspapers can say what it amounts to. I suppose you have heard ere this that the enemy has left Tennessee except small bands that may be scattered about. Rosecrans16 is in Georgia, the enemy having abandoned Chattanooga without a fight. It seems hardly possible that we have so quietly gained possession of a great state but it is true.17 If nothing adversely happens I can see no good reason why the war should last another year. Oh! how grand it will be to feel as though we can be together more. I will leave this open, and send a paper enclosed. It is not yet published, and, therefore I can’t enclose it just now. —Later—I enclose the paper. I am sitting in my office talking with one of the rebel Vicksburgh prisoners, whom I used to know at West Point. He has given up the Confederate cause, and has taken the Oath of Allegiance,18 and is going to California. Love to you all, and devotion to family— Your husband, O. M. Poe (100) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Sept 19th 1863 Knoxville Tenn. My dear wife, More days have gone by and no letters from you. It is now three weeks since I heard a word from you. I suppose some of your letters will reach me by & bye [sic], but many of them will certainly be lost. I understand that there is a large mail at Somerset Ky. for us & that the mail bags have been opened and letters scattered over the floor. This condition of things existing you must be extremely careful what you write for you cannot know into whose hands your letters will fall. 16. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was commanding general of the Army of the Cumberland. Warner, Generals in Blue, 410–11. Also see chapter 1, note 60. 17. Rosecrans’s maneuvering had forced General Bragg’s Confederates out of Chattanooga and into northwest Georgia in early September. Determined to retake the town, Bragg began moving back toward Chattanooga, resulting in the Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 18–20, 1863. For more on the battle, see Powell, Chickamauga Campaign. 18. For many rebel prisoners of war, taking a Union loyalty oath meant parole and a chance to return home under their solemn, sworn promise not to take up arms against the Union. Those who violated their parole faced certain death if recaptured. The Confederacy, however, did not recognize such oaths and would often force these men back into the army, hence this man’s decision to immigrate to California. See Hyman, Era of the Oath, 44–45.

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140

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my dear nelly

We are having weather which is surprisingly cold at this time of year in this latitude. I am clad as warmly as can be, without an overcoat, and yet I am not any more than comfortably warm. I pity those who have not got the means with which to clothe themselves more warmly. There will be an immense deal of suffering amongst the people of this place before spring. I do not exaggerate when I say that many of them are now wanting the actual necessaries of life. This destitution is going to lead to all sorts of crimes for people will live, of course I allude only to those people who live in town. Those who live in the country are not as badly off. We are badly off for news. The morning papers are not found on our door knobs, yet damp from the press. I have sent you some numbers of the local paper here, & you can see for yourself that our information concerning the world at large is decidedly limited. I suppose you get the Cinti papers regularly. . . . Genl. Burnside left here day before yesterday. I presume his object is to try to hunt up the enemy and fight him. As the Genl. has a strong force with him, and as tolerably certain to whip, I hope he will find them. I enclose the “Extra,” which was issued here on the morning after “Sanders raid,” from which you can see the other side of the story. With love to you all, I am my dear Eleanor, your devoted husband O. M. Poe (101) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Sept 20th / 63 My dear wife, Another day—without a letter. I wonder how long this suspense is to last. It has become almost unendurable. This morning there are all sorts of rumors about the enemy. I don’t know how much truth there may be in any of them. It is reported that they are pressing Rosecrans. If so there will be warm work before long.19 As part of our own forces have occupied Greenville, about one hundred miles to the eastward of this, or rather, on the line of the R.R. to Virginia. The 104th O.V.I. is stationed here, and I see some of the Massillon men almost every day. I see more of Capt. Kelly (the son of the Judge. We met him when we took dinner there) than of any one else. He appears to be more sociably disposed. 19. The Battle of Chickamauga was drawing to its conclusion in northwest Georgia (about 127 miles southwest of Knoxville) on this day. It would be the greatest Confederate victory of the war in the western theater.

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Andrew Adam was here but appears to have gone. I don’t know what he was doing, but suspect it was not much of anything. I saw his name registered on the books of the hotel as “Capt. & Commissary of Subsistence.” Is there not something wrong about that?20 I have found a tolerably good boarding place. The hostess has quite a charming daughter who keeps an album, which is filled with the poetry of her Secesh friends. The officers of the rebel army appear to be poetry mad, judging by some of the effusions which ornament said album. Nobody knows here that I am married, except one old gentlemen, who invited me to his house, saying that he had a couple of unmarried daughters, who would do all they could to render my visits pleasant. I told him that I would be only too happy to accept his kind invitation, for I had a wife in Ohio, who would be deeply interested in such descriptions as I might write her. The warmth of the invitation suddenly cooled, and I have neither gone there, nor been asked since. What do you suppose is the reason of this change[?] Did the old gentleman suppose I was eligible? Or did he object to the “descriptions”? I am in doubt. But I lost the chance, and when I am again invited I will be careful to say nothing about my wife. I am in first-rate health. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband. O. M. Poe Save this piece of poetry. O.M.P. Poe was as yet unaware of the Federal disaster at the Battle of Chickamauga, fought in northwest Georgia September 18–20. (102) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tennessee Sept 22nd 1863 My own darling wife, Just as I had almost ceased hoping for letters, I received six from you, coming down as late as the 7th inst. at which latter date we were all snugly in Knoxville. I have written very regularly, and have sent off the letters whenever I could. I’ve no doubt but you have had several installments of them. To-day was the first time we have had a mail through, since we have been in Knoxville. There is many a delighted man in this army this night. It is understood 20. The commissary of subsistence was a staff officer responsible for proper ration distribution to the troops under his charge and held the rank of captain. Due to the “easy” nature of the position, the commissary was often the subject of ridicule by frontline soldiers.

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142

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my dear nelly

that a regular mail has been established—tri-weekly. If so, we can communicate more readily with the “outsiders,” than formerly. I scarcely know how to answer all that you write about, for the delight I feel at reading your dear letters, only serves to confuse my ideas, as well as my knowledge of what you write. I can’t recollect what day I recd your birth-day letter, but it was on either the first or second day of September. Don’t you think you wronged me in doubting for a moment that I would recollect your birth-day? My wife, I forget nothing which concerns you, and it is not likely that I will ever forget the recurrence of such an anniversary. The day that gave you birth was one too blessed to me, to permit me to forget it easily. You evidently had recd. the letter in which I spoke about sending you my pay for August, yet you say nothing about having received it. How come you, who make such a parade of studying business, overlook so important a matter[?] I refer to it again, and in answering this, let me know the result of my sending my accts. to Maj. Simpson. Your mother is the strangest person. One day she writes to you advising you not to come to Detroit, the next she forgets the vagaries of her “monster,” and urges you to come. My dear, I must say in all kindness, that her whole course to us has been so extraordinary that it could only be under extreme circumstances that I could place you under her influence. It seems harsh to say this to you, but my conscience justifies me. I am sorry she writes to you such letters as she does, for it seems to me, that she is desirous of creating that very discontent which I am so anxious to allay. I have to thank you for your invitation to the tea party you propose giving, and can only say that I will be there if it is possible. Oh! if “this cruel war”21 would only end so that we might be together again. All sorts of rumors are in circulation, the most important of which is, that a certain portion of Lee’s army has been detached and sent to reinforce Bragg, and that he is now pressing Rosecrans very closely.22 I don’t know how much truth there may be in this, for it is more than a hundred miles from here, to 21. Another reference to the wildly popular song “When This Cruel War Is Over.” See chapter 4, note 40. 22. Braxton Bragg (1817–76), West Point class of 1837, was commanding general of the Army of Tennessee, the Confederacy’s principal western army, for much of 1862 and 1863. Warner, Generals in Gray, 30–31. The corps commanded by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet (1821– 1904), West Point class of 1842, was detached from General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia on September 9, 1863, and sent west by train via North Carolina and Atlanta to reinforce Bragg’s army. His men played a pivotal role in the Battle of Chickamauga. Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox, 434–38; Warner, Generals in Gray, 192–93.

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where Rosecrans’ troops are, so that we hear from there but seldom. Genl. Burnside is now up the Railroad towards Virginia, say at Jonesboro. Our troops had a fight at Bristol yesterday, in which we whipped them badly. Bristol is a small town on the line between Tennessee & Virginia, at the point where the Rail Road crosses it.23 Part of the 9th Army Corps has reached here, or rather, a point near here. The rest will be here by the time this reaches you, so that we are tolerably strong in East Tennessee. Genl. Hartsuff ’s staff are doing better here than in Lexington. They are attentive to the ladies, and conduct themselves much more like chivalric gentlemen. Yesterday evening Dr. Jackson got up a grand riding (Horseback) party, in which the unmarried portion of the staff was represented. The beauty & fashion of the Union portion of the town was out, in full force, evidently to their delight, and the discomfiture of the Secesh portion. I’ve no doubt but all enjoyed themselves. I thought of my wife at home, and didn’t regret that my being married ruled me out of the party. I am well, and send love to you all. I am yours devotedly, O. M. Poe (103) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Sept 24th 1863 My dear wife, To-day I have had my eyes gladdened by the sight of the Old Brigade, tho’ only one company of the 2nd [Michigan Infantry] was along. That was Capt. Morse’s old company. The Capt. has gone into the invalid corps.24 Dr. Bonine25 looks better than I ever saw him look before. I saw Henry, but Bentley has not yet reached here. I saw Col. Luce,26 and Capt. Swift.27 Mrs. Swift had 23. On September 19, 1863, elements of the XXIII Corps drove the Confederates out of Bristol, Tennessee; cut the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and bridge there; and destroyed a large amount of supplies. O.R., 30(2):579. 24. Capt. William R. Morse, of Company F, had been wounded at Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. He resigned on August 22, 1863. Also see chapter 2, note 34. The Invalid Corps, later renamed the Veteran Reserve Corps, was created in April 1863 by the Federal government as a way to offer military service—such as home-front garrison or provost duty—to those honorable soldiers who had suffered debilitating wounds or disease in the course of their prior frontline service. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:125–26. 25. Dr. Evan J. Bonine mustered in as surgeon, 2nd Michigan Infantry, in 1861. He later became surgeon in chief of the Third Division, IX Corps. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:37. Also see chapter 2, note 46. 26. Constant Luce, promoted to colonel of the 17th Michigan Infantry on March 21, 1863. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 876. 27. Capt. Frederick W. Swift, 17th Michigan Infantry. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 943.

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been down to Crab Orchard to see the Capt. Mrs. Johnson was also down there to see her husband. The consequences will probably soon be apparent. Col. Luce has been appointed Col. of the 17th [Michigan Infantry]. Capt. Haydon, he who was so deeply grieved when I left the Brigade, and who was so badly wounded at Jackson, has been appointed Lieut. Col. of the 2nd. Col. Dillman has resigned, and gone home.28 Col. Williams is still absent from his Regt. and probably will never rejoin it.29 The 2nd will be here to-morrow or next day, when there will be rejoicing upon the part of at least one man. I met “Doc” Sanders on the street a few minutes ago, and he told me he had had a letter from Forsyth, and that he said to tell you, that he had seen Lyster, only a short time before, and that he was well & doing well. The rumors from Rosecrans are still flying about, but they have received more definite shape, and there can be no doubt but Rosecrans has been roughly handled. I cannot bring myself to believe that he has been whipped, but he certainly is checked. What will come of it I don’t know. I suppose we will all go down there to his assistance.30 Dr. Bonine has just come in, and after inquiry about you, requests me to remember him to you. I went out to call upon some ladies last evening & of course the riding party was spoken of. An elderly gentleman asked me if I had been one of the party, and upon my saying that I had not, he volunteered to find me a young lady to ride with. I thanked him for his kind offer, but then struck him with thunder by telling him that I was married. This was news to all present and at once there was commotion amongst the ladies. However they sang for us, & I can assure you that the singing was very fine. I asked for the Land o’ the Leal, but unfortunately no one present, except for myself could sing it, & for some reason they were so stupid as not to ask me to sing, and of course I could not volunteer. Maj. Lyon has just come in, and asks to be remembered to you. Love to you all, and devotion to yourself, O. M. Poe

28. Lt. Col. Charles B. Haydon, 2nd Michigan Infantry. Sears, For Country, Cause, & Leader, 318–19, 338–39. Dillman resigned on July 30, 1863. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 813. 29. Col. Adolphus W. Williams was commissioned originally as major with the 2nd Michigan Infantry, then promoted to colonel of the 20th Michigan Infantry on July 26, 1862. He was honorably discharged on November 21, 1863, due to disability from multiple battle wounds. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:83. 30. Rosecrans’s Army of the Cumberland was indeed “roughly handled” and defeated at Chickamauga on September 18–20. The army retreated back into Chattanooga.

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the hero of knoxville

145

[2nd letter from same day—though undated] One of the letters I recd. was dated Aug. 23rd and had been delayed somewhere. That was a cheerful, sunshiny, good, wifely letter, and did me a great deal of good, and I thank you very much for it. I would not have missed it for anything in the world. In it you ask what my messing arrangements are. They were only tolerable, but they are better now, as I mess with Genl. Burnside. Why don’t you get Uncle Leiter to speak to the Post Master about the way your newspaper is handled. If the post-master is given to understand that it must not be done, then it will be stopped. I read Maria’s letter, and was delighted with both the tone & the spirit of it. She is growing much more womanly and dignified. God grant for all the good fortune she can desire. I am glad you got the draft all right. I did not get the letter in which you spoke of its receipt, and hence, did not know but something had happened to it. I sent yesterday, in the same manner, my pay for this month, and hope you will get it all right. Don’t fail to let me know, speaking of it in more than one letter, so that if one fails, I will still have the other to inform me. You will see that I am keeping my own expenses down to the lowest limit. I will try to write to Mr. Fleming, will probably do so to-night. Rumors are still as prevalent as ever. I suppose we will he have fighting before long. This will certainly be the case if the enemy comes, for we are here in strength sufficient to give battle. I suppose there is no doubt but Rosecrans was defeated. The Cincinnati papers blame Burnside with it. I don’t express any opinion, but will only say that Rosecrans’ left flank, with which we were in supporting distance, was not driven back an inch, while his right—commanded by McCook31 was where the heaviest fighting took place. With that we had nothing to do. But that is for your own information alone, as I have quit discussing military operations. The rebel citizens of this place have the report amongst them that Genl. Pegram was killed in our fight day before yesterday.32 I don’t know whether it is true or not. My dear wife, don’t neglect writing to me, every time you feel like doing so. My love to you all, and believe me, devotedly yours, O. M. Poe 31. Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook (1831–1903), West Point class of 1852, commanded the XX Corps at Chickamauga and was deemed responsible for much of the Union disaster, though a court of inquiry later exonerated him. Warner, Generals in Blue, 294–95, 641. 32. Brig. Gen. John Pegram commanded a division at Chickamauga but was not killed. He was, however, later killed in action on February 6, 1865, during the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia. Warner, Generals in Gray, 231–32. Also see chapter 1, note 62.

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146

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my dear nelly

P.S. Did I tell you that Genl. Hartsuff had gone north on leave of absence? It has caused some remark here. On September 27 Poe was promoted to chief engineer for the Department of the Ohio. His overall responsibility was to strengthen Knoxville’s defenses against Confederate attack. (104) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn Oct 1st 1863 My dear wife, I had hoped that to-day would bring me another letter from you, but no mail has arrived. We are having the first rain for a long while, & everything out of doors looks decidedly wet. The Ninth Army Corps has nearly all reached here.33 Cols. Bowen and Babcock, have arrived. I have not seen either of them yet. I had intended going out to their camp last night, but could not. I am much amused at the “by-play,” I see going on around me.34 One young lady, who is good looking, and who sings divinely, seems determined to catch Sanders. I’ve no doubt but Babcock will enjoy himself amongst the fair damsels, once he gets acquainted with them. I think I am beginning to find a clue to the source of all my trouble. I will not give you now, the particulars, but should my suspicions prove correct, I will of course tell you all. Dr. Bonine will be up here to-morrow to talk with me about it, and we may be able to make something out of it. The Dr. was here to-day, and desired me to remember him to you. As usual, all sorts of rumors are prevalent. To listen to the stories of the rebels, one would suppose there were millions of them, and that they were all around us. There is no doubt but the country is filled with small bands committing all sorts of depredations, but I do not think that there is any large force in the immediate neighborhood.35 I have heard nothing further from the report of Pegram’s death, and don’t know whether it is true or not. 33. For the past two weeks, the units composing the IX Corps had been marching toward Knoxville from Kentucky. See IX Corps itinerary, Aug. 1–Oct. 28, 1863, O.R., 30(2):574–76. 34. “By-play” is a theater term that describes action or speech occurring off to the side while the main action continues at center stage. 35. East Tennessee was a vicious theater of guerilla warfare, as small bands of both unionist and secessionist partisans burned barns and beat, shot, and even hanged civilian “enemies.” See Fisher, War at Every Door.

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147

I have not seen any of the Massillon soldiers lately. I have not had time to go out to the camps, and I suppose they have not had time to come in. We hear that Genl. Willcox is on his way here, in command of troops. I suppose they will be added to the 9th A.C. when they get here.36 With love to you all, I am, my dear, dear wife, your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (105) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Oct 4th 1863 My dear wife, The Genl. (Burnside) just sent for me, and I am to go down to Loudon, at once, to lay out some works. I had intended writing you a long letter, and was going to devote this evening to it, but that pleasure must be foregone, as I will start within a few minutes. I do wish we could get a mail, or some newspapers, so that we could find out what was going on in the outside world. I have seen both Col. Babcock and Col. Bowen as well as Mr. Bowen, the col’s brother. Col. Babcock was in Detroit a short time since and called at the Judge’s to see you, but not finding you there, did not ask for anyone else. There is a great mystery about Genl. Hartsuff ’s leave of absence. It is understood that important private business took him home, but the extreme anxiety apparent in his manner when he left, causes all to surmise that the private business is of no ordinary character. Can you imagine what it can be?37 I see some of the Second, almost every day, and the men are just as glad to see me as can be. Generals are beginning to find their way here. Genl. Willcox is understood to be in the neighborhood, with considerable reinforcements. I had an invitation to go riding with some young ladies yesterday evening, in spite of my being a married man. I was not at home, therefore did not get the invitation in time, and consequently did not ride with the ladies. I can’t imagine what mother has been telling you about my youthful days,

36. Willcox left Indiana on September 24 with approximately 3,000 raw troops to reinforce those already at Knoxville. Scott, Forgotten Valor, 462–63. 37. Hartsuff had suffered a serious hip wound during the Battle of Antietam, which took eight months to heal. He returned to the field in May 1863, but by the time of this letter, his wound had reopened, resulting in intense pain and numbness. Heading home for treatment, Hartsuff relinquished his command a month later in November 1863.

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148

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my dear nelly

but no doubt it was some great bug-a-boo story, which she has concocted. As I am not to hear what it is, until I get home, I will have to wait with patience. I hope most sincerely that I may get some letters from you pretty soon, for I have had none later than the 17th ult., and am getting fairly sick for news from you. The enclosed poetry is for your scrapbook except the one piece, which you can readily select. It is hardly appropriate, though a beautiful piece. My love to you all, I am, my own dear wife, your devoted husband O. M. Poe Burnside, Poe, and elements of the IX Corps started out on October 9 to clear out the rebels who had moved down the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad to the vicinity of Bull’s Gap. The expedition lasted less than one week and included a Union victory at the Battle of Blue Springs. (106) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn., Oct 7th 1863 My dear wife, “Sammy” Sumner is going north tomorrow morning, to join his regiment, and has kindly consented to carry a letter through for me. We still have had no mail, and I have not heard from you since the 17th Sept. It has seemed like a very long while to me, but I remember my lectures to you about complaining, and therefore dare say nothing more, than this, that the news that twenty-eight bags of mail matter, passed Cumberland Gap this morning on its way here, gave me the most unalloyed pleasure. We are going to start day after tomorrow morning to where the rebels are, and will surely have a fight with them. You will probably hear the results before you receive this. I have been spending the evening with some ladies, in company with Doc Sanders, who by the way desires to be remembered to you. One of them sang divinely, and we had “Rally ’round the flag,”38 with all its variations, as well as several other songs, but the young lady could not sing “The land o’ the Leal” and of course I was not perfectly pleased.—My dear, dear wife, do you ever sing that song[?] I don’t see how you can help it, when you think of me. I think very often of you, in the relation you will shortly hold, and Nelly 38. “Rally ’Round the Flag” was equally well known as “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” It was written in 1862 by American composer George Frederick Root (1820–95) and was possibly the most popular patriotic song in the North during the Civil War.

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dear, if there were any one thing in the world for which I could be more thankful than for all others, it is that. It calls up pictures of “Home”, as that place has never yet been to us.39 And I feel—& know that with all the love I feel & have felt for you, there will still be more. Two short months—I count the days as diligently as you do, and my own dear wife, you may rest assured that if I am not with you in person I will be in spirit. But I’m growing confidential, & if I keep on in that strain, will soon make a “Ninny” of myself, and forget that I must play the “hard-hearted wretch.” We will be gone on our expedition, probably two weeks, and I suppose I will have but little opportunity to write you during that time, but if I do have a chance you may be certain I will write. Col. Babcock was in Detroit a short time since, and . . . says he heard everywhere of our “Sister of Charity,” our dear Winnie, whose praises everyone was chanting. Winnie has passed through chastening trials and they have made her what nothing else would, or even does make any woman—a pure, good, true, saintly woman. Her troubles are wrought into blessings, not to herself alone, but to those who need her care. Oh! if we only had a home of our own, so that we could have Winnie with us. I am in splendid health—was weighed to-day and raised the beam with one hundred & eighty one pounds on it. With love to you all, I am my own dear wife, your devoted husband O. M. Poe (107) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Rheatown, Tenn., Oct 12th 1863 My dear wife, . . . The tone of Winnie’s letter pleases me very much, as she seems to be in so much better spirits, though she does talk about a home in Elmwood. It seems to me that everybody does a great deal more grumbling at poor old fate, than is absolutely necessary. Her lot has been a much happier one, than many another who says but little that is not cheery, and Christian. Yesterday I saw an old lady whose house had been between our fire & the rebel’s, and during the fight, she had been compelled to hide in her cellar, and when she came out, it was to find her yard filled with dead and wounded, and amongst them her son. Yet she did not sit down and waste the time, in idle grief, but

39. Eleanor was pregnant with the couple’s first child. The baby was due in mid-December.

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my dear nelly

went to work, doing what she could for the wounded, & did it in such a kind subdued, cheerful way, that it was sunshine to see her about it. Our little campaign thus far has been a lively one. We had quite a fight day before yesterday, in which we drove the enemy, and have been driving them ever since, skirmishing all the time.40 A stand is made occasionally, but it is only for a very short time, since we invariably drive them easily away from their position. The place we are now at was the scene of quite a fight, late yesterday evening, in which we ought to have captured a good part of the rebel force, but there was no “vim” in our cavalry commanders. Doc Sanders & I volunteered last night to take three Regiments of Cavalry, and with them, to break through the enemy’s outer lines, & dash right at their main body, pledging ourselves to capture his artillery, but the General regarded us as “hot heads”, and could not give his consent. It disgusts me to see our style of fighting out here. I never was anxious to sacrifice men, as you will know, but I am certain, as I am of anything that the project proposed by Sanders and I, was a good one, and with a slight sacrifice, would result in the complete defeat of the enemy.41 But opinions sometimes differ. This place, is about halfway between Greenville, and Jonesboro, which latter place we expect to reach to-night. I don’t know whether, or not, we will go any further. If we are simply to skirmish along the way, I don’t see any use in going any further, for skirmishing, never yet amounted to anything. You will find both Greenville & Jonesboro, on the map of East Tenn. along the line of the [East Tennessee & Virginia] Rail Road between Knoxville and the Virginia State line. Yesterday we took dinner in Greenville, with Mrs. Patterson, a daughter of Gov. Andy Johnson,42 and splendid dinner it was. . . . [Portion of original letter cut away here.] . . . bottom of it. Don’t you think it shows a great depth of the purest meanness upon his part?

40. Battle of Blue Springs in Greene County, Tennessee. Poe, “Personal Recollections,” 9. 41. Skirmish at Henderson’s Mill (or Rheatown), Tennessee. Poe, “Personal Recollections,” 9–10. 42. Andrew Johnson (1808–75), the only senator from a seceded state (Tennessee) who did not resign his seat following secession. Lincoln repaid that loyalty by making him Tennessee’s military governor in 1862. Johnson then served as Lincoln’s vice president following the 1864 election and succeeded him as president after Lincoln’s assassination.

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My dear wife, I will write to William43 as soon as I get to some place, where I can write deliberately. If he annoys you willfully, he must leave that house. I want you to understand distinctly, that none of my relations, no difference how near, shall stand in your way, in the slightest degree. It shall be my constant care to stand between you and the roughness of the world, so far as lies in my power. I wish that [missing text] was with us, or that he saw me, was slightly mistaken. Don’t be surprised at my writing on 9th A.C. paper, for I am doing so, in Bowen’s tent. He has furnished me with stationary, and he and Sanders, and Babcock are talking so as to bother me greatly. They all send their regards to you. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your husband O. M. Poe (108) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville, Oct 17th 1863 My own dear wife, Seven letters from you to-night make me feel like a new man. I send them all back, so that you may see for yourself, to what date they have reached me. The last one was written on the 9th—only eight days ago, and the very day that we started on our expedition after the rebels, from which we have just returned. In our [October 10] fight at Blue Spring, the 79th N.Y. lost 18 men, the Eighth Michigan lost some but I don’t know how many. The “Second” was in the fight, but did not have a man killed, and only one slightly wounded. They are still as fortunate as ever. The 9th Army Corps behaved magnificently. I stood on high ground, and could see all that was going on, and the conduct of those men was truly sublime. No dodging, or crouching down, but every man strode right on through the fire, erect as God made him. These 23[rd] Army Corps men had never before seen such work, and their eyes fairly stood out of their heads. Willcox was there, but his troops were not engaged.44 Have you been telling your mother anything? I can’t make out from her letter whether you have or not. By the way, I have a good one to tell you. Dr. Bonine was in to see me a few days ago, and told me that he was very anxious to go home, that his wife 43. William Charles Poe, Orlando’s younger brother by nine years. 44. Poe’s reconnaissance of the Confederate positions and his subsequent recommendations were instrumental in the Union victory.

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152

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my dear nelly

expected to be confined very soon. She has had no children for 17 years, but in an imprudent moment went down to the Army of the Potomac, to visit the Dr., and the consequences are now apparent. Just think, if you can over the list of unfortunate ones. Mr. Beebe has resigned and gone home.45 I don’t know whether or not I will be able to come home this winter, but if it is possible I will do so. I can’t be there by Thanksgiving Day, for I want to be there later in the winter than that would allow me. Your mother speaks of a new Topog[raphical engineer] officer on the lake survey. Who is it? Capt. McAlester has gone to West Point.46 I am half mad about it, for I wanted so much to go. He is staying at the Lorain’s until he can get quarters fitted up. Capt. McMillan is going to be married. I have seen his cards. He marries a Miss Randolph of Georgetown D.C.47 We are having great times here to-night, over the arrival of Parson Brownlow,48 and Horace Maynard.49 Both have been speaking, and the cheering has been most enthusiastic. I will send you a copy of the Parson’s first paper. Love to you all. I will write again to-morrow. Yours devotedly O. M. Poe The 1862 congressional elections represented a stinging rebuke for the Republicans, due in large measure to growing civilian disenchantment with the war’s course. Lincoln’s Republicans bounced back in the 1863 fall elections, including key victories against Copperhead Democrats in both the Ohio and Pennsylvania governor races. Such victories conveyed to soldiers like Poe that the public at large was still behind their efforts in the field.

45. Lt. Charles Beebe, quartermaster for the 17th Michigan Infantry, resigned on July 19, 1863. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 772. 46. Capt. Miles D. McAlester, one of Poe’s 1856 classmates, was assigned to the US Military Academy as principal assistant professor of engineering on September 10, 1863. Cullum’s Register, 2:419–20. 47. Capt. James McMillan, one of Poe’s 1856 classmates had married Frances Jane Randolph. Her father, Charles H. Randolph, was a chief engineer for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. 48. William G. “Parson” Brownlow (1805–77) was an ardent antislavery and antisecession Tennessee newspaper publisher, minister, public speaker, and politician. He also authored Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession, published in 1862. 49. Horace Maynard (1814–82), a Tennessee congressman and ardent unionist, never resigned his congressional seat following his state’s secession.

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William “Parson” Brownlow (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

(109) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville, Oct 18th / 63 My own dear Nell, After I had written last night, I received the enclosed letter. If you supposed that I thought your love for me could be influenced by any one, you misunderstood me. I never was troubled with foolish doubts on that score. I asked you to be my wife, because I had faith in you, and that faith never has, nor never will wane. But enough upon that subject. We have heard the result of the Ohio and Pennsylvania elections & are feeling very cheerfully about them, for we now feel assured of support at home. Still it must be confessed that more votes were cast for Vallandigham amongst the soldiers, than I expected.50 I had got this far along when another letter (the one enclosing your Aunt Lizzie’s) was handed me, very much to my delight.

50. Ohio and Pennsylvania voters cast their ballots on October 13 for new governors. In Ohio, Democrat Clement L. Vallandigham, a former congressman and the North’s most strident antiwar, anti-Lincoln politician, was decidedly defeated by more than 100,000 votes, including a vast majority of the state’s soldiers. White, Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln, 20, 25–27. Also see Klement, Limits of Dissent.

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154

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my dear nelly

You can’t imagine so much rain as we have had for a week past, and it is pouring down now. I see Col. Bowen quite frequently. He drinks much more than he ought to, but you must say nothing about it. You would laugh, were you to see how “hard up” I am for money. I have lived now two months on what I started from Kentucky with, and I have not got a dollar left. I must start out to-morrow, and try to raise this month’s pay which will make me all right again. I am going to write to your mother and Winnie, just as soon as I can find time. Tell mother that I see Andrew Adam Poe but seldom, though the battery to which he belongs to is camped within sight of this place.51 He won’t come near me, though I have been several times to see him, and I’m not going any more. If he has got any foolish notions into his head, they can stay there for all I care. I’m so very glad you have my books all nicely fixed up. It must add a good deal to the comfort of the place. By the way, why not take my camp mattress and make a lounge out of it? You needn’t cut it, or hurt [it] in any way, and it will be comfortable. I am tired and it is late, and I’m sleepy, and good for nothing. A thousand kisses to you—my dear, dear wife O. M. P. (110) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Knoxville, Tennessee Oct. 20th 1863 My own dear wife, Since writing you yesterday, the rain has stopped, and we are having most delightful weather, in consequence of which I feel like another man. I notice that our Northern papers dignify the affair at Blue Spring with the name of Battle. In fact it was more of a battle than Rich Mountain, but still was decidedly a mere skirmish in comparison with the great battles of the Army of the Potomac. We have heard by a telegram of Genl. Rosecrans being relieved from the command of the Army of the Cumberland, and the appointment of Genl. Geo. H. Thomas to the command.52 You have often heard me speak in the 51. Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. 52. Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas (1816–70), West Point class of 1840. Thomas earned the nickname “Rock of Chickamauga” for gathering disorganized Union units together that

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highest terms of Genl. T. You may readily suppose then that I have all confidence in him. I succeeded to-day in getting my pay account for this month cashed so that I have plenty of money again. We are all anticipating a great time on Saturday next, at which time Parson Brownlow, and Horace Maynard are going to speak. I’ve no doubt but they will get somewhat excited. Col. Drake, and Capt. Piatt have gone home on leave, which leads one to hope very strongly that I may be indulged in a similar measure, before a great while. I don’t want a “leave”, before the 1st of December, but I do want it then and hope that I will get it.53 The 9th Corps is in motion again, I don’t know where to, nor for what purpose, and if I did I wouldn’t write it.54 We have all sorts of rumors from the direction of Washington, but we don’t know what to believe. . . . With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (111) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Oct 22nd 1863 My dear wife, We start to-night for the rebels, who were in some force in the south west. I have an idea that this campaign is going to be a very sharp one. You need not expect many letters until after our return, as we will be so busily occupied, and will move so rapidly, that I will not have much chance to write.55 Doc Sanders to-day got his appointment as a Brig. General, and was at once assigned to a cavalry brigade, in the front.56

collectively halted the Confederate advance during the second day of that great battle. His decisiveness prevented a Union defeat from turning into a rout. For his bold action, he was promoted to command of the Army of the Cumberland, the Union’s premier western army, which had suffered the humiliating Chickamauga defeat under Rosecrans’s guidance. Warner, Generals in Blue, 500–502. 53. Poe hoped to time his leave in order to witness the birth of his first child. 54. The First Division, IX Corps, marched for Loudon, a distance of about thirty miles. The Second Division left for the same location via train cars two days later. O.R., 30(2):576. 55. Word of heavy rebel activity near Loudon prompted elements of the IX and XXIII Corps to advance on the area with the intent of clearing out any Confederates. 56. Sanders was promoted effective October 18, 1863, and was assigned to a cavalry brigade with the XXIII Corps. Cullum’s Register, 2:442.

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156

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my dear nelly

We are anxiously looking for a mail, which I hope will yet reach here before we leave. It left Cumberland Gap yesterday. It would just be my luck to go a few minutes before it got here. I am in a great hurry and have not got time to write more. With love to you all and a fervent God bless you to yourself, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (112) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Loudon Tenn. Oct 25th 1863 My own dear wife— I got three letters from you day-before-yesterday, just as we. . . . [Portion of original letter cut away here.] The enemy are down below us, some ten miles, towards Chattanooga. This place is 29 miles southwest from Knoxville, at the point where the Rail Road to Chattanooga crosses the Tennessee River. Kingston is at the junction of the Clinch [River] with the Tennessee River, about eighteen miles from here, a little north of west. The great Loudon Bridge is here, which Sanders came down to burn, when he was on his raid a couple of months since. It was burnt by the enemy themselves when we came into E. Tennessee. The 2nd is here, as lively as ever. Sanders dashed at the enemy yesterday, and drove them about 6 miles, right back over the ground where they whipped Wolford a few days since.57 I was out making a reconnaissance yesterday, and to-day also. The General (Burnside) seems to place implicit confidence in my judgment. At the battle of Blue Springs, he followed my advice & suggestions, exactly, and he is as disposed to do so here. You ought to see that pet Bay horse of mine. We woke up yesterday morning, and found that my other horse had eaten the tail off my beauty. I was so mad I could have cut the throat of the Black, but he also is a good horse and I could scarcely get along without it. Poor fellow, he had had only one feed in two days, and I could hardly blame him after all. Your last letter to me, was written on the day of the election. We had the result here on the next day. On the date you wrote to me, I also wrote to you, from Rheatown, after the battle of Blue Springs. By the way, the papers say 57. The October 20 skirmish at Philadelphia, Tennessee, resulted in Col. Frank Wolford’s cavalry brigade being driven from the town by a larger Confederate cavalry force. O.R., 36(1):5–7.

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Construction of a pontoon bridge at Bridgeport, Tennessee (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

that the 23rd A.C. did the fighting there. It is not true. The 9th did it nearly all, and lost 10 men to one lost out of the 23rd. I wonder Nelly dear, if you are writing to me to-day. I hope so for I delight in the common impulse, which has impelled us to be writing to each other, at exactly the same times, so frequently. With love to you all, I am my dear, dear wife, your affc. and devoted husband, O. M. Poe (113) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress No. 1 Knoxville Tennessee Oct 30th 1863 My own dear wife— Your Nos 1 and 2 were waiting my return from might trip to Loudon, where I have been for about a week. We reached this place this evening, in the midst of a heavy rain, and I barely stopped a moment at Head Quarters, and then passed right on to the river where I am building, or rather putting down the pontoon bridge58 which has heretofore been at Loudon. 58. A pontoon bridge was a floating, usually temporary, structure that used small barges or shallow-draft boats to support the main decking, which troops and wagons used to cross a river.

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158

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my dear nelly

After talking & thinking the matter all over, the General concluded to evacuate Loudon, and hold the right bank of the river, in which I think he came to a very sensible conclusion. There was no object in occupying the left bank, unless it was the intention to move down via Calhoun, and Cleveland, to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland, and in order to effect such a junction, the left bank afforded the very worst route. You will probably see all sorts of stuff in the papers about the movement. Don’t believe any of it. Well, after it was decided to evacuate Loudon, the Genl. told me, that I would have to take up the pontoon boats and carry them to Knoxville, 30 miles distant. There would have been nothing difficult about it, if they had been ordinary boats, used in pontoon bridges, but these were immense concerns, made of two inch plank, 22 feet long, 8 feet wide, and two feet deep. I took them all out of the water, dragged them like sleds, with twelve mules hitched to them, uphill about three quarters of a mile, then loaded them upon the Rail Road cars, and then after reaching this place, carried them again about ¾ of a mile to the river, and launched them. Many persons did not believe it could be done, but I differed in opinion from them, and succeeded in what I undertook. My dear Nell—it is not necessary to repeat that I am so deeply pained at your grief. It worries me exceedingly for many reasons. If it could be otherwise, I would willingly do anything in my power. . . . [Letter clipped here—most likely by Poe or Nell due to what they believed was an exceedingly private matter.] . . . of others. There is scarcely a day that I do not receive letters from a father, a mother, a wife, sister or brother, asking for information concerning the one dearest to them. And are we any better that we should repine at a lot which is infinitely preferable to that of so many others? We, at least have all the comforts of life, plenty to eat, drink, and wear, and kind hearts around us. How many there are now in our country, who would be happy, if they only had any one of. . . . [Flip side of previously noted clipping—Poe is probably replying to twenty-year-old Eleanor’s fervent pleas that he come immediately to be with her during the final weeks of her pregnancy.] I wrote several letters, between the 22nd Sept. and the 1st Oct., one I particularly remember, telling you about having been appointed Chief Engr.

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Army of the Ohio, and how to direct my letters. I don’t know how it is that you do not get my letters, as I get yours quite regularly—say once a week. There must be some troubles with the mail from this place. I can only beg you to exercise patience. They will all reach you in good time. I enclose a letter I had from Henry Lyster, a few days since. You will notice that poor Col. Hayman, after all his hard fighting, is now only mustering officer, at the Hd. Qtr. of an army corps.59 What a commentary! Terry, & Champlin Brig. Genls., and Hayman a major.60 I also enclose an order I recd. while taking up the pontoon bridge at Loudon the other day. It is from Genl. Burnside, thro’ Maj. Cutting, his A.D.C.61 It is the only one, of the numerous ones I recd. which I have preserved. Keep it, as it will be a relic. I send back to you several of the letters I have recd. From them you can see what ones have reached me. When we evacuated Loudon, the other day, it was pitiable to see the Union people of the place. All had to leave, carrying with them whatever was most precious. Anxious looking women would hurry over the bridge, leading their children by the hand, while the husband & father would come after, carrying a little pack of bed clothes, considering that, under the circumstances, as the most useful of his household property. All the women and children were crying, for not one of them knew where to find a roof to cover them, or food to keep them from starving. May God preserve [them] from another movement which will cause so much distress. And these people were undergoing this, for their loyalty! I tell you, those at the north don’t know what loyalty is, or they would not grudge every relative that goes to the war. But I must stop for to-night. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe 59. Col. Samuel B. Hayman commanded the 37th New York Volunteer Infantry. After that regiment was mustered out in mid-1863, Hayman returned to his regular-army rank of major in September and was assigned as commissary of musters with the III Corps. The 37th New York served alongside Poe’s 2nd Michigan in Berry’s brigade during the Peninsula Campaign and under Poe’s command during the Second Bull Run Campaign. Cullum’s Register, 2:68–69. 60. Brig. Gens. Henry D. Terry and Stephen G. Champlin (1827–64). They began as the colonels of the 5th and 3rd Michigan Infantry, respectively, and fought alongside Poe’s 2nd Michigan Infantry during the Peninsula Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 78–79, 498–99. Also see chapter 2, note 28. 61. Maj. William Cutting, Burnside’s aide-de-camp. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 144.

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160

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my dear nelly

(114) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress No. 2 Knoxville, Nov. 1st / 63 My own dear wife, I have just seen a man who is going to Camp Nelson, and who will carry a letter for me, if I write it in a hurry. Therefore excuse any scratchy appearance. I have been at work day & night for a few days on [a] pontoon bridge at this place, and completed it an hour ago. It is 800 feet long. I scarcely have eaten or slept, since I began on it, at Loudon thirty miles from here, on last Monday evening. Genl. Sanders is now crossing his cavalry command, over the bridge, which is the wonder of this city. All the ladies including the good Singer, have been down to see it. I saw Mr. Johns, the telegraph operator who took you home last fall, a few minutes ago, and he asked to be remembered to you. I saw both Col. Bowen and Col. Babcock three days ago. Both sent their regards. Bowen came to me, and volunteered to perform my duties, if I went home this winter. He was quite solicitous, and evidently was posted as to the whys & wherefores. Mr. Winegar, our old brigade commissary is on duty here.62 Col. Luce has gone home to bring conscripts. I only hope he will succeed in getting some. I suppose the draft is over in Ohio. I will of course be anxious to hear whether William is among those who are to go to the war. The Genl. Hascall whom you saw in Lexington, is the same one that is here now. Genl. Manson63 of Lebanon memory is here also. I will write a longer letter soon. I enclose your No. 4. I have not seen No. 3 yet. With love to you all, and devotion to you own dear self, I am your husband O. M. Poe As a twenty-year-old woman experiencing her first pregnancy, Eleanor exhibited great anxiety and clearly conveyed her concerns to Poe. Both she and her mother62. Capt. William Winegar, initially of the 17th Michigan Infantry, was commissary on General Hascall’s staff during October and November 1863. He was discharged for disability in December 1863. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 969. 63. Brig. Gen. Mahlon D. Manson (1820–95) had battled Confederates under General Pegram near Lebanon, Ohio, in July 1863, when the latter tried to seize cattle as part of his raid. Manson later commanded the XXIII Corps briefly after Chickamauga. Warner, Generals in Blue, 310.

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in-law were consistently urging him to come home. But Poe’s unwavering sense of “duty,” instilled in him at West Point, prevailed. (115) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] No. 3 Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 2nd 1863 My dear Nell, Since I wrote you yesterday I have received your No. 3, enclosing Winnie’s letter, which amused me much. I wonder what she would say if I were to write her telling her so. Do you think she would be startled[?] Indeed you women are strange creatures. I’ve never seen a man yet, but would be frightened at such language. . . . I don’t know but mother is telling you bug-a-boo tales to induce you to urge me to come home, and I don’t think she ought to do so. You are badly enough frightened now, without her adding to your scare. About coming home, I have said all I can. I will do so, if it is in my power, but I will not leave the service, nor do anything else rash, which would be regretted as soon as done, for the mere sake of being with you.64 Were you absolutely in danger of losing your life, then I would certainly come at all hazards, but the danger is quite remote. You very greatly over rate it. You were not so nervous about it when I left you in Lexington, and I therefore attribute the greater part of your present excitement to mother. At the same time, my dear wife, don’t suppose that I laugh at your fears for I do nothing of the kind. I understand how natural it is that you should worry & fret somewhat, but I only intimate my belief that the danger is not so great as you imagine.65 I met Mr. Ricks yesterday evening down at the pontoon bridge, walking 64. Married men serving in either army faced the competing ideals of manhood and honor. On the one hand was the husband and father’s manly responsibility to his dependents. On the other was their honorable duty as citizen to defend their country. To abandon either would be seen as a blow to honorable manhood. Yet in times of national crisis, the call of duty to country usually prevailed. These concerns were, however, more prevalent within the officer class than with the rank and file. McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 134, 137; Frank, “‘Rendering Aid and Comfort,’” 6–7; Mitchell, Civil War Soldiers, 17–18. 65. Childbirth during the Civil War occurred in the home. Unlike today, when sedatives and painkillers are common, a mid-nineteenth-century childbirth was a painful process. In fact, complications from childbirth was the leading cause of female deaths during this period, a fact that Eleanor was probably well aware of. Volo and Volo, Daily Life in Civil War America, 249.

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162

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my dear nelly

with my singing beauty (Miss Sue Boyd).66 By the way, her little brother (les enfant terribles) said to my servant yesterday evening that Genl. Sanders was courting his sister. Now I happen to know differently, and could not help thinking how greatly the genus “young female”, sometimes deceives herself. I will probably go down to Miss Boyd’s to hear her sing to-night. I like her very much, she is nice, lady-like, and gentle. I send you by this same mail a map of Tennessee, in order that you may see for yourself where we are. It is the best map there is, of this region. The route over which we marched in coming here is marked in green. However, in using that color, I mean no allusion to the character of anyone connected with the army or otherwise, except to those who live along it. Tell mother that a Mr. Gonzalez, is now in the office with me. He is a half-brother of Uncle John Montgomery’s. He is not employed by me, but by Major Simpson, & has been looking over the Railroad route to this place, from Kentucky. He is going back to Kentucky in a day or two. As usual, this town is filled with all sorts of rumors. It is worse even than Washington City. I do not repeat any of them, as they would probably be contradicted to-morrow, and then you would accuse me of being a false bearer of news. We all expect a mail to-night and I hope therein to find some letters from your own dear self. With love to you all, but devotion to you my own dear wife, I am your affc. husband O. M. Poe P.S. Alfred Norvell, through my intercession, has just got a “leave” for thirty days, and I suppose will soon be on his way home. After his significant role in the September Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet and his men were dispatched to East Tennessee on November 4 to engage Burnside’s Army of the Ohio.

66. Susan Boyd, approximately age nineteen, was a local socialite and first cousin of the famous rebel spy Belle Boyd. Susan’s prominent father was a judge and former Knoxville mayor. Scarborough, Belle Boyd, 98–100.

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(116) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress No. 4 Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 4th, 1863 My own dear wife, Alfred Norvell having got a “leave”, I have pressed him into service to carry this through to the “states.” The mails are all detained at Cumberland Gap for the present, so that letters sent that way will not reach you for some time, but worse than all, I will not be able to get any of yours for some days. I have not spoken yet to the General [Burnside] about a leave. We are so busy that I scarcely have the heart to do so, but I suppose I will be able to muster up courage before many days, and meanwhile I will “pitch in,” as hard as I can in order to get as much of the work disposed of, as possible, ere I make so bold as to ask to leave my post. I am principally engaged now-a-days in building Pontoon bridges, much to the astonishment of the natives, who never before saw such things. We have a great dearth of news. Indeed I have not seen a newspaper of later date than the 17th of October. I would like to write you any amount of news about us, but of course all that is Contraband. I intend writing a letter to-night, to your mother, and let Alfred Norvell carry it right through to Detroit. By the way, don’t you think you would be well enough to tell your mother that I will probably come home before long, and what I am coming for. I only make the suggestion. You can do as you please about it. Our little “Bulletin” has stopped, or I would send you a copy.67 I suppose Brownlow’s paper will be published in a few days. With love to you all I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe

67. Poe was likely referring to the Winchester Army Bulletin, a camp newspaper that was published by soldiers while in the field for their fellow soldiers. Issues contained official announcements and reports of nearby fighting. Such newspapers were common and were prepared at the regimental level on up to corps and armies. The Bulletin was inaugurated in the summer 1863 by Army of the Cumberland soldiers while they occupied the town of Winchester in southeastern Tennessee. When the army marched deeper into rebel territory, the Bulletin ceased publication.

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164

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my dear nelly

(117) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 6th 1863 My own dear wife, This evening we are in that chronic condition of expecting a mail, and this time I hope we will not be disappointed, as was my fate when I wrote you a few evenings since. It is now a week since I heard from you, and to say that I am growing anxious don’t begin to express it. But I hope to be, by this time next month where we can hear from each other more readily.—Where we will not be so likely to be disappointed in the arrival of the mail. And now what shall I write about[?] Surely not my troubles for they can’t be helped, and to complain would only worry you. In fact I have no right to complain, for I meet no vexations, which a soldier ought not to expect. One thing that worries me is that I can’t write to you everything I would like, but Genl. Burnside suggested to me, last evening, that we use a “cipher”,68 which I thought was an excellent idea, and when we meet again we will agree on some easy one, and then I can write to you more freely. By the way, I write the first 75 words of this letter in that way, and enclose the solution. The next twenty five words would be dealt with in just the same way and then the next twenty five, and so on. To write with it, you would first write your letter, then make a blank table, then put in the words, then copy it on another sheet just as it would stand in the table, and send this last copy. I would rule a blank table, put the words in their proper place, and then read it right off. This is the general plan used in military ciphers, but they being more important, are much more complicated. Nov. 7th The mail did get in at about midnight, and brought me your No. 8 & 9. Your mother’s letter, and your Aunt Lizzie’s. I sent them back this morning. I don’t know what has become of Nos. 5, 6, & 7, but I suppose they are in some back mail. Upon further consideration I think you better write to your mother, and tell her what you expect. With the greatest love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe

68. A cipher is any means of encrypting or disguising a letter, basically a form of code.

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(118) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress (6) Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 7th 1863 My dear wife, I’m sitting all alone to-night, not much in the mood for saying anything pleasant, and not willing to say to you anything that is the contrary. Yesterday morning, some of our troops were surprised at Rogersville, and shamefully routed. To say that they ran like sheep don’t begin to express it, for they ran faster than any sheep possibly could. The Second Tennessee Regiment was nearly all captured.69 There is one consolation—the rebels will have to feed them. There is one thing certain about these surprises—they occur only in these Western armies. The Army of the Potomac never meets with such accidents.70 I would like to write you much more, but we have not got our “cipher” system perfected, therefore I don’t think it would be prudent. After the rebels had stampeded & captured those troops yesterday morning, they got frightened themselves, and commenced running as fast towards their rear, as our men were towards theirs. It is estimated that the end of one hour the combatants were thirty miles apart. Our loss was about 800 men, and 4 pieces of artillery. But you must not say anything about this, to anybody. Let the good people of our village learn it through the newspapers. Putting that, & that together, I’m going to make a guess. Winnie’s wavering position in politics is due to a weakness for George Dallas.71 She leans towards him in her views, and if he presses his suit, she will marry him. I am convinced that she has towards him, more than the ordinary feeling, and I am very thankful for it, because she can never be happy until she loves some man well enough to make her forget the unfortunate general who lost his life at Fredericksburgh.72 69. The Battle of Rogersville (or Big Creek) took place when two Confederate brigades surprised and routed Union forces occupying Rogersville, Tennessee, including the 2nd Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Union). More than 600 Tennessee men were captured. O.R., 31(1):563–67. 70. This is an amazing comment from Poe, considering he had witnessed firsthand the Army of the Potomac’s debacles at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg. Moreover, he was certainly well aware of the crushing defeat at Chancellorsville, Virginia, only six months earlier. 71. George Mifflin Dallas (1839–1917) was a lawyer and relation of Winifred and Eleanor. Their grandfather’s sister, Jane Stevenson Wilkins (1802–96), married George’s father in 1822. 72. Poe was referring to George Bayard, his friend and West Point classmate, one of two Union generals killed at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

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166

_437894t

my dear nelly

Before this reaches you, the Army of the Cumberland will probably have fought another battle. God grant we win it. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe I think you had better tell your mother. If you defer it much longer, she will be very angry. (119) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress (7) Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 8th 1863 My darling, Sunday evening. Cold and raw outside, but I have a nice comfortable fire, all of which makes me thank my stars I am not a Brigadier, tramping it through the mud. Did I tell you I had written to your mother? I hope she will receive my letter with favor. It is the most difficult thing in the world for me to write to her, for I know how exceedingly sarcastic she can be when she wishes, and what terrible havoc she could make amongst my best sentences, were she so disposed. I hope you will get the map I sent you by the last mail, as you can get from it a definite idea of where we are, and what we are doing. Sanders has been having some little skirmishing lately. A day or two since, he drove the enemy’s cavalry from the neighborhood of Maryville, to the south side of the [L]ittle Tennessee [River], and capturing some of them.73 I have just heard that Col. Drake has resigned. I am sorry for it, because he is a first rate officer. Genl. Hartsuff left Lexington this morning, for this place, and will probably reach here by next Saturday. The “second” is still here but will probably go back to Lenoir’s74 to-morrow. Capt. Johnson was in my office to-day. He is now acting as Brigade Commissary for the old brigade. The “second” is talking about re-enlisting in a body for three years more.75 I hope they will do so, 73. The Army of the Ohio’s cavalry corps went into camp at Marysville on November 2. Hearing word of the enemy nearby, General Sanders had his men ride the eighteen miles to the river after midnight on the fifth, surprising a larger Confederate force shortly after dawn and capturing some forty to fifty rebels. Tarrant, Wild Riders of the First Kentucky Cavalry, 235–37. 74. Lenoir Station, roughly twenty-seven miles southwest of Knoxville. 75. Pvt. Perry Mayo of the 2nd Michigan Infantry noted in a letter home on November 9 that each man in the regiment who reenlisted would receive a thirty-day furlough and a $402 bounty. Hodge, Civil War Letters of Perry Mayo, 242.

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for I don’t know what I would do, away from the Regt. It seems so much like home to me. I have said nothing as yet, to the General, about a “leave”, but will do so before long—in order to find out what my chances are. If the Genl. agrees to my going, I will probably telegraph to you, to let you know so that you can defer your party until my arrival. Indeed, if I go, it will be necessary for me to move in the matter at once, and I will take the first favorable opportunity to speak to him about it. I have caught a slight cold, and my head is somewhere near the dimensions of a barrel (The cold is not bad enough to warrant me in saying hogshead).—A young lady, who does not know that I am married, paid me a great compliment to-day. I am going to see her. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am my dear wife, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe (120) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Headquarters Army of the Ohio [letterhead] Knoxville, East Tennessee, Nov. 12th 1863 My dear wife, I’m waiting for dinner, am tired and hungry, and thinking that if I were at home, I could at least have a “piece.” It is past 2 o’clock, and not even the smell of cooking cabbage. However I suppose it will be announced before long. Our caterer, an exceedingly active Frenchman, was killed yesterday, and in consequence, our culinary arrangements are in great confusion. If I get my leave of absence, some of the staff will be compelled to take the matter in hand, for sheer self-defense and then by the time I get back here, everything will again be in running order. I had a letter from Sanders this morning. I would send it to you, but it is scarcely fit for “ears polite”, and if my letter were to fall into the hands of our rebel friends they might be shocked, as I have been, in reading some of their army correspondence. Sanders is on the south side of the Holston [River], with his present Head Quarters, in the neighborhood of “Maryville.” You will find it on the map, 16 miles south west from this place. Just here dinner is announced, and I will write again in better humor. With love to you all I am your affc. husband, O. M. P.

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168

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my dear nelly

(121) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 13th 1863 My dear Nelly, Col. Ellis has just told me that he leaves to-morrow morning for the North, and I send you his autograph.76 Genl. Hartsuff returned to-day, bringing back with him Col. Pleasants, Maj. Brown, Col. Golding [sic],77 etc. The Genl. looks like a hale hearty man. It is still as great a mystery as ever, what he went home for. The asst. secy. of War (Dana) reached here last night. I suppose he came to inspect the condition of matters here, and to pry into things generally. Why can’t such gentry keep away? We are doing well enough if they will only let us alone.78 I wrote you by mail to-day. The letter was not numbered, but ought to have been No. 7. Col. Golding told me that he found a large mail at Barboursville,79 and that he brought it along in the train, and that it will be here to-morrow morning. The last two mails came in, without bringing me a letter from you. Indeed I feel perfectly forlorn, for you know that I neither get, nor care to get letters from anybody else. I hope that Col. Golding’s mail will bring me a pile of letters. . . . With love to you all, and devotion to your own dear self, I am your affc. husband. O. M. Poe

76. Lt. Col. J. M. Ellis served as chief commissary of sustenance for the XXIII Corps. Poe was an avid collector of his fellow officer’s cartes-de-visite and autographs. 77. Lt. Col. Charles N. Goulding, of General Hartsuff ’s staff, was chief quartermaster for the XXIII Corps. 78. Charles A. Dana (1819–97) served as an assistant secretary of war (1863–65) and was Secretary of War Stanton’s source of information on Union forces at Chattanooga and in East Tennessee. Regarding his visit to Knoxville, see Dana, Recollections of the Civil War, 137–41. 79. Barboursville, Virginia, was located at the far western end of that state (now in West Virginia), just south and west of the Ohio and Kentucky borders, respectively.

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(122) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress No. 10 Knoxville Nov. 15th 1863 My dear wife, I have an opportunity to send a letter north by Genl. Hartsuff, who leaves to-day taking with him his personal staff. It is rumored that Genl. Foster80 is going to relieve him in command of the 23rd Army Corps. Two or three mails have arrived, without bringing a single letter from you. But I have been so long trying to teach you patience, that consistency requires that I should keep quiet myself. But it is terribly lonely without you, and still more so without your letters even. I enclose a “cipher dispatch” to “her excellency”, Mrs. Poe. If you received the means of deciphering it, you are all right. I sent you the key several days ago, but you may not have received it. If I come home we will arrange a better one. It is strange that it never occurred to me before. We might have written so much more freely, and we could have said ten thousand things which have been left unsaid. For fear that you have lost, or rather not recd. the other, I send you a new and different key. There is nothing important in the “dispatch”, but it will serve to amuse you as a puzzle. The dispatch was first written by the old key, but I concluded to send it also by the new one. But I’ve spent so much time over the ciphers that I must stop. With love to you all I am your loving husband, O. M. P. The “dispatches” are exactly alike. Using his cipher (which either Poe or Nell copied onto one of his letters), Poe quickly informed Eleanor on November 16 that the enemy was in sight and that it could be days before he was able to write again. In fact, there are no extant letters dated from November 17 until November 27. The Confederates were preparing to lay siege to Knoxville, which prompted Poe to assure Nell that the Union defense would be a stubborn one. He expected the resulting battle to exact a heavy loss on both sides. (123) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 27th 1863 My own darling wife, A party of our men, is going to try to pass around the enemy’s line, and one of them has kindly told me that he will carry a very small letter for me, 80. Maj. Gen. John G. Foster (1823–74), West Point class of 1846. Warner, Generals in Blue, 157–58.

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and try to forward it to Williamsburgh, Kentucky where it can be mailed. I would like to write you a great deal, but of course it isn’t prudent. [Poe wrote the following sentence in cipher, which has been decoded by the editor.] (We are almost entirely surrounded by the enemy and are constantly fighting.) We have not suffered much loss. We have now been besieged eleven days, and still have plenty to eat. I don’t believe the enemy can starve us out, and somebody will be hurt in fighting us out. Longstreet has good men, and so have we, and there will be hard fighting on both sides. Nearly one half our whole loss thus far has been in the Old Second, which has behaved most gallantly, as usual. They went out of our entrenchments a couple of days ago, and took some rifle pits from the enemy, but could not hold them. There were only 169 men all told, the balance being on picket, and they lost 83, or just one half.81 Major Byington lost a leg, and is a prisoner.82 Adjt. Noble, Mrs. Brainard’s brother, was killed. Lieut. Galpin was wounded & is a prisoner. Corporal Chapin was wounded again, the ball going in at his elbow, & coming out at his breast, a dreadful wound.83 Lt. Col. Smith of the 20th Mich. was killed at the battle of Campbell’s Station Monday week ago, and Lt. Col. Comstock of the 17th Mich. was killed in the entrenchments day before yesterday.84 Genl. Sanders was killed in his fight of Wednesday week ago. George Poe, (my cousin) was wounded two weeks ago, but not seriously. Poor Sanders, it seemed hard that he should be killed, so soon after getting his promotion. He exposed himself too much, or he might not have been hurt. His fight was a wonderfully gallant one.85 I saw Lieut. Ricks last night, and was at work near him. He is well.

81. Maj. Cornelius Byington led the 2nd Michigan Infantry in an assault against advance Confederate positions on November 24. The 2nd’s Private Mayo wrote that the regiment was almost “annihilated” in the process. Hodge, Civil War Letters of Perry Mayo, 244. 82. Byington died on December 11, 1863, from wounds suffered during the November 24 assault. 83. William Noble, 1st lieutenant and adjutant of the 2nd Michigan, age twenty-one, was killed in the November 24 assault. He was the brother of Martha Noble Brainerd, a hospital nurse. Lt. Charles R. Galpin was actually killed during the assault as well. Cpl. Thomas Chapin was first wounded at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:46, 72, 128. 84. Lt. Col. Loren M. Comstock. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 801. 85. Brigadier General Sanders was mortally wounded on November 18 as he and his men were fighting dismounted about one mile outside of Knoxville in an attempt to slow Longstreet’s advance. Warner, Generals in Blue, 420.

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I am tolerably well (have a cold). I will write as often as I can. With the greatest love to you all, I am your ever devoted husband. O. M. Poe P.S.—I am given a few minutes longer, and I will improve it. I would like to write a great deal about what is now most important to both you and I, but am too much afraid of the capture of my letter to write much, and I fear you have not recd. the key to my cipher, therefore if I were to write anything important in that way, you might not be able to translate it. Suffice it to say that I can hardly hope to be home very soon. Longstreet has interfered with that arrangement. I could get out of this place without any trouble, but of course I can’t go now, with the enemy thundering at our very gates. If I should not come, you must bear up bravely, my own dear wife, and be assured I will come as soon as I can. I would give my right arm to be with you, but it is probably impossible. If I am not there in person, I will be in spirit, and if the hearty prayers of your husband can relieve you, they shall be freely rendered. It seems hard to be away from you at this, above all other times, but my duty is here. My will is not. Genl. Burnside, through his aide-de-camp, Maj. Cutting, telegraphed to you after Sanders’ fight in care of Mr. Ricks, at Massillon. I hope you got the dispatch before you did the newspapers. It was kind and thoughtful of him to send you word that I was not hurt. I don’t know when I may be able to write again, but I will not let any opportunity slip. God bless & keep you, my own dear wife in all your trials. O. M. P. Knoxville’s key earthen fort, which Poe had been strengthening, was named Fort Loudon by the Confederates when they originally constructed it. Once Poe began improving on it, every available man was put to work with spade and pick, enhancing the fort’s walls and deep moat; amazingly, this was apparently not noticed by the Confederates. After the death of General Sanders on November 18, Burnside renamed the bastion Fort Sanders in his honor. The Battle of Fort Sanders commenced near dawn on November 29, 1863, one day after the next letter. It was a complete Union victory. Poe later wrote that he knew of no battle in history where a storming party was so nearly annihilated.

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(124) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 28th 1863 My own darling wife, I don’t know whether this will ever start towards you, but I will write & do my best to get the letter through the lines. Oh, my wife, it distressed me, that I am not able to be with you now, but my duty is here, and here I will stay for the present. I am doing good work, fighting with brain & spade the gallant men who compose Longstreet’s command. Indeed I never before gained more credit for my work than I am gaining here. I wrote you yesterday, and hope that the letter will go through. I will write every chance I get, and maybe some of the letters will reach you, for I don’t doubt but you are extremely anxious. There would be much more than ordinary interest attached to a letter recd. from a beleaguered town, and when you know too that it was carried a hundred miles by a man who stood in the very presence of death, at every step he took. Matters are very quiet for a siege. I don’t know what it is that delays the serious attack. Certainly the delay is to our advantage for we are all the time strengthening our position.86 It may be that Longstreet expects to starve us out, or that he is waiting for reinforcements. I don’t believe that the place can be successfully assaulted, for we have nearly, if not quite as many men, as Longstreet has, and the advantage of position. He cannot safely venture upon an assault with less than three times our number, at least that is the ordinary estimate, that one man behind works, is as good as three outside, & the experience of this war has shown that there is nothing wild about that estimate.87 I wrote you that Sanders was killed, and also that Lt. Co. Smith 20th Mich., Lt. Col. Comstock, 17th Mich., and Adjt. Noble, (Mrs. Brainard’s brother) 2nd Mich., were killed, and that Maj. Byington of the 2nd, had lost a leg, and was a prisoner. Our losses thus far has been very small, though as yet, there has not been any severe fighting. If you see any of Mr. Ricks’ folks, tell them that I saw Lieut. Ricks yesterday evening, and he was very well. We are all very anxious to hear the results of Grant’s fight with Bragg.88 If we gained the fight, the siege here 86. Poe planned and supervised the construction of Fort Sanders’s earthen walls, eight feet high at ground level, fronted by a twelve-foot-wide, eight-foot-deep moat. 87. Conventional West Point military thought dictated that an attacking force must possess superior numbers of at least a 3-to-1 ratio in order to have a reasonable chance of success against a strong defensive position. 88. Following the defeat at Chickamauga, the Army of the Cumberland retreated back into Chattanooga. Lincoln ordered Major General Grant from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Chattanooga in order to reinforce and to relieve the beleaguered Union forces. Grant arrived in October and began planning for the inevitable battle.

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Fort Sanders after the battle. Note the deep moat and tree stumps (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

must soon be raised but if Bragg was successful then there is going to be some desperate fighting, for it is certain that if the enemy attacks us, it will be with desperation, and with their very best troops, while we are just as strongly determined to hold our position. If I have any chance to do so I will write more to-day. With love to you all, and fervent devotion to you my darling wife, I am your husband. O. M. P. 29th This morning the enemy assaulted Fort Sanders, but was repulsed with a loss of three battle flags (belonging to the 13th and 17th Mississippi and the 16th Georgia), and 1000 killed wounded & prisoners. The fort was garrisoned by parts of the Second Mich. and 79th N. York. Our loss does not amount

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to 20 men. Fort Sanders has had a bloody baptism.—I am, as the engineer officer who constructed all these works, the lion of the hour. Love to you all, my own darling wife. O. M. P. (125) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Nov. 30th 1863 My own darling Nelly, It is now twelve o’clock, and the enemy has not disturbed us yet. Though he may do so before night. I think the effect of yesterday morning’s assault upon Fort Sanders has been such as to make him very careful about attacking again any part of our lines. We are stronger than they think (or thought) we are, or were, and to carry our position is no child’s play. Longstreet’s men made a very gallant attack, but iron & lead, are less destructible than flesh, and when opposed, the latter must suffer. I wrote you a few lines yesterday, in which I gave the loss of the enemy at 1000 killed, wounded & prisoners, & I don’t believe that estimate is at all exaggerated. Major Byington has been paroled, and sent into our lines. He had his left leg amputated, below the knee, and is shot through the hip. He may possibly recover, but his chances are rather slim.—During the flag of truce, I saw E. P. Alexander, formally of our Engineer Corps, but now Longstreet’s chief of artillery.89 He looked quite dilapidated, was wearing one of our overcoats, but still had his senses sufficiently about him, to give me a drink out of a very convenient flask, which he produced from under said overcoat.—Alexander was in the same class with Proctor Smith, and says that the latter is in the Confederate Engineer Corps with the rank of captain, and is now on duty with Genl. Lee in Northern Virginia.90 It is getting along quite cold down here, though it is the “Sunny South.” Ice was formed, a quarter of an inch thick last night. I pitied the soldiers in the trenches who must have suffered. Yesterday the Episcopal Church was open but I was too busy to go, though I would have liked to have gone, for your sake, as well as for my own. The time hastens, when your tribulation comes. I suppose even before this reaches you, the important event will have occurred. To have been with you, would have gratified me very much, and would have done you good,

89. Lt. Col. Edward Porter Alexander (1835–1910), West Point class of 1857. Warner, Generals in Gray, 3–4. Also see Gallagher, Fighting for the Confederacy, 328. 90. Lt. Col. William Proctor Smith (1833–95), West Point class of 1857, was Lee’s chief engineer in the fall and winter of 1863–64. Allardice, Confederate Colonels, 351.

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but I need scarcely plead to you, first, the impossibility of getting away from here, if I had wished, and, second, the imperative demand for my presence here, for surely, if there ever was a time when an engineer’s services were wanted, it was during a siege.—The siege has not by any means terminated yet, and what the termination will be, of course we cannot know, but I am very hopeful. And in case the siege is raised, I will try to be at home very soon. If on the other hand, we are not successful, then I suppose we will spend a long time in the far-famed Libby prison.91 But the latter contingency is one which I don’t like to contemplate. And I hope and believe that it is a remote one. I would like to go through this war without having been taken prisoner, but I wouldn’t object to a few slight wounds, such as show well, but are not dangerous. I am a great believer in honorable wounds, and highly respect those who bear them, but a filthy prison, Ugh!! The very idea is enough to make one fight desperately.92 I hope, my dear wife that you will not use any such language as is reported by our “dear friend” Sue Romeyn, to have been used by your Auntie Maria, on a similar occasion to that in question, or if you do use such language, that I will never hear of it. It is now 4 p.m. and everything is quiet. It may be the “calm which precedes the storm.” If so, we will have hard fighting to-night. We have heard of Grant’s success over Bragg, and it encourages us very much.93 With love to you all I am your loving and devoted husband. O. M. Poe In the defence of Fort Sanders yesterday morning part of the “Second Mich.” and part of the 79th N.Y. were engaged. The whole loss of our forces at that place did not amount to 20 men.

91. Libby Prison was the Confederacy’s infamous lockup for captured Union officers. The converted two-story Richmond warehouse was known for its overcrowding and harsh conditions. 92. Poe was quite sincere. Such wounds would not hinder a man’s normal return to civilian life but would showcase his courage, patriotic virtue, civic responsibility, and honorable manhood. Clarke, “‘Honorable Scars,’” 361–94; Linderman, Embattled Courage, 12, 32; Handley-Cousins, Bodies in Blue, 3–5. 93. On November 24, 1863, Union forces under the overall command of General Grant (and directed by General Hooker) successfully assaulted Confederate positions during the Battle of Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga, Tennessee, breaking part of the rebel line. The next day, November 25, Grant’s men routed the Confederates at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, forcing General Bragg to withdraw his entire army back to Dalton, Georgia. The Chattanooga siege was broken.

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my dear nelly

(126) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Dec. 1st—1 p.m. My own darling, Everything is now very quiet, but that quiet is ominous. Forty eight hours more must tell the tale of the siege of Knoxville, and its defence, successful, or not will pass into history. Grand events are going on around us. The enemy has concentrated here some twenty five thousand men. We ought to hold the place against even a greater number. One thing is certain, the fighting to get possession of the place must be of the most desperate character, for the defence will be a desperate one. Heavy reinforcements are at hand, and whatever the enemy does, he must do quickly. For my own part I have felt much encouraged since the assault of Sunday morning, for our success was so signal, that it led me to hope everything. What a brilliant page it will make in the story of this war. And to you my wife, I may certainly be allowed to say, that our success thus far is attributed to me. Not a man in this army—from the General comdg. down, but is repeating my praises.94 I venture the assertion, that I could get a unanimous recommendation, from officers & men comprising this army, for any position I might seek, even though it were the double star of a Maj. General. My dear Nelly—this almost sounds silly, even to you, but surely my wife will sympathize with me in the pride I feel at having done my duty to the satisfaction of all. This is more particularly the case, when we consider all the persecutions to which we have been subjected.95 But thank God, I have shown all that I was in the Federal army from principle, & not for the sake of mere position. I have shown too that I was fully equal to any duty to which I might be assigned, a matter of much gratification to a proud and sensitive man. And I know my faithful wife well enough to know that she will submit to the trials of the occasion, without a murmur, saying amen! if I can only do good service here.96 There I could comfort you, here I assist materially in the salvation of an army. Won’t you—in your heart of hearts thank God that I am here, and not there[?] If we are successful here, the war cannot last much 94. Poe’s words were not bluster. High-ranking officers and reporters were indeed singing his praises as the man whose engineering efforts were key to repelling a numerically superior force. 95. Poe was referring to Congress not confirming his appointment to brigadier general and his subsequent demotion the previous spring as well as to his August 1862 meeting with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. 96. Poe was referring to Nell’s then current pregnancy and the imminent birth of their first child.

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longer, and with the return of peace will come such happiness as that we have so fervently prayed for. Our complete success here, involves the destruction of the proudest corps of the Confederate Army. Longstreet’s men have never yet acknowledged their superiors, but they are in a fair way to feel the blows a sturdy foe can give. I would that I could foresee the events of the next forty eight hours, yet if I could, and our defeat was involved, then I would regret it. But why talk of defeat, when I neither fear, nor believe it possible. If I live through this I will tell you the tale of Knoxville, and of East Tennessee. No man knows more about it than I do. And you shall teach it to our children. The future looks very bright to me. The past has not been dark. We have everything to be thankful for, and not the least is the matter which seems to you, just now, as the most important. You may regret it, and for your regrets I am sorry. I am thankful for it, and if you recover all right, my happiness will scarcely be allayed. Dear to me, as you are, simply my wife—inexpressibly dear you are, as the mother of my children, and I very much mistake your nature, if you are not just as thankful as I am. Oh my Nelly, you are the whole world to me. Nothing stands between us but duty to God & country. When the latter is acquitted, the former will not bar our more than happy reunion. But I have not time to write longer, but with assurances of devotion to you I am your husband. O. M. P. (127) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Dec. 5th 1863 [#1] My own dear wife, It is with a heart full of gratitude to God for having brought me safely through the siege of this place; that I write you the few lines that the hurry & confusion about me will admit. The enemy disappeared from our immediate front before day-light this morning, having come to the conclusion that they didn’t want Knoxville, as it was not much of a place after all.97 I have written to you, by every courier that went out, but several of them were captured, and I can’t tell whether or not you have received any of my letters. They were very trifling however, as I could not write anything of any importance, for fear that the enemy would capture it. 97. On December 3 Longstreet began withdrawing his forces from Knoxville toward the east. He was aware of the Confederate defeat at Chattanooga and that Grant was sending reinforcements to Burnside. The siege was over. Hess, Knoxville Campaign, 191–93.

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my dear nelly

Our losses have been small during the siege, but as usual, it nearly all falls upon Michigan Regts. The “Second” has lost fully half of all that have fallen during the siege. Adjt. Noble was killed, and Major Byington has lost a leg, and is badly wounded through the hip. Sanders (Doc) was killed. I have written all this a dozen times before, but repeat it, for fear that my letters may not have reached you. The sons of Mr. Ricks, and also Capt. Kelly, are safe. If you can do so, send word to their people, as it will probably be some days before they will be able to get a letter through. And my “ditch digging” saved Knoxville. My praises are in every man’s mouth, and if I do say it myself. I have done my whole duty, mentally, and physically, and have established my reputation as an engineer, upon no mean basis. There are several newspaper correspondents here, and they all tell me that they are going to say great things for me, particularly the correspondents of the “Cincinnati Commercial”, and the “New York Tribune”.98 The enemy appears to have gone entirely, as though very much disgusted with this locality, and well may he feel so, for he has gained no laurels here, and our hold upon East Tennessee seems more firm than ever, and our force is now so large that we can safely defy all opposition. I can’t form any idea of what we are going to do, but if we only settle down for the winter, I’m going to try hard to come home. I hope, my wife, but by the time this reaches you, you will have safely passed through all your trials. Ours have been great here, but we survived them. I pray that the result in yours, may be as satisfactory. I know well enough, that this is a very cold way to write about it, but the road is anything but safe yet, and my letter may never reach you. You know well enough all that I feel, and all that I would say, could my heart but speak out. And we will laugh at our present troubles, when we teach our children a history of the 19 days siege of Knoxville. With all the love of a full heart to you all, and assurances of the most devoted affection to you, my dear wife, I am your husband, O. M. P.

98. Both papers gave glowing tributes to Poe. See New York Tribune, Dec. 7, 1863; and Cincinnati Daily Commercial, Dec. 8, 1863.

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(128) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Dec. 5th 1863 [#2] My dear wife, I have written you quite a letter to-day which may reach you and may not, matters being quite uncertain just at present—and they will continue to be for some days to come. True—the siege of Knoxville, is raised, but there is no telling what may turn up to-morrow. When I say the siege is raised, I mean that the enemy has left our immediate front, and the great suspense of the last three weeks is at an end. Yet there are men, in Knoxville, so ungracious, as to wonder why the enemy was allowed to depart so quietly, just as though Genl. Longstreet would have asked anything better than for us to leave our works and go out into the open fields to meet him. But we have held our position too long, and stubbornly, to think of risking much now. Thus far, the game is ours, and we would be silly indeed if we threw it away now. Well, Longstreet has tried us, and found us not wanting. The laurels he has won in Tennessee, will be sorry ones indeed. He has lost between two and three thousand men, and accomplished literally nothing. He has not got even the poor satisfaction of having inflicted upon us, as great injury as he has sustained himself. Today, I rode over to where the “second” had their fight, and saw a very neat looking grave, with a decent headboard to it, having on it, “Adjutant Noble, and 8 others of the Second Mich. Vols.”—all of which had been done by the enemy, an act of consideration, which will always be gratefully remembered by the regiment to which the unfortunate men belonged. In a mail which we captured I saw all kinds of laudations. One of the letters was written by a man who belonged to the rebel Regt. which was in the rifle pits which the “second” charged. He uses this language, “The Regt. that charged us, was the 2nd Mich. which has always been famous for its good fighting qualities.” Quite a compliment, to be wrung from an enemy. Dec. 8th—I found this letter had been neglected amid the hurry etc. of the last two days, but it don’t make any difference, as there has been no mail. Genl. Burnside telegraphed to you yesterday that I was well. He sent the dispatch to the care of Mr. Ricks, at Massillon. It was kind of him, and is the second time, within three weeks that he has telegraphed to you for me. One would think, to judge from a number of troops now in this neighborhood, that it was high time that Longstreet went away. There are certainly as many as fifty thousand within reach of Knoxville. Important movements are now going on. I was in hope that I would be able to come home as soon as

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my dear nelly Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood, an old friend of the Brent family (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

the siege closed, but whether that will be the case or not, depends very much upon circumstances which will be developed, within the next few days. I have had no letter for very nearly a month, and I am beginning to crave news from home, to such an extent that I can scarcely eat or sleep. If I could only hear that you were getting along well I would be better contented. I saw both of Mr. Ricks’ sons yesterday. They were well. With love to you all, and a devotion to yourself that I do not trust myself to speak of, I am your husband, O. M. P. (129) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Dec. 7th 1863 My own darling, Col. Goulding has resigned, and leaves to-morrow for the North, and I take the opportunity of writing as a kind of good fortune. I had expected to have been on the way up the country, after Longstreet, but the General did not start and therefore I have not gone, but I suppose we will go to-morrow. The troops have gone.

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I wrote a long letter to-day to your mother. I wanted to write to someone, even though I said nothing. There is a positive relief in writing, now, after our long silence, shut off as we were from everybody. Yet, amid the excitement, we did not feel lonesome. I went around to the hospitals this morning to see the wounded of the “second.” They were all in good spirits, and were perfectly delighted to see me. Do you remember the young sergeant (Thurlby) who married Miss Sibley’s maid? He was badly wounded but I think he’ll recover. His wounds have never yet brought a groan from him.99 I saw Major Byington. He is very low, and I think will die. He was delirious, but when I went in, he knew his old colonel, and in the most touching manner, saluted me, as though he had been a private soldier. It does the men good, to have me come to see them, as is shown by the bright eyes & gratified looks, they all have, when I go into the hospital. There is so much to write, that I can scarcely think of anything to write, as one often feels most lonely when in a crowd. Should you happen to see any of the Jarvis’ of Massillon, you can tell them that young Dwight, Col. of the 13th Ohio,100 is here with his regt.—having escaped all hurt, in the recent battle between Grant and Bragg. General T. J. Wood101 is also here with his division. I haven’t seen him yet, but when I do, it will afford me much pleasure to inform him of my proud anticipations, towards the participation of which, you have contributed so much. I’ve no doubt but he will be delighted. I will show him your photographs, which will also please him. Goulding’s resignation almost scatters Hartsuff ’s staff. There are only Cols. Hartsuff and Pleasants left, and Major Lyon. Cols. Drake, Ellis, and Goulding have resigned, and the General took his hopeful “Aids” away with him. By the way, Genl. H. left on the day but one before the siege began, that is to say, he left on Sunday afternoon, and the siege commenced on Wednesday. Now that the siege has terminated, and we are not all annihilated, don’t you think he would gain a good deal if he had remained to share the dangers & trials to which we were subjected[?] It would certainly have been better for his fair name. But I am gossiping, and must quit it.

99. First Sgt. Alfred Thurlby, Company B. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:171. 100. Col. Dwight Jarvis Jr. (1835–1904), commander of the 13th Ohio Infantry, was breveted brigadier general in 1865. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 313. 101. Brig. Gen. Thomas John Wood (1823–1906), West Point class of 1845. Warner, Generals in Blue, 569–70.

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my dear nelly

I spoke to General Parke102 to-day about a leave of absence, and told him why I wanted it. He said he would speak to General Burnside about it, but I presume has not done so yet. Genl. B. will be somewhat loth to act, as Genl. Foster is on his way to relieve him, but still I have some hope that he may grant what I ask. If he does, I will come home by the very first opportunity, so that if I don’t get there in time, I will not be much too late, and I think I could start from here four days from this, and still be in time. With love to you all, and assurances of devotion to you my dear wife, I am your husband. O. M. P. Poe wrote to Nell on December 11 only to say that his leave of absence was approved and that he would start north in a day or two. He was on his way home to Massillon, Ohio, to see his new son, though he missed the actual birth. Charles Carrol Poe was born on December 14. The young officer had thirty days to forget about war and focus on his family’s love and warmth.

102. Maj. Gen. John G. Parke (1827–1900), West Point class of 1849, was Burnside’s chief of staff during the Knoxville Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 359–60.

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six

R “You Can’t Imagine a More Perfect Picture of War’s Devastation” Headquartered in Tennessee and Preparing for Georgia, January 28–May 5, 1864

P

oe returned to the field on January 23, 1864, following his leave in Massillon, Ohio. He was to report to Brig. Gen. William “Baldy” Smith in Nashville, who was currently the chief engineer with the Military Division of the Mississippi and Poe’s new immediate superior. Smith was in the process of preparing for the inevitable spring campaign. Poe was now officially assistant chief engineer of the Military Division of the Mississippi. (130) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Nashville Tenn. Jany. 28th 1864 My dear wife, I was sadly disappointed not to find at least two or three letters here for me, on my arrival. Not a word have I heard from you, or my darling boy, since I left home. I hope I will not have to wait much longer. I have not moved about town much yet, hence can scarcely give you a description of it. Genl. Smith was very kind, had an ambulance1 at the Depot for me, on my arrival, and took me to his own house, where I mess, at least for the present. He expects that Mrs. Smith may pay him a visit, in which event I will have to seek other quarters. I think Mrs. S. will scarcely come, and bring her child. It cannot be a pleasant place for a lady at the best. 1. An ambulance was a horse-drawn covered wagon used to transport wounded or sick soldiers.

183

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184

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my dear nelly

Maj. Gen. William F. “Baldy” Smith (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

I sent you a check for my December pay. I don’t know how our finances will prosper. Genl. S. says my mess bill will be twelve or fourteen dollars a week, do the best I can. After I left Cincinnati I went to Lexington, and thence to Camp Nelson where I staid over night, at Capt. Bell’s. From Camp Nelson I rode my horse to Lexington, and the event which I deplored when you were making certain undergarments fearfully came to pass. Indeed, for nearly two days I only walked with the greatest difficulty. And this is my dictum, don’t you ever again put patches on any of my new clothes, no difference if mother does tell you to. You would have laughed at me, I know, if you had seen me. . . . From Lexington I went to Louisville, where I took dinner, and supper with the Forsyth’s. Mrs. Forsyth Junior, was ill, and I did not see her, neither did I ask what was the matter for fear I might do something wrong. Capt. Forsyth’s mother, sister (Mary) and brother, Mr. and Mrs. Atterbury, and Miss Kitty were there. Altogether I had a very pleasant time. There were any number of kind inquiries about you, and much surprise at hearing that you were a mother. “Bertie” and “Maggie”, both looked very much better than when we were there. The Forsyth’s are keeping house at the corner of 7th

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185

and Walnut? Streets (It may be Chestnut instead of Walnut). It is a little more than a square mile from where they lived before. On the cars between Louisville, and this place, I saw Genl. Hunter,2 who asked kindly after you, and your mother. I am to be Assistant Chief Engineer of the Mily. Div. of the Mississippi. We have had the most delightful weather for the last few days. It is uncomfortably warm now. I found here, to-day some of my pictures for sale, taken during the siege of Knoxville. I am having some prints of it made, and will send you some. You can look for them in a day or two after you get this. I inquired at every bookstore, from Navarre here, for “Jean Ingelow’s” Poems,3 but could not find them. They evidently have not traveled west yet. I enclose a photograph of Col. Kautz. Please take care of it. I bought some military books, in Cincinnati, but for fear that you will fling them in the fire, don’t send them home. I must accompany them to ensure safety. With any amount of love to you all and kisses to my wife and boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Poe viewed his western-theater assignment as temporary and still considered himself an Army of the Potomac man. As the Union’s most famous army in the field and the one given the task of protecting Washington, that command and the men within it often projected a superior air toward the Union’s other armies, particularly those in the West. (131) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Jany. 31st/64 My darling wife, I am very very sorry for you and the boy. I have just recd. two letters from you. Your troubles appear to have indeed begun. If I could only be where I could serve you, I would be better satisfied. I hope however that our baby will soon recover. It seems that your Aunt Lizzie could not have consulted Mr. Whiting, else she would not now be in the scrape she is. Do you learn a lesson, and profit by it.

2. Maj. Gen. David Hunter (1802–86), West Point class of 1822. Warner, Generals in Blue, 243–44. 3. Jean Ingelow (1820–97) was an English poet and novelist. Her Poems, first published in 1863, was a bestseller and made her a poet of renown.

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186

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my dear nelly

You speak of a circular on Ponton Bridges, but fail to send it to me. Don’t forget it again. Also send me Capt. Gowen’s4 letter. Nashville is the paradise of mud. I thought Louisville was bad, but it bears no comparison to Nashville. Genl. Smith tells me all sorts of nice things that are being said about me everywhere, and I begin seriously to expect reappointment to a Brig. Genl. or to get a brevet for Knoxville. I think I would prefer the latter.5 I’m having another copy of my report made, but this time have a better clerk than Peter Colan to do it; but not so good, nor so agreeable as my recent chief clerk. I have been very busy since I arrived here, trying to get matters straightened out and the machinery of the office in proper running order. It will be all right in a day or two. I thought there was no ambition in the west, that said article was confined to our Army of the Potomac, but there is plenty of it here, and I don’t see that Generals in Tennessee differ at all from Generals in Virginia. I hope to go down to Chattanooga before long, in which case I will see Lyster, and will try to hunt up many other friends. The weather is very warm, and the grass is growing quite green. It is uncomfortable to wear the clothes I have been accustomed to. (I didn’t notice until I got this far that I had scribbled over this page.) Don’t laugh at me, but I must tell you that when I got to Louisville, I was compelled to buy some shirts. They are rather better material than what you was going to use, but don’t fit as well as they would have done. Hereafter I’m going to let you do just as you please about my clothes, and you may sit quietly down and chuckle at your triumph. Just direct to me, at Genl. [Ulysses S.] Grant’s Head Quarters. It is not necessary to send the letters to the care of Genl. Smith. Hoping to hear to-day or to-morrow that the baby Charlie is well again. I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe

4. Capt. George W. Gowen (1840–65) was assistant engineer in the Army of the Ohio. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 238. 5. A brevet was an honorary promotion bestowed upon an officer to a rank higher than his official grade, usually for meritorious conduct, but lacking the pay or authority of the higher grade.

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187

(132) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Feby. 4th/64 My darling wife, Two days without a letter from you seems like a very long time. I hoped for one to-night but hope has departed. The mail is in but not any letters for me. I had a letter from your mother yesterday. It is now at the office and I would send it to you. I also recd. one from Miss Gaston which I will send at the same time I send you your mother’s. Cols. Babcock and Bowen are here from Knoxville. Col. Bowen is quite ill, and is going on north. Col. Babcock never looked better, and starts back to Knoxville to-morrow. He represents affairs in awful condition there. All the officers’ horses have been sent away because forage could not be provided for them. It was that, or starvation, and the [former] was chosen.6 I have written to your mother to try to get rooms for you in Detroit, and to try to get Grace, as a nurse. I don’t know whether she will succeed. I am opposed to you going to Detroit, if you are compelled to go into a hotel, and my opposition is so strong that it cannot be overcome. I can only consent to your going there, when you can get rooms with some private family. You may perhaps think that I ought not to feel so, but my dear wife, it is for your own sake that I feel such anxiety. Think over the whole circle of your acquaintance, and tell me, if you can, of a single one that has ever lived alone in a hotel, and not suffered in reputation. It gives rise to gossip, and when a woman becomes a subject of gossip—no matter how false, she is half ruined. These are no idle fears. You and I have seen them exemplified and could you hope to escape. And I would rather see both you and Charlie in your graves, than to hear a word lightly spoken of you. Not that there ever would be any danger of my losing faith in you—that could not be—but I have heard others, just as pure as you or any other woman, spoken of in a way and in language, that if used with reference to you, would drive me crazy.—A woman in a public hotel, with her husband, is scarcely safe—without him never. I beg your pardon for talking so plainly. I have deferred it for many a day, but I now feel that my imperative duty to speak out, and I do so, perfectly

6. After abandoning his Knoxville siege, Longstreet withdrew his army only a few days’ march from the town and encamped for the winter. Rebel foraging parties often came within a few miles of Knoxville. So, effectively, not one but two armies, not to mention the area’s civilians, scoured the area for its scarce food and forage. By February 1864, Longstreet reported to R. E. Lee that there was literally nothing to eat for man or beast within the seventy-mile expanse from Knoxville to Greenville, Tennessee. McKenzie, Lincolnites and Rebels, 176–77.

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188

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my dear nelly

conscious that the good sense of my own darling wife will prevent my being misunderstood.7 With many kisses to you and Charlie, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe (133) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Head-Quarters Mily. Divn of the Miss. Nashville Tenn. Feby. 6th 1864 My darling, Another day, and no letter for me. It seems almost as difficult to hear from you now, as when I was at Knoxville. And I am so very anxious. Some sort of Tantrum must have gotten into the mails. Don’t let Winnie know that I have told you what follows. I want to see whether she really is so desirous of being in the Hospitals, as she has expressed, and have offered to give her employment in my office, promising that her duties shall be light, thus giving her a good deal of time in which she can hospitalize as much as she pleases. If she thought she could go among strangers to make herself useful to the sick & wounded, she can certainly do so where I can be present to protect her. Meanwhile, you were to supply her place at your mother’s. Let me know what you think of it, but don’t let Winnie or your mother know that you know anything about it. I want her to make her decision, having some curiosity to know what it will be. I can pay her enough for her services in the office, to more than pay her expenses. I enclose a letter recd. from your mother. I answered it two or three days ago—also a letter from Miss Gaston. I saw Mrs. Brainard’s brother (Capt. Noble) yesterday, and he understands the difficulty of getting a metallic coffin to Knoxville, in the present condition of our transportation. Genl. Grant to-day ordered by telegraph, that the “second” be sent home at once. They have been detaining it, and sending other regiments in preference. The matter is all right now.8 7. In the antebellum and Civil War years, a young woman traveling alone was often viewed with public suspicion. She risked irreparably damaging her social reputation due to the era’s idealized image of sexual purity. Thornwell, Lady’s Guide to Perfect Gentility, 78; Blanton, Travel Writing, 44–45. 8. In January 1864, 198 of the men from the 2nd Michigan Infantry reenlisted as veteran volunteers. On February 4 they were ordered to Detroit to begin a well-deserved thirty-day furlough. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:13.

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189

I saw a photograph of Genl. [Winfield] Scott which was given me a day are two ago by a photographer. It is the best I ever saw. I wrote to Lyster to-day. Capt. McIntyre (Hugh’s father) is here. With love to you all, and many kisses to yourself and Charlie, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe I took breakfast with Genl. Grant this morning. He is going to mess with Smith and I for a while. (134) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Feby. 8th My darling, I have just recd. yours of the 29th Jany. Pity but I had received it sooner for it is just the nicest, sweetest letter you have written me for a long time. I have a notion not to send it back to you, but to keep it for every day reading. My dear, sweet Nell shone out in every line, and not a word of grumbling anywhere. If you could only keep such spirits all the time, I would be happy. You must not think I neglect you, when I fail to write to you every day, for I frequently have so much to do, that I really have not time to write a long letter, and am too proud to put you off with a half way sort of a concern. You grow jocular over Newport News,9 proof that you are recovering from the effects of your trip there. By the way—As Genl. Grant, Genl. Smith, and myself were sitting together talking last night about eleven o’clock, an orderly came in, and handed to Genl. Smith a telegram. He read it with a thunderstruck sort of expression, which could mean only one thing. I said, at a venture, “Genl., your wife starts for Nashville to-morrow.” He answered “yes”—and to-day he has gone to Cincinnati to meet her. Now he could have taken care of Mrs. S.—but she comes accompanied by a child and nurse, for which there is little enough room—and I am to start out, after a while to find more for them. I must keep an eye out too for a lodging place for Winnie, in case she should decide that by vocation she is a “Hospitaller.” I’ve heard the news about the Princess of Wales, and say Hurrah for her.10 Genl. Wood is here on his way back to Knoxville. He has been on leave of 9. Newport News, located at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula, was the location of Fort Monroe. Nell had visited Poe when he was briefly stationed there with the IX Corps in early 1863. 10. In March 1863 Alexandra of Denmark married Albert Edward, Great Britain’s Prince of Wales, thereby becoming the Princess of Wales. Their first child was born in early 1864. Albert was heir to the British throne then held by Queen Victoria.

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190

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my dear nelly

absence, and presents the appearance thereof. If you ever want an explanation of this remark, when you see me again, show me this letter, and call my attention to the paragraph, when the meaning will be fully revealed. Did I tell you that I had had a letter from Winnie? If not, then know it. I won’t send it to you, for she asks me not to—cause why. There are certain allusions to Carrie Brooks, which smack of “sour grapes,” and she says you would tease her to death. I have answered, pledging secrecy, and you are deprived the perusal of a letter which is crammed full of fun. The Army of the Potomac matter is less certain than it was a few days ago. It is now getting so late that I fear nothing will come of it. But we will see. Meanwhile keep quiet.11 I am almost “broke”, and fear that I will not be able to send you two-thirds of my pay, as I had intended. If I send you one half it will be as much as I can do. Direct your letters to me at Genl. Grant’s Head Quarters. It will shorten the address. Kisses to you and Charlie, and love to you all from your devoted husband. O. M. Poe Photography was still considered a technological marvel, and possessing a photograph was still held as a unique and special acquisition. This prompted Poe to carefully note to Nell when he was enclosing photographs of Union officers, including a just-acquired image of Grant, autographed by the general. (135) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Feby. 16th, 1864 My darling, I found in my post office box this morning any quantity of letters, but you may imagine my sad disappointment when I saw that none of them were from you. But I will try to have patience, for I know that I have given you so much to do, that you haven’t got the time to write that you used to have. But thank God! when you do write, it is in so much sweeter, and more hopeful tone that I sometimes wonder if they (the letters) can be from the same person. Can it be possible that the little “ashes” can have tempered the acidity of a few months ago? Verily I begin to believe so.

11. Rumors abounded that “Baldy” Smith was destined to return imminently to the Army of Potomac with a senior command. By virtue of their personal friendship, Poe hoped and half-expected Smith would see to his own promotion and a plum position on the general’s staff.

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191

The “Second” passed through here on its way home yesterday. 194 of them (nearly every man) have reenlisted. I saw all your old friends, including Captain Johnson. Dr. Bonine was especially jolly, he had evidently grown twenty years younger (he has been married twenty years). He calls his boy “Fred,” in honor of the sad catastrophe which took place at Fredericksburgh. Rather a humorous way of regarding it. He asked me what we called our boy, expecting, on the same principle. I was going to say Monroe, or James, or something of the kind and was disgusted when I told him the real name. Poor Dr. was tickled almost to death. He laughed & giggled like a silly girl. Capt. Johnson who was present with the Dr. kept very quiet, and looked very innocent. So I am inclined to think there is something in the wind in that quarter. (No joke is intended.) I would have liked very much to have gone to Detroit with the “Second,” but Genl. Smith is absent and I could not leave. Genl. S. went to Cinti. to meet Mrs. S. & child. They have reached Louisville, where the baby was taken sick, and they are now detained there. Let this be a warning to you, not to go traipsing off to the wars, so long as your boy is unable to care for himself. Important movements are going on in front, and I expect a great battle will be fought before many days, which I hope most sincerely will be decisive in our favor, and terminate “this horrid war.”12 I had letters from both Lyster and Forsyth, (whom you saw at Cincinnati) a day or two since. They are on the same staff.13 They were under orders to move. Forsyth begged to be remembered to you. Capt. Swift has been appointed Lieut. Col. of the 17th Michigan. Two of the Captains of the “Second” are trying to get the appointment of Lieutenant in the Regular Service. Maybe I didn’t write strong recommendations for them. Still I could not help thinking that I would rather have a captaincy in the “Second” than a Lieutenancy in any Regular Regt. My dear Nelly—my own wife, won’t you write to me oftener. See how pitifully I beg and do gratify me. I know I’m awfully exacting but I can’t help it. I feel so lonely. With hundreds of kisses to you and our boy, and love to you all I am your devoted husband, O. M. P. 12. Two Union expeditions were under way. From Jacksonville, Florida, 5,500 soldiers marched inland with the intent of capturing Tallahassee and installing a loyal state government. And from Vicksburg, Maj. Gen. William Sherman’s Meridian Campaign was under way, aimed at destroying railroads and engaging enemy forces in and around Meridian, Mississippi. 13. William J. Lyster and James W. Forsyth both served on the staff on Brig. Gen. John H. King. O.R., 30(1):311.

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192

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my dear nelly

Lyster says he is prepared to recognize the boy as a prodigy in the way of babies. Can’t you make a curtsy and say thank you for a compliment which is neither flattery, nor intended as such. (136) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Feby. 17th, 1864 Nelly dear, Since I wrote you with such a poor mouth yesterday I recd. the enclosed letters, and now more than half regret having made such a baby of myself. I do hope you will forget all these ridiculous things I do, and not store them up for a laugh at me, on some future occasion. I have been reading Gail Hamilton’s paper entitled, “a few words of sense,” and heartily endorse what she says. When you get a chance to do so, give it a perusal.14 We are making some splendid Photographs, and I will try to secure some of them for you, or rather for our parlor, upon the supposition that we will have one someday.15 Whenever Oliver Yost wants to buy my place, if he will write to me, and make me an offer I will consider it. Or if either he, or Uncle Thomas will say right out that they want to buy, I will then say what I will take. But I will make no offers in the dark. I have been pestered to-day by the “insanitary” people, who want all sorts of things, for their fair at Cleveland. I don’t understand the policy of begging from the army, for the benefit of the army. It seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and a lot of outsiders.16 Kisses to you and Charly, and love to you all. Your devoted husband, O. M. Poe 14. “Gail Hamilton” was the pseudonym of Mary Abigail Dodge (1833–96), an essayist of some renown during the Civil War era. During the rebellion, she urged Northern women to adopt a stoic and resolute outlook. See Sizer, Political Work of Northern Women Writers. 15. The mid-nineteenth-century parlor was a much desired room within one’s middle- or upper-class house that was filled with symbolism. It was designed to put forth an image of the owner’s gentility and place within cultured civilization. Grier, Culture & Comfort, vii, 3. 16. Poe referred derisively to the US Sanitary Commission. Organized in New York City in April 1861, its charitable mission—which Lincoln approved of in June 1861—was to provide Union soldiers with proper relief and medical supplies. The Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair was held in Cleveland from February 22 through March 10, 1864. It was organized by the women of the Soldiers’ Aid Society of Northern Ohio to raise funds for soldiers’ assistance. See Giesberg, Civil War Sisterhood.

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193

Poe’s loneliness persisted, and he dwelled on that fact with each letter home. He hardly had time to think about such matters during the workday, however, for he was inundated with preparations for the spring campaign, which included ordering and securing ample axes, saws, and many other tools and materials. He wrote in a letter dated February 21 that his current task was primarily preparing pontoon bridges. In addition to the pontoons, the army’s engineers were also responsible for constructing railroad bridges, designing forts and batteries, disrupting the enemy’s supply lines, and conducting siege warfare operations. (137) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Nashville Feby. 28th 1864 Dear wife, In the last two or three days I have been blessed to the extent of the enclosed, and I am very thankful for the letters. The boy has done you an immense amount of good, as you will readily admit if you compare your recent letters with those written a few months ago. . . . . . . I’m getting very much worried about mother. I am afraid she has worked too hard within the last few months. Her trouble appears to be, too, very much like a spell that Andrew had two or three years before he died.17 I shall anxiously wait news from her. General & Mrs. Smith reached here last night. Their child died on Friday morning at Louisville, of pneumonia, contracted while on the way from New York during the last cold spell. Imagine if you can, what Mrs. Smith’s feelings must be, since she persisted in starting, after the Genl. had telegraphed to her not to come. I enclose a Telegram which Genl. S. sent me from Cave City [Kentucky], yesterday on his way down here. The crib referred to, had been prepared for their child, and stood in the hall, near the door to their room. I had it stowed so completely out of sight that there was no danger of her seeing it, and thus having her dead child brought to mind. It is more particularly necessary to be careful, to avoid an occurrence similar to two which have already taken place, in her case. The body of the child was sent to New York for burial. The child was a boy, ten months old. The Genl. feels very badly, and I hope they may be more fortunate with the one that is coming. It seems to me that you are growing very fond of Charly, and that he is not so bad an investment after all. You are certainly more contented, and if I 17. Poe’s younger brother, Andrew Warner Poe, had died in June 1853 at the age of eighteen. Seilhamer, “Fragmenta Genealogiae,” 203–4.

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194

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my dear nelly

can judge from your letters, are a great deal happier than you have been for a long time. But I shall soon be growing jealous, as he is where he can receive all your attentions, and be happy in your love, while I am running the risk of being forgotten, because absent. Should my fears prove true, thank fortune I have a sovereign remedy. In war, it is always desirable to divide the enemy’s forces, and distract his attention. The successful accomplishment of this object is called “strategy.” Learning a lesson from the noble art of war, I will resort to the employment of “strategy. Do you comprehend? [Section of letter cut out] . . . she is from making such remarks, in the estimation of innocent young men. Verily we are all of the same clay. We will gossip, and gossip, like mince pie is none the worse for the spices. I have had another splendid letter from Winnie, and if you promise to be a good girl perhaps I will send it to you. It is just such a letter as nobody but Winnie can write. There is a speck of revolt against parental authority which is truly refreshing. It is the Wilkins’ blood exhibiting itself. When Winnie is forty, she will be her mother’s counterpart, softened however by her father’s wonderfully good disposition. I never cease to thank God that you, my own darling, have the good disposition of the Brent’s—with your energies toned up by a dash of the Wilkins’ blood. Winnie wanted to come to Nashville, but her mother would not let her. The old spite has not died out—all professions to the contrary. . . . [Section of letter cut out] . . . not have been improper, neither was the visit to New York. The same spirit which took umbrage at your visiting your husband when & where you pleased still exists. If Winnie was here now she would be company for Mrs. Smith, and could do an act of Christian Charity, quite as creditable as any of the other many highly creditable deeds of her life. With love to you all, and kisses to you and Charly, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe Assure mother of my love and sympathy Meanwhile, a grieving Mrs. Smith asked Poe if Nell could come to Nashville to visit her. He replied that he would do so only if General Smith could ensure him

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several months in Nashville, a significant request considering the spring-campaign preparations. (138) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville March 3rd 1864 Dear wife, I got the enclosed last evening, but have had nothing since, and we have had a mail. Oh such terrible weather as we have had, for the last few days, and how sadly I felt, knowing that the ice and snow would surely destroy all our chances for fruit this season. Only think of my passing a whole year without apples. Mrs. Smith appears to be growing into better spirits, but her figure is growing into no shape at all, simply a “lump.” I’m glad I never saw you looking quite so unsymmetrical. I don’t know exactly when the interesting event is to take place, but imagine that it will be in the course of four or five months. I’d like to see you retaliate by going to Lexington. I’ve gotten up quite a correspondence with Mrs. George Brand, and I would certainly hear of your doings. Not that Mrs. B. would act the spy, but you know women do so much like to gossip and, to say all sorts of things of each other, on general principles. Mrs. Grant18 is here now. I do wish that Charley was a little older so that he could bring you down here. The sad fate of Genl. Smith’s boy, who was ten months old frightens me. I don’t know what to make of the news from all directions, but very much fear that everything is not going very well. Beaten back in Florida—our cavalry repulsed in Mississippi—Longstreet getting out of E. Tenn. without molestation, and various other equally disgusting operations.19 But not the least worrying of all, is our anxiety about Sherman. We hope that all will go well, for we have the most unbounded faith in Sherman, but he is in the very heart of the enemy’s country, and in a completely isolated condition. If any man can get out without serious loss, Sherman is that man, but still, success may be beyond human power.20 18. Julia Dent Grant (1826–1902) was the wife of Major General Grant. 19. Union forces were severely whipped at the February 20 battle at Olustee, Florida. On that same day Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederate cavalry defeated Union horsemen near West Point, Mississippi. Long, Civil War Day by Day, 466. 20. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman (1820–91), West Point class of 1840, commanded the Army of the Tennessee at the time of this letter. On February 3, 1864, he began marching his 20,000 men from Vicksburg, Mississippi, eastward toward the important rail center and arsenal at Meridian. His men captured the town and destroyed much of its infrastructure. Sherman began withdrawing back toward Vicksburg on February 20, unaware that much of his cavalry had been defeated by Forrest’s horsemen. Warner, Generals in Blue, 441–44.

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my dear nelly

I hope that you have answered Mrs. Richmond’s letter before this. I would have written to her before this, but like the simpleton that I am, I did not take the precaution to preserve the address. Now if that isn’t a broad hint, I don’t know what it is. With love to you all, and kisses to you & Charly, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe I’m going to quit sending kisses to Charly, for you know, I don’t care about kissing anybody but you. (139) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville March 4th, 1864 My darling, Still another day & no letter from you. Have you put me on no rations at all? Genls. Grant and Smith started for Washington this morning.21 Think of Mrs. Smith’s sad journey back to New York, whence she started so short a time since with such high hopes. I have but little doubt but Smith will be in command of the A. of P. before many days, but this is sub rosa. If Genl. Grant takes up his Head Quarters at Cincinnati as he may do, we will go there. How would you like to live in Cinti? It is too bad to teaze you in this way, but really I can’t help it. I like to put the nectar to your lips, just for the sake of taking it away again. I enclose Smith’s check on New York for $53.00 that he owed me. I endorse it payable to your order. You endorse it, and get the money on it at Massillon. There is a rumor flying through town that Mobile is captured. I don’t believe it, for it is almost too good to be true. If Mobile has fallen, it is in awful blow to the rebellion.22 Writing to you every day and getting nothing in reply rather discourages me, and disposes me to say very little though I have a strong notion to drop everything also and say all sorts of scolding things about your silence. And listen to my threat—if you don’t write I will scrape an acquaintance with some lady in the city and will devote myself to her. So take care—don’t imagine because I am so far away that I can’t get revenge. 21. Unknown to Poe, Grant was heading to Washington to receive promotion to lieutenant general and overall command of all Union armies from Lincoln. Grant, Personal Memoirs, 2:114–15. 22. Poe’s doubts about the rumored capture of Mobile, Alabama, were correct. This important Gulf Coast port town was not captured by the Union navy until the war’s waning days in April 1865.

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But to drop all jesting and complaining, I can assure you that your next letter will be kissed lots of times. It is the next best thing to kissing your own dear hand. Pshaw—I’m making a goose of myself and will shut up. With love to you all, and kisses to you and our boy, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (140) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Mch 11th Nell Dear, Yesterday, after waiting with a patience which would have been creditable upon the part of poor old Jacob, I came [to] my office, and found the three enclosed letters. One you will see has been on the road for nearly two weeks, and it is only thirty six hours from home here. But if your letters were long coming, they were good when they did come. Your disquisition upon military movements, particularly those on the flank, or in rear of the enemy, is excellent. I only regret that I can’t give a practical illustration of those muchtalked-of bits of strategy. It needs the rank of General officer to make them effective, vide occurrences during the time I actually held the rank of B. G. Still we have nothing more from Washington, than the mere newspaper rumors, to the effect that General Smith is to be appointed to the command of the Army of the Potomac. The matter must be decided before long, and Genl. Grant’s presence in Washington will tend to hurry matters up very wonderfully. I think the prospect of my getting my grade of Brig. Genl. to date from the storming of Fort Sanders, is tolerably good. Smith will do for me, whatever he can.23 Wasn’t the reception of the 2nd in Detroit perfectly glorious[?] It has done them a great deal of good, as they had thought because nothing was said about them, that they were forgotten. But I am disgusted that Sylvester Larned had anything to do with it.24

23. Poe hoped (and perhaps expected) that once Smith assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, he would become the general’s chief engineer officer, with the appropriate rank of brigadier general, due in large measure to the two men’s professional familiarity and personal friendship. 24. Detroit lawyer Sylvester Larned was commissioned the 2nd Michigan Infantry’s lieutenant colonel at age forty-one in July 1861. He resigned due to illness on March 6, 1862. Poe was not impressed with his subordinate. Ross, Early Bench and Bar of Detroit, 116–23.

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my dear nelly

I don’t know but it was a mistake not to go to Detroit to be present at that reception myself. It was hard to decide at the time. But I could illy spare the money, which it would have required, and consequently thought it most prudent not to go. One thing is certain, the people of Detroit will see how I stood, with those who shared the danger with me. I can’t form any idea as to what we are going to do, and therefore can’t give a definite answer to your request to be allowed to come out here and join me. But you can rest assured that I will send for you at the very earliest opportunity. The separation is as hard a trial for me, as it possibly can be for you. I send you a photograph of myself, as suggested by mother. I will have some more taken in a few days, with the hope that I will succeed in getting on my face a little better expression. The picture was taken by the same man that took that good one of me in New York. With love to you all, and kisses to you and our boy, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe Poe departed Nashville on March 12 to conduct a series of inspections in Chattanooga and Knoxville. (141) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland / Office Chief Engineer [letterhead] Chattanooga Tenn. Mch 13th 1864 My dear wife, I left Nashville yesterday as I expected, and after a very tedious trip reached here at 4:30 p.m. to-day. I don’t know that I ought to say tedious, for did I not have the ineffable pleasure of Miss Boyd’s company. She was on her way to Knoxville, from her visit to the North. But she had with her, a vile cousin, for whom she evidently had a great liking for when he sat beside her, she sat up quite closely to [him], but when I was in one end of the seat, she got as far from me as she could at the other end of the seat. I tried to affect the fatherly, but it was no use, she would not put her blessed little head with her blessed little eyes, on my shoulder once. I don’t know whether I will be able to go on to Knoxville with them tomorrow or not, but hope I will. Chattanooga is even a more woe-begone place than Knoxville was. You can’t imagine a more perfect picture of war’s devastation. Capt. Baylor of

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the Ordnance Corps,25 formally at Fortress Monroe, where you met him, is here, and has as his assistant Tom Spencer, who appears to be getting along remarkably well. Travelling through the mountain region of Southern Tenn. and Northern Alabama today reminded me very forcibly of our ride through Western Va. one year ago, and the light tho’ pleasant badinage which passed between us regarding the population of that region. How innocent and unsophisticated we were, and how little either of us expected we were twitting quite so closely upon facts. Since writing the above, I have ascertained that we will get started in the morning for Knoxville, and that I will have the pleasure of accompanying Miss B. With love to you all, and kisses to you and Charly I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (142) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Knoxville Tenn. Mch 17 1864 My darling, I reached here yesterday and have been very busy ever since, in going over the fortifications. I find everything very much changed, the works have been greatly improved, and it looks as though our people intend to stay. The 9th Army Corps has been ordered east, to Annapolis. I don’t know where it will go from there. I am staying with Col. Babcock, the living is rather hard, still it is the best that can be procured here, and soldiers ought not to growl. I have not seen Miss Boyd since we got here, but intend calling upon her this evening. I think we will be able to get some splendid views of this place, and its surroundings. I will try to have a set, which will give you a good idea of the great city of Knoxville. I will try to bring away from K—this time, something to remember the place by, say something from Fort Sanders. Smith has been appointed a Major Genl. in the Regular Army. Now that it seems as though justice was going to be done, I begin to have some hope.26 25. Capt. Thomas G. Baylor (1837–90), West Point class of 1857, was chief of ordnance for the Army of the Cumberland as of November 5, 1863. Cullum’s Register, 2:450–51. 26. “Baldy” Smith was reappointed major general to rank from March 9, 1864. As of this letter, Poe was still hoping Smith would transfer him east and provide him with an

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my dear nelly

It is very cold now, though as we came along up the road, I noticed that the peach trees were in full bloom. With love to you all and kisses to you and Charly, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe (143) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Mch 27th /64 Nelly dear, Easter Sunday, and I did not have the grace, I am sorry to say, to go to church. Military necessity intervened, and destroyed all the good intentions I had. I have been so busy that I really have not had time. I have not been able yet to go around and see the pretty Mrs. P. so you see that I am indeed pressed. I recd. a letter yesterday written on the 22, which was a tolerably quick trip. I am beginning to want my nice clothes, very badly, but I am afraid to tell you to send them as I may be ordered away before they could reach here. It may be that I will be able to come for them, that would be the best plan, but then it is dangerous. Of course I was not a member of Grant’s staff, and therefore could not expect to be taken along with him to Washington. I never did expect that, but only to go with Smith, provided he could get me made a Brig. Genl. I see that the Senate has confirmed him, as Maj. Genl. of Volunteers, to date from the 9th of March, and that he has been assigned to duty as Chief of Staff to Genl. Grant. This puts a quietus to my chances of promotion.27 At present I am as much in doubt as anyone could be, about my destination. If no one senior to me, comes here, I will remain (probably) with the Hd. Qtrs. of the Mily. Divn, but if, as I anticipate, some older engineer officer is sent here, I may be ordered elsewhere. I am very deeply interested in your accounts of our boy (wonderful father!). I am the most cheerful listener to all you have to say on that subject, that you possibly could have. But I also like to hear of yourself, as you are still nearer & dearer than the boy. Have you no cunning little ways that you can tell me about for your own self? I know of many.

important promotion in both rank and responsibility. Warner, Generals in Blue, 463. Also see chapter 3, note 30, and chapter 4, note 11. 27. With no personal or professional connection at all to Grant, Poe realized his chances of promotion to brigadier general and being transferred east based on his experience and friendship with “Baldy” Smith were nil. He remained in the western theater.

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You ask me to have my hair cut and then to have a picture taken. I had my hair cut in Knoxville, but the barber went to the other extreme, and clipped it decidedly too short. My Fort Sanders picture will probably show this plainly enough. In that case you will make as much sport of it, as you do of my precious vest, got of larger size in order to get as much as possible for my money. Talking of money, I’m really going to send you some in a few days, and you must not start for Detroit until you get it, for I want you to carry the check along with you and get it cashed after you get there, as that will be the safest way to carry the money. I would like so much to see Charly in his new cloak & fixings, and sincerely hope it may not be very long until I have that pleasure. I don’t send you Win’s letter back, because I suppose you don’t care much about any advice upon the subject she treats of, being now a very “knowing” body yourself. With love to you all, and kisses to you, my own darling wife, I am your husband O. M. Poe Poe continued to write daily letters to Nell, with routine family matters taking up almost all of the space, thus those letters are not included here. He humorously noted her jealously of Susan Boyd and playfully dared Nell to follow through on her threats of retaliation. Such flirtation, even between a husband and wife, was considered an art form in the mid-nineteenth century. (144) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Nashville Mch 30th /64 My dear wife, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are always days of disappointment. I never get letters from you on those days, owing to the fact that north of Louisville, no mail is carried on Sunday. But to-night I will look for one, certain. . . . . . . Forsyth, (whom you saw at Cincinnati) passed through here yesterday on his way east. He has been on the staff with Will Lyster. He was in company with Genl. Sheridan, who, I imagine, tho’ I don’t know, is going to have a command in the Army of the Potomac.28 28. Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan (1831–88), West Point class of 1853, had served in the western theater to this date. Soon to be a famous cavalry commander, up to the time of Poe’s letter, he had commanded only infantry. Sheridan and his staff were heading east,

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my dear nelly

How plainly can be seen Smith’s work in that army. Pleasanton ordered to Missouri, Sickles ordered to Kansas, French ordered to Philadelphia, and a parcel of coots of Brig. Generals ordered to leave without being even told that they are wanted anywhere else.29 The papers still insist upon it that Smith is a Major Genl. in the Regular Army. I don’t know how it is. The news for a few days has been excessively meagre. No dispatches appear in the Papers. It looks very much as though something was wrong somewhere. It is difficult to tell just what is going on, but it must be very important, when all dispatches are stopped. It has suddenly occurred to me that your particular object in going to Detroit, is to have our boy christened. If so, don’t hesitate about it, for I certainly have no objection to make. Only if it is done when I am not there. I want it distinctly understood, that his name is Charles Carroll, and not Charles Burnside. I’m going to send you some money in a few days, if you can get along until I have a chance to see a paymaster. Otherwise I will borrow some until the P.M. [paymaster] comes. Only think of it, for the first time in a long while I have two months’ pay due me. With love to you all, and kisses to you and Charly, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (145) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Apl. 3rd, 1864 My dear, I yesterday received an order from Genl. Smith to join him at Fortress Monroe. Genl. Sherman won’t let me go, until further orders, so that I must still hang on here “by the eyelids.” I don’t know what is going on, but Genl. Grant and Genl. Smith both going to Fortress Monroe looks very much like a repetition of the Peninsular Campaign—need I say how sincerely I hope not?30 where Grant would place him in overall command of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry operations. Warner, Generals in Blue, 437–39. 29. Army of the Potomac commanding general George Meade initiated a corps reorganization and consolidation following the 1863 Gettysburg and Mine Run Campaigns, due, in part, to the military backbiting against him. The process and results were not unlike a game of musical chairs, with numerous generals purportedly disloyal to Meade having their commands eliminated or sent elsewhere. Anti-Meade major generals Alfred Pleasanton, William French, and especially Daniel Sickles were among those who found themselves relieved of duty with the Army of the Potomac. Sears, Lincoln’s Lieutenants, 612–17. 30. Sherman knew that experienced and qualified staff officers, especially West Point– trained engineers, were a scarce and valuable commodity in the western theater. Therefore,

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headquartered in tennessee and preparing for georgia 203

I enclose a check upon New York for two hundred dollars. I have reserved fifty dollars of the amount which I intended to send you, until it is decided whether or not I go east. If I remain here I won’t want it, but if I go east I will want it to pay my expenses. I am in the midst of a perfect rush of work—have not sent off my papers for last month yet, but hope to get them away to-day. Pardon the urgency which makes this letter so short. I have not heard from you since the 24th March. With love to you all, and kisses to you in Charly, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe Poe’s frustrations as to his next post continued. He still hoped to return east, however Sherman, now in command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, would not allow it, leaving Poe in what he described as “a glorious state of uncertainty.” By April 8, the general informed him that, per the War Department, he was to remain with Sherman indefinitely. In addition, any hope of a furlough home was quashed by Sherman as he made plans for his upcoming campaign. Poe’s letters to Nell not included here continued to focus on her, their son, and on the comings and goings of various relatives. In addition to his war responsibilities, Poe continued to build on his growing interest in photography. (146) Poe to Eleanor Poe—Poe Papers, Library of Congress Nashville Apl. 19th Dear Nell, I have no letters to enclose to you, for I have not recd. any from you since Saturday. But I don’t mean to grumble for I know you must be somewhat busy, preparing to go (if not gone) to Detroit. When I wrote you last I said that I might possibly be able to come up and see you. I fear that all hope is destroyed. I broached the subject to Genl. Sherman, and he put such a damper upon the project that I feel there is no use to think of it any more. I am getting ready for the field, as I am tolerably confident that we will be on the march within a couple of weeks—and if we are successful, we will probably not make a very long halt this summer.31 I am more particularly engaged just at present in photographing, than in and unknown to Poe at the time, he had no intention of losing the few he had. Brooks and Simpson, Sherman’s Civil War, 576–79. 31. Poe was correct. The Atlanta Campaign began on May 7.

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anything else. I enclose another of myself, and one of Genl. Sherman, principally valuable because it has an autographic note to me on the back of it. I send you a number of others in another envelope. I think the vignette of Genl. Sherman is the best. It is just exactly like him, though the Genl., in his note, referred to above, considers it too “fierce.” I don’t want you to give these pictures away that I send you, because they are all chosen particularly for ourselves, and most of them have an autograph, or something else with them, which makes them particularly valuable. I am going to send you some more of myself to-morrow. I do think my vanity is perfectly killing. I do nothing but have pictures taken, and send you. Indeed I don’t send them to anybody else, and I probably would not send so many to you, were I not anxious to remove the bad impression given by the one I sent you some time since. Remember you are to send me one of yourself, taken with Charly, as soon as you get to Detroit. I send one of Mrs. Plummer along, so that you may see how she looks. I scarcely know whether I ought to direct this to Detroit or to Navarre. I guess that after to-morrow, I will direct alternately to both places, until I hear from you more definitively. With love to you all, and many kisses to yourself, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe I am going to quit sending kisses to Charly, for he is getting to be too big to treat in that manner. (147) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Apl. 24th 1864 Dear Nell, After I wrote you yesterday I have recd. your letter of the 19th and the box of clothes, for all of which I am indeed thankful, positively I was reduced to extremities in the way of clothing, but now thank fortune I am able to make a respectable appearance. Why don’t you write some of the gossip you refer to, put it into cipher, and then there will be no trouble about it. You have never yet written me a “mysterious” line, and I begin to doubt whether or not you can. I performed a barbarous act of mutilation this morning—cut off my imperial,32 so you see that I don’t expect to show myself in your presence for some time to come. 32. An “imperial” is a small, pointed beard grown just below the lower lip and on the chin. It is associated with Napoleon III of France.

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I have also put on one of the new shirts you sent me. They fit most admirably, and I am indeed very much obliged to you for them. You may well imagine how completely I am conquered, when, I am willing to admit that you did me a great favor in making, and sending me the shirts. I am the recipient of all sorts of complements now-a-days, but I will not repeat them, or you will think, and perhaps justly, that I am growing very vain. I wish you would remember me to those men of the “Second,” whom you may see. Pay them all due attention, and make the lot of the poor wounded fellows as cheerful as you can. I care more for the respect and esteem of those brave soldiers, who have been tried in the fire with me, than I do of all the world beside. We know the measure of each other’s value, a knowledge gained where there was no deception, and my dear wife, the respect which those men show you is extremely gratifying to me. Theirs is that true chivalry inherent in the brave. It may lie under a rough coat, and rude measures, and sometimes does, but it is not the less real, nor should it be any more ignored than if it had appeared under the courtly garb of the knights of old. (Lecture No. 1). Love to you all, and kisses to yourself. Tell Winnie that I am anxiously looking for her letter, and expect to enjoy it hugely. Yours devotedly, O. M. Poe (148) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Nashville Apl. 26th / 64 Dear Nell, I enclose a note I have just recd. from Genl. Sherman. You will see that we are about to take the field, and that he wants me. That is satisfactory to say the least.33 Be sure to preserve the note. Direct your letters to the care of Maj. Genl. W. T. Sherman, instead of Box 735. They will then follow us into the field. I think the remarks of your female friends about the baby are somewhat, if not more. Tell Syl Allen that if she is so extremely anxious upon the subject, that you know a person well versed in the mysteries, whom you can recommend. You can also say that she may build up her hopes, as I intend, or rather expect to go to Newport News one of these days. The distance 33. One week later, on May 3, Sherman issued his Special Field Orders No. 1, naming those officers who would compose his field staff for the upcoming campaign. With “Baldy” Smith gone, Poe was now Sherman’s clear choice for chief engineer. O.R., 38(4):23–24.

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from Detroit is not so great but she might venture upon the journey as others have done before.—Poor Ned Tibbles, who cooked the oysters (roasted) for us at Col. Dillman’s, on that fatal night, has been badly wounded in the face, by a rifle shot. He is the same man I was going to kill the night of the battle of Chantilly.34 Tell Winnie that her request about increasing the number of her nephews, is to say the least of it, a decidedly modest one. She must think you a very devoted sister. But let her ask what she pleases. I tell you that if you grant her request, I will turn you out of doors. So choose between your husband and your sister.—I’m dying to know what it is that you can’t repeat, said to you by Syl Allen. Write it in cipher, and carefully at that. I will understand it. The poetry is beautiful. I return it that it may be preserved in the scrapbook. I also send some more with it. I have ordered some more Photographs, and will send them to you to-morrow. I enclose pictures of Genl. McPherson35 & others. Be careful to preserve them. I have some beautiful Photographic views, which I will send you by express—probably to-morrow. At the same time I will send you some maps, which you must not show to everybody, at least not until after the war. I merely send them to you, in order to preserve to myself, specimens of my own handiwork. Give my love to your mother & Winnie. I hope Miss Toos & Charly will be great friends. Your affc. husband, O. M. Poe Be sure to pay your grandfather every possible attention. He is your grandfather, and therefore entitled to this attention—he is white headed with age, and therefore entitled to your respect. Be assured my dear wife, none of his children but have worried him as much at some time or other as he now worries his children. Poe started out for Chattanooga on Thursday, April 28. He expected the campaign to begin on Monday, May 2, or possibly May 3.

34. The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill) was fought on September 1, 1862, just outside of Fairfax, Virginia. 35. Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson (1828–64) graduated first in his West Point class of 1853. He was at this time the commanding general of the Army of the Tennessee. Warner, Generals in Blue, 306–8.

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(149) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Chattanooga Tenn. Apl. 30th 1864 Nelly dear, We arrived here safely yesterday morning, and had hardly gotten out of the cars before we were on horseback, and we have been on the go ever since. To-day Genls. Sherman, Thomas, and Barry36—and utilities Poe &c., went to the top of Lookout Mountain,37 Rossville and sundry other places now rendered historical. The enclosed “poesies” were plucked by your faithful & devoted husband, and are a reminiscence of the very top-most peak of Lookout Mountain and my visit thereto. Everything here, wears a smiling face. It is sad to think that before another week rolls around, perhaps before you receive this letter, many of the bright faces we see about us will be white and cold in death, or distorted with the agony of wounds. Where the birds are now making so merry and warbling songs in welcome of the newborn spring, will be heard the shriek of the shell, the whistle of the bullet, & the horrid music of terrible war. We are going into battle, with the highest hopes of success—but God help us if we fail! Pshaw! how sentimental I grow, and how you will laugh at me for being the pretender I have been, in asserting that I never am guilty of the silly sentimentality of the sophomore. I sent you from Nashville a box of Photographs, maps &c.—which are our property; also a roll, which encloses my panoramic views of Knoxville. You know how I value these things, and can readily imagine that when we have our own neat little cottage & our own fireside, these pictures, in gorgeous frames will adorn the walls, in preference to all others. I enclose the express receipt for the packages referred to. I send you by mail to-day 5 Photographic views of Chattanooga, which are ours, and will add somewhat to our collection. I have not seen Will Lyster yet, but hope to do so to-morrow, or next day. I have not seen anybody whom you know. Tell Winnie that I have not recd. her letter yet. Tell your mother that I will answer hers very shortly, and hope to be able to do so in such a way that her threat to make her last one suffice for six months. Thank god! My wife’s mother can’t write an uninteresting 36. Major General Thomas commanded the 60,000-man Army of the Cumberland. Also see chapter 5, note 52. Brig. Gen. William F. Barry (1818–79), West Point class of 1838, was chief of artillery on Sherman’s staff. Warner, Generals in Blue, 22–23, 500–502. 37. Site of the November 24, 1863, action poetically dubbed the “Battle above the Clouds.”

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letter, even were she to try. Oh how I would like to sit down and have a good long talk with her, for somehow, I have become impressed with the idea that she understands me at last, a fact which gives me very great pleasure. But “tempis fugit” & I must stop.38 I will write again to-morrow, if I can find time. I will write every day that I can. I wish you would tell our son Charles that he is now regarded as being on his good behavior, and any departure from a line of the strictest propriety will draw down upon him the frown of his father. I sent you in the box a lot of envelopes with my address printed upon them. With love to you all and more than love to you my own dear wife, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (150) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Chattanooga, May 2nd Dear wife, Yesterday I rode with Genl. Sherman, to the eastern end of Mission Ridge, where he had his fight on the 24th & 25th of Nov. Of course I was very deeply interested, particularly as the Genl. was so kind as to go over the story of the fight, and thus gave me an excellent opportunity to understand the Battle of Chattanooga. I was so happy as the recipient of two letters from you yesterday, that the 1st May was one of the brightest I have seen for many a year. I also recd. a gorgeous letter from Win. I was delighted with it, and were it not for fear that it would bore her I would answer it to-day. But I will let the matter rest for a few days in order to allow her to forget the trouble of answering, & then will spring upon her, a wonderful production of epistolary art. I enclose a few flowers which I gathered on the ground where Sherman’s hardest fighting took place. There were graves all around them, and the trees about there were torn all to pieces with bullets. Don’t blame me for such evidences of sentimental weakness, as I have recently exhibited. I don’t know why it is, but I am very happy now-a-days and the tone of my feelings is influenced by the condition of my mind. And if you object to my playing the lover now in our married life, I will have to console myself with the fact that you can’t help yourself. . . .

38. Tempis fugit is a Latin phrase that translates to “time flies.”

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. . . Win grows enthusiastic over Charly, but I think regards the boy’s mother still more. I won’t send you her letter for you would go to putting on airs &c.—and those you know I never could stand. Amongst Win, your mother, et al, both you and poor Charly stand a good chance of being spoiled. Still I will hope that the wiles of those who surround you, will not lead you from your good old ways of wifely womanhood. With love to you all, but more particularly to you and our boy, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Poe’s pride and ego shone through in this next letter to Nell, as he pointed out how he was chosen by Sherman to be the general’s chief engineer while holding only a captain’s rank. Such prestigious positions usually went to an army engineer who was at least a brigadier general. But he was also well aware that social discretion was paramount and that he must not be seen by the public as tooting his own horn, which would have been considered a significant social faux pas within the era’s genteel culture. (151) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Chattanooga, Tenn. May 3rd 1864 My dear wife, I have just recd. your letter of the 27th and was indeed glad to get it. Your letters come to me now much quicker than they did from Navarre. Do you know that I fairly boiled with rage when I read of the treatment which the “Second” was receiving? I don’t pity the Captains very much, for they were determined to have Col. Humphrey.39 He was their choice. I never thought him a very true man, though a good soldier and am not surprised that he “feathered his own nest.” I feel very certain that the Second will now regret more than ever that I was separated from them.—And to tell the truth, I sometimes regret it myself, for I cannot bear with any patience to hear of those men being abused—and I don’t think that they could have been imposed on if I had been with them. 39. Col. William Humphrey enlisted with the 2nd Michigan Infantry as captain of Company D in April 1861. He became the regiment’s third and last colonel in February 1863, despite doubts from Poe and some captains as to his ability. Following the Knoxville Campaign, the regiment received a thirty-day furlough to Detroit. To everyone’s surprise, the 2nd was ordered in April to rejoin the Army of the Potomac. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:93–94; Robertson, Michigan in the War, 199–200; Sears, For Country, Cause, & Leader, 318–21.

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We will move out to Ringgold [Georgia], within a day or two, and I suppose the Battle will take place very soon afterwards. I have not seen Will Lyster yet. I sent word to him to come and see me, but I suppose he is too busy. I will see him when we go to the front. We have done a great deal of running around. Of our journies I have written you some description in former letters. We will start for Ringgold, Georgia, to-morrow morning. I enclose Lieut. H. C. Whating’s check for $135.84, the amount of my pay for the month of April. In acknowledging the receipt of it, give me a sort of statement of your financial condition, so that I may govern myself accordingly.40 I enclose Genl. Sherman’s first order. You will see that I, a captain, figure as Chief Engineer, amongst a lot of Brig. Genls.41 It would not do any harm if a copy of the order found its way into the Detroit papers. Tell your mother to manage it. I send my official copy, which you must keep, and two others which you can use. The one addressed to me in Red ink, is the official copy. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe The check is made payable to your own order. When you want to draw the money on it, you will have to write your name across the back. Mr. Adams will give you the money on it. (152) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Chattanooga, Tenn. May 5th, 1864 Dear Nell, We are all packed up ready to start for Ringgold, and while waiting for the word to march, I will write a few lines. The army of the Cumberland will advance on Tunnel Hill to-day, in fact has already marched, and we are listening every minute for the sound of the guns, showing that the outposts are in collision. Genl. Grant moves with the 40. As a captain of engineers in the regular army, Poe’s official pay was approximately $130.00 per month, or $1,560.00 per year. By comparison, a carpenter averaged $1.97 per day in 1860, or roughly $600 per year. Poe’s well-above-average pay allowed Nell to remain a full-time homemaker without having to seek employment elsewhere, a fate that befell so many Northern women whose husbands were away from home. Secretary of War, Army Register for 1864, 112; Secretary of the Interior, Statistics of the United States in 1860, 512. 41. Special Field Orders No. 1, O.R., 38(4):23–24.

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army of the Potomac this morning.42 It is grand to contemplate, the combined movement of two such armies, and when we reflect that they will probably be opposed by numbers very nearly equal, we feel almost bewildered in the vastness of the operations. Six hundred thousand men (effective) are now struggling for the mastery, and blood will run more freely than water, within a very few days. I enclose the lock of Henry Clay’s hair,43 which Mr. Duncan gave me in Lexington, last summer. I want you to have it put into a ring, or breastpin, or some other article of jewelry. But when you send it to the jewelers, be sure not to tell him whose hair it is, or he will steal it all, and substitute some other. I also enclose a map which you will see by looking at the date, was printed this morning. I sent you some good maps in the box of Photographs, but this is the latest and consequently the best. It is the same with that we have issued to all the commanding officers in the field. We print them on linen, for convenience of carrying. I will go to see Will Lyster as soon as we reach Ringgold, if he is within a reasonable distance. With love to you all, and assurances of devotion to you & Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe

42. The Army of the Potomac actually moved out of its camps north of the Rapidan River just after midnight on May 3–4 to commence its 1864 Overland Campaign to Richmond. The Battle of the Wilderness began on May 5. See Rhea, Battle of the Wilderness. 43. Henry Clay (1777–1852) was the Kentucky attorney, congressman, and senator known as the “Great Compromiser” for helping mitigate earlier North-South crises.

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R “You Never Saw Men in Such Spirits as Ours Are Now” The Atlanta Campaign, May 6–September 3, 1864

T

he Atlanta Campaign began with Poe serving as Major General Sherman’s chief engineer. Sherman’s three armies—the Army of the Ohio, the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Cumberland—totaling approximately 98,000 men, left their Chattanooga camps for Georgia. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and his 60,000man Army of Tennessee were waiting for them about thirty miles to the south on the high ridges surrounding the railroad hub of Dalton, Georgia.1 Sherman’s orders from Lieutenant General Grant were “to move against Johnston’s army, to break it up and to get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources.”2 (153) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Ringgold Georgia May 6th 1864 My dear wife, We arrived here yesterday evening, all right, and I at once hunted up Will 1. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (1807–91), West Point class of 1829, had been the highestranking US Army officer to resign his commission for service with the Confederacy after his native Virginia’s 1861 secession. He was commanding general of the Confederate forces at First Bull Run and then those that opposed General McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign until wounded during the first day of the Battle of Seven Pines. Johnston now led the Army of Tennessee, having replaced General Bragg in December 1863. Warner, Generals in Gray, 161–62. 2. Grant to Sherman, O.R., 32(3):245–46.

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Lyster. I staid with him for some hours, and took supper with him. He was complaining of being a little sick, but I guess his illness was not serious. After supper, he rode down with me from their camp, to our Head Quarters. On our way down, we passed [Brig.] Genl. [Richard] Johnson’s Head Quarters, where I saw Fred Trowbridge.3 To-day the Genl. and I rode over to Catoosa Springs—a distance of about four miles from here. I saw several Generals there, but I think you don’t know any of them except Genl. Stanley4 and T. J. Wood.—The latter inquired very particularly about you, indeed so direct were his questions that they led me to believe there was a good deal of the old leaven remaining. I am stopping at Genl. Baird’s Head Quarters,5 doing so in preference to lying four or five deep at our own Head Quarters. I saw a very fine photograph of Mrs. B, over the Genls mantle piece. It was very pretty, and I think flatters her somewhat, as I never thought that she was particularly handsome. I suppose the army will attack to-morrow. But we do not anticipate a very stubborn resistance by the enemy at Tunnel Hill. The trouble will occur more particularly at Buzzard Roost, nearer Dalton. The Army of the Potomac seems to have met with very little resistance thus far. It seems to be doubtful whether the enemy is going to make a stand north of Richmond & Gordonsville.6 This is a very poor country, with very little about it to make it interesting. Catoosa Springs were well provided with big hotels, little hotels, bath houses, nauseating water, and all the other accompaniments of such localities. It was a place of great resort for the chivalric southrons, before the war. We are resorting there at present. Love to you all, and kisses to you and our bairn. O. M. Poe

3. Charles Frederick Trowbridge (1837–78) was a Detroit lawyer and had enlisted in the 1st Michigan Infantry when the war began. He was a captain in the 16th US Infantry at the time of Poe’s letter. Trowbridge, Trowbridge Genealogy, 614. 4. Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley (1828–1902), West Point class of 1852, commanded a division in the IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 470–71. 5. Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird (1824–1905), West Point class of 1849, commanded a division in the XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 15–16. 6. Poe was unaware of the brutal and ongoing Battle of the Wilderness. Grant’s and Lee’s armies suffered a combined 25,000 casualties in the tangled thickets just west of Fredericksburg over two days of combat, May 5–6.

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“The Atlanta Campaign, May–September 1864”

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(154) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Tunnel Hill, Georgia May 7th 1864 Dear Nelly, We’ve reached here this morning about 10 a.m., after some skirmishing, the Rebels occupy Buzzard Roost in force. Your map will show you where these places are. This is a very strong position, and if the rebels had been at all stubborn, they would have given us a great deal of trouble. I suppose we will have some fighting to-morrow, and in that way keep our Sabbath, just about the time you are stepping gaily off to church. The rebels say that Grant is advancing with [the] Army of the Potomac. All this shows that stirring times are upon us. It looks very strangely to see the two armies face to face with each other, the enemy upon one hill, and we upon the other.7 I was strongly tempted to-day to go into the “coffee trade”—but refrained— so much for “Lang Syne.” I will write you every time I have a chance, though my letters may all be like this one, very short, and written with a lead pencil. With love to you all, and (as you well know) devotion to you & Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (155) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Tunnel Hill, Ga. May 10th 1864 Dear Wife, I have only time to write very rapidly. I have just come from our left, where Genl. Schofield8 commands, and am waiting to get a bite to eat before going to the lines again. We have had hard skirmishing for three days. The enemy is strongly posted in Buzzard Roost, and along the crest of Rocky Face Mountain, and we will have hard fighting to dislodge him. We have all heard the good news from the grand old Army of the Potomac, and are willing to try and emulate their gallantry.9 7. As Poe had expected, the Rebels were dug in at Buzzard Roost along Rocky Face Ridge, with Union forces occupying Tunnel Hill. 8. Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield (1831–1906), West Point class of 1853, served as the Army of the Ohio’s commanding general during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 425–26. 9. Rather than retreat following the bloody Wilderness battle, as the Army of the Potomac had done in the past after clashing with the Army of Northern Virginia, Grant had his

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I am as anxious as you possibly can be, that the war should end, but it is not over yet. I can hear the firing now, both artillery and musketry very plainly and as soon as I have had a lunch, will go out and see what is going on. As I returned from Genl. Schofield’s this morning, I came via Genl. Wood’s d rt H Q —and got from him a very good drink, which was all the more palatable because it was raining quite hard, and I had been riding ever since daylight and was nearly tired out. The Genl. had a great deal to say about you, and requested me to give you his love. He was quite voluble. I think it quite strange that you had not received when your last letter was dated (May 3rd) the box of photographs and maps I sent you by express. I am anxious to hear [of ] them, as I value them very highly. With love to you all, and assurances of devotion to yourself, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Rather than attack Johnston’s Confederates head on, Union scouts had discovered that Snake Creek Gap, about seventeen miles south of Buzzard’s Roost, was virtually undefended. On May 9 Maj. Gen. James McPherson and his Army of the Tennessee advanced through the gap, though they failed to attack. Three days later the remainder of Sherman’s command, Poe included, was marching through the gap. Johnston, meanwhile, withdrew and formed defensive lines at Resaca. (156) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Snake Creek Gap Near Resaca, Ga. May 12th 1864 Dear Wife, This is “away down south.” We arrived here this afternoon late, and are waiting patiently for our very small allowance of baggage to come up. I am writing in the open air, by the light of a pine knot fire, and can assure you that there might be a great many worse lights in the world, tho’ the wind sometimes blows the smoke over this way and stops my writing awhile. Of course I know what we came here for, but it will not do to write anything about it. A few days more will develop our plans, and all the world will then be able to judge whether or not they were good. There has been very little fighting yet, though the rebels claim that they numerically superior forces continue the southward advance around Lee’s right flank toward Richmond. The two armies collided again beginning May 8 at Spotsylvania Court House.

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have repulsed us. Of the truth of that assertion they will be better able to speak in a few days more, for we are certainly going to fight them, and it is just as certain that one party or the other will get whipped. We are making some bold moves down here, and no mortal man can say what the result will be, but there is some consolation in knowing that there will be a result. Either the rebel army will be badly used up, or we will be terribly defeated. This is rather a wild and romantic sort of place. We are now at the south eastern end of Snake Creek Gap, near Sugar Valley (vide the Borioboolan10 handkerchief map I sent you) and are on Johnston’s left rear. I think our force is fully equal to his, but I don’t know. I don’t want to say exactly what route we took to-day, but by remembering where we were a day or two since, and referring to the map, you can easily tell what road we must have passed over. I have been thus verbose my dear, because I want you to understand this campaign (no reflection) so that when the cruel war is over, we can talk it over, by our own hearthstone. Of course we have the good news from the Army of the Potomac, it has been published to the troops, and I can hear their shouts of gladness.11 We all regret the loss of Genl. Sedgwick,12 and Andy Webb.13 Genl. Getty, I see, was wounded.14 The rebel pickets last night called out to ours, that Genl. Longstreet was dead.15 With love to you all, and continued devotion to yourself and our little one, I am your husband, O. M. Poe 10. “Borioboolan” refers to Borioboola-Gha,, a fictional African setting in Charles Dickens’s novel Bleak House. 11. The Army of the Potomac was on the attack at Spotsylvania Court House, with its cavalry less than twenty miles from Richmond. Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11 and died the next day. 12. Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick commanded the Army of the Potomac’s VI Corps. He was killed by a Confederate sniper on May 9, 1864, near Spotsylvania Court House while reconnoitering the area with his aides, making him one of the highest-ranking Union officers killed during the war. Warner, Generals in Blue, 430–31. Also see chapter 2, note 44. 13. Brig. Gen. Alexander “Andy” Webb (1835–1911), West Point class of 1855, though not killed as Poe thought, was gravely wounded during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Warner, Generals in Blue, 544–45. 14. Brig. Gen. George W. Getty (1819–1901), West Point class of 1840, was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness, where he commanded a division in the VI Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 170–71. 15. Those Confederate pickets were incorrect. Lieutenant General Longstreet was severely wounded on May 6 during the Battle of the Wilderness, but he survived his wounds and the war.

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May 13–15 brought the bloody Battle of Resaca, which Poe referred to in his next letter. Three days of inconclusive fighting led to the Confederates withdrawing from the field, farther back toward Atlanta. (157) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Resaca Ga. May 14th 1864 Dear Wife, I write in a great hurry. We had a sharp fight to-day, principally on our left, near the head waters of Camp Creek. I have no idea what our loss is, but it is considerable. Genl. Manson,16 whom we knew in Lebanon was wounded but I have no idea how badly. We had no general officer killed. Genl. Harker17 too was slightly wounded, but retained command of his Brigade. The enemy is here in strong force, and to-morrow will probably bring on a decisive battle, and it will be a bloody one. Will Lyster is all right yet. I saw Cousin Will Warner yesterday. He is captain of Co. C, 127th Illinois. The division to which he belongs has just had a sharp fight, and I have not yet heard whether he was hurt or not.18 I saw Gus Ricks, and young Kelly, and Dwight Jarvis to-day. They have all been heavily engaged, but I don’t know whether or not any of them were hurt. I saw Genl. Wood, and Lieut. Fuerman, the latter individual being the man who was so devoted to Miss Upton, some 18 months ago. You must pardon me for not writing more, but I am tired, and sleepy & need all the rest I can get against tomorrow’s work. With love to you all, and devotion to yourself and our dear boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe

16. Brigadier General Manson was severely wounded by an exploding shell at Resaca, necessitating his resignation on December 21, 1864. Warner, Generals in Blue, 310. Also see chapter 5, note 63. 17. Brig. Gen. Charles G. Harker (1835–64), West Point class of 1858, commanded a brigade in the Army of the Cumberland. Warner, Generals in Blue, 207–8. 18. The 127th Illinois Infantry was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division, XV Corps. The fight Poe mentioned was the beginning of the Battle of Resaca. Capt. Will Warner emerged from the battle unhurt. Also see Poe’s letter dated May 22, 1864.

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(158) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Resaca Ga. May 15th 1864 Dear Wife, Another Sunday has been spent in fighting and even now the continued rattle of musketry, and the occasional booming of a cannon with the shriek of the shell indicate only too plainly that the battle is not ended yet. We have steadily driven the enemy all day, and they are now inside their entrenchments around Resaca, while we press them closely on the north and west. I have no idea what our losses have been to-day, nor do I know the names of any individuals who are hurt. The Division in which Will Lyster is had some fighting, but I don’t know how severe, nor whether either he or Genl. King is hit. The Brigade in which Will Warner is, did some very handsome work last night and early this morning. They took a low range of hills within half a mile of Resaca. The enemy tried very hard to get them back put completely failed, being repulsed every time. It was a splendid sight, to witness the night fighting. I have not heard how Warner came out of it.19 I came very near getting shot today. I was riding along our line, and came to a point of woods [where] our line turned to conform to the woods, and I not noticing it, rode straight out into the open field, and was thus placed between the two lines. Being on horseback, I was a prominent mark, no other person on horseback being in sight. Of course I was at once made a target, and I presume a hundred shots were fired at me before I could get out of the way. I did the latter, as rapidly as my horse could carry me, very much to the amusement of those who looked on from their security in the edge of the woods. Neither myself nor my horse was touched and I am very thankful. I suppose it will be a long time before this letter reaches you, as I understand that all letters for the North are stopped at Nashville. But they will reach you eventually. Tell your mother & Winnie not to get angry, because I do not at once answer their letters, but the fact is that this thing of campaigning, without tents, and with very small allowance of writing materials, scarcely admits of one’s writing to anybody but one’s wife. With love to you all, and much more than love to you my own dear wife, and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe 19. As Poe wrote this letter during the evening of May 15, Johnston withdrew his army from Resaca, fearing he could be outflanked with the river at his back. For the most part, the opening acts of the Atlanta Campaign were more of a chess match with few head-on assaults.

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Poe’s next letter was the first to Nell within the Atlanta Campaign’s timeline to mention the “Rail Road.” He was referring to the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which served as an important supply line for both armies between Atlanta and Chattanooga. Consequently, many of the campaign’s important battles were fought near stations along that line. (159) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress In Resaca, May 16th 1864 Dear Wife, You will see by the above heading that we are in that great town of Resaca. Owing to some gallant fighting last evening in which A. S. Williams20 took part, we convinced the enemy that it was best for him to leave, and he did so burning the Rail Road Bridge here. We got ten pieces of artillery, four of which we captured by a charge of Butterfield’s Division,21 and the other six the enemy left behind. They have lost pretty heavily, but it is impossible to make an estimate of the number. Nearly all our troops are already south of the Oostanaula [River] in rapid pursuit. It is expected that Johnston will make a stand at the crossing of the Rail Road, over the Etowah River, near Allatoona. My dear wife, we have accomplished very much. It required more than an ordinary degree of Generalship to dislodge the enemy within one week from two positions, each of which was deemed by him, impregnable. Their fortifications at this place were of the most extensive character. I don’t think I exaggerate in saying that they were five miles long, and in many places were composed of two, and even three lines. The fact is, they were out-maneuvered. You never saw men in such spirits as ours are now. They cheer all the time, and are as eager to march after the retreating enemy as anyone could desire. None whom you know are hurt. I saw Genl. Williams, Sam Pittman, Will Lyster, Genl. King and others to-day and they were all happy. I would telegraph to you but you would be scared half out of your senses by receipt thereof, so I only write. I suppose Head Quarters will march early in the morning. Resaca is a very small place. Indeed it is only a Railway station—and the position is only important because the Rail Road crosses the Oostanaula at this point. 20. Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams (1810–78), a Michigan lawyer, received his general’s commission in August 1861. He ably commanded a division in the Army of the Cumberland’s XX Corps during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 559–60. 21. Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield (1831–1901) was in command of the Third Division of the XX Corps at this point in the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Blue, 62–63.

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Forgive me for taking up so much room with a description of this fight. But we all feel good over what we feel is a victory. Remember me to friends. Give my love to Win, and your mother, and for yourself and Charly, accept my devotion. Your husband, O. M. Poe (160) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Kingston Georgia May 20th 1864 Dear Wife, We reached here yesterday morning after a good deal of sharp skirmishing. We have driven the enemy hard, and he is getting behind the Etowah River as rapidly as possible. We have possession of Rome [Georgia], and are well to the eastward, in the neighborhood of Cartersville. I made a couple of splendid reconnaissances yesterday, rode hard, and am very tired. I saw Will Lyster, and Fred Trowbridge yesterday. They were both well. I have not heard from you since the 7th May, yet we have had two or three mails. But I am not going to grumble for I suppose I will get a pile of them together. But you know I am very anxious to hear from you and our little one. I hope you have recd. my letters for otherwise you must have worried a great deal. It was understood among us that no mail was allowed to go north in which case, when the mail does go, you will get as many letters as our “Father” Abraham, immediately subsequent to his election to the Presidency. I need scarcely say that our operations thus far, are regarded as eminently successful. We haven’t destroyed Johnston’s army, but you know such achievements are very rare. Still we have succeeded in driving him from every position he has taken, and still hope to keep driving him. I don’t know but I made a mistake in telling you to direct to Nashville. It would probably be well to direct to Genl. Sherman’s H. Quarters, via Nashville. I am well, but the weather is very hot and the effect is very enervating. Remember me to friends, give my love to your mother, Win, & Toosie, and accept for yourself & Charly, my devotion. Your husband, O. M. Poe

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(161) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Kingston Georgia May 22nd 1864 Dear Nell, I have been so fortunate to-day as to receive five letters from you, and they did me a world of good. We have been quietly resting here for a few days, and gathering up our strength for the conflict which must come. To-morrow morning we will resume our march, though in what direction, it is not proper for me to say, but you will hear soon enough as the enemy is so close in our front that we cannot march very far in any direction without coming in contact. . . . Cousin Bill Warner spent the day with me to-day. He is a captain in the 127th Ill., and behaved very gallantly in the fights in front of Resaca. Of course you know by this time that we have gained considerable territory from the enemy. But when that is said, all is said. There is nothing here, but the growing grain. The greatest desolation prevails. You know, from observation what the effect an army’s march through a country is. The people are all gone, except a few who are very old or very young, and even these are almost scared to death, expecting all sorts of ill treatment from us. It is with difficulty that we can succeed in reassuring them. . . . I send you a map of the country we are operating in, and have marked in Blue, the route I have actually passed over in getting here. . . . Love to you all, & devotion to you and Charly, your husband, O. M. Poe Johnston’s Confederates were dug in near New Hope Church, about twenty-five miles northwest of Atlanta. Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s XX Corps to attack what was thought to be a small force. It was not. The two-day Battle of New Hope Church followed. (162) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Near Dallas Ga. May 27th 1864 Dear Wife, We have gradually worked our way down this far, and are again in [the] presence of the army of Johnston. Heavy firing is now going on all along the line. It was expected that a general engagement would be fought to-day, and there may be yet, for the day is not more than half gone. It may be that the enemy does not intend to fight, but he shows a stubborn front, and his lines

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of entrenchments extend as far as the eye can reach. I forbear giving any opinion, as you know I have already suffered for opinions sake. I had some letters from you yesterday, they reaching me, as your letters so often have, upon the field, under fire. The one of the eighteenth was the latest. The others had been on the way for some time, and I had had later ones. I have taken to noticing babies, five & six months old, and have certainly surprised some of the female Georgians, possessing that description of article, by the pertinacity of my questioning and the deep interest I manifested in their offspring. In consequence I deemed it best, on each occasion, to explain the motive by saying that I had such a one at home, that I had not seen since his extreme infancy, and that my object was to obtain some idea of the appearance, and ways, of my boy. I invariably found that my explanation was perfectly satisfactory, and that I was answered very kindly, and with a degree of feeling and interest that I scarcely could have expected. There were many inquiries about the color of my son’s hair & eyes. I could only answer by saying that my wife insisted upon it that he looked exactly like me. To be sure I have jet black hair and grey eyes, but my recollection of the youngster gave him light hair & blue eyes. Still you have seen more of him than I have, and of course know more about him, and I will have to yield, particularly since Mrs. Gretting’s remark. My dear I have written two pages about the baby. You will think I am giving the subject undue importance. I saw Will Lyster yesterday evening, also Sam Pittman & Genl. Williams. They were all well. I gave your message to Lyster, and he sends a similar one in return. I also saw Genl. Wood for a moment, but as we were both under a tolerably sharp fire at the time, we did not stop long to talk, the whistling of bullets tending to accelerate our movement in our respective directions. Genl. Williams’ division was very heavily engaged day before yesterday from 3 p.m. until dark, and has lost a good many men, say five hundred, none of whom you knew.22 With love to you all, I am your affectionate and devoted husband, O. M. Poe

22. Brigadier General Williams’s First Division of Hooker’s XX Corps lost heavily at New Hope Church. Sherman lost approximately 1,600 men in this Confederate victory. See Blount, Battles of New Hope Church.

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(163) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Dallas Ga. May 30th 1864 Dear Wife, You will see by the caption hereof that we are still where we were when I wrote last. The enemy with all the force at his disposal, is in our immediate front, and the booming of guns and rattle of musketry is constant. Combats of more or less importance are continually occurring along the line. Day before yesterday, the enemy tried persistently to carry Genl. McPherson’s position by assault, but was repulsed with a loss of near three thousand men (by estimation).23 Our loss was less than one hundred. Last night they advanced along their whole line, but were driven back. Our loss was inconsiderable, but theirs must have been heavy, they being the attacking party. I think they have gotten it into their heads that we are withdrawing. They are led to think so from having seen our supply trains going to the rear, to replenish their loads. T. J. Woods’ Division made an assault upon the right of the enemy’s line, two days ago and suffered severely. The assault was not successful.24 The general was not hurt, but one member of his staff (unknown to you) was killed. I saw Genl. King and Will Lyster yesterday evening. Both were well. I enclose some poetry, and I think I can safely say of at least one piece, that it is good. You’ll easily recognize it. I see by official dispatches, both North & South that the Army of the Potomac is now at Hanover Station. It is a little remarkable that after all the fuss that was made about McClellan’s advance upon Richmond, that Grant should find himself, after ten days fighting, upon almost the same ground. Indeed McClellan fought one battle at Hanover Court House.25 This place where we are now, is quite near New Hope Church, and is about 4½ miles, almost due north from Dallas. You will find it on your map, at the cross roads north of the latter place, and distant about an inch.

23. The Confederates attempted a heavy reconnaissance in force against McPherson’s lines near Dallas in an attempt to disrupt a planned Union movement to the left. They suffered heavy casualties in the resulting combat. Hess, Fighting for Atlanta, 67–68. 24. Poe was referring to the May 27 Battle of Pickett’s Mill. Woods’s division (part of Howard’s IV Corps) made its attack in dense woods and was repulsed with heavy loss. 25. Poe was referring to the fighting of May 27, 1862, at Hanover Court House. McClellan was often criticized by his political enemies for what they believed was excessive caution, thus his observation about Grant having progressed only to an area McClellan had held during the Peninsula Campaign. See the map Virginia Peninsula for location.

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I’m expecting Charly’s picture. Mother wrote me a few days since, and stuck away at one corner, in a sort of obscure, out-of-the-way place, says that she sees plenty of babies, but none so pretty as ours. All of which is very much to your credit. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe It was not uncommon for both sides’ scouts and spies to obtain enemy newspapers, which were often an important source of viable intelligence. Poe revealed rather matterof-factly that his army had access to the Confederate papers published in Atlanta. (164) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Pickett’s Mill Creek Cobb County, Ga. June 3rd 1864 Dear Wife, Yesterday evening I was at Genl. Thomas’ Hd. Qrs. and was there informed that our mail had been captured. Of course I mourned the loss of the four or five letters from you, which I felt perfectly sure were in that mail. I went back to our Head Quarters, and found there, very much to my delight two letters from you, one of which enclosed the photographs of Charly. I am delighted with them. Still, there is no doubt but some of your letters were lost, and I fully expect to see them figure in the Atlanta papers in a day or two. I hope that if you have written anything which you don’t want everybody to see, that you took the precaution to put it into cypher. We are still in the neighborhood of Dallas. The enemy’s whole army is in our immediate front, by accident. If we had been two hours earlier, or they two hours later, there would not have been any serious collision here. They were on the march, and we struck them, on the cross road, as they were also on the march. We reinforced, and they did the same, all hands went to fortifying on both sides, and the consequence is that some other move becomes necessary than going directly ahead. The two armies are too nearly equal to warrant either an assault upon the other’s lines, and so we just stand and look at each other, each wishing the chip knocked off his own shoulder. I’m going over to see Will Lyster, and show him Charly’s picture, feeling well assured that even if he does feel bored thereby, that he will not exhibit any signs of its. Thomas John shall also see it. You have no right to accuse me of a flirtation with Win and I only wonder at her amiability in showing you my letter when you wanted to see it. As

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your elder sister, she ought to have sent you hungry, to bed, or administered that other punishment, in the execution of which mothers are supposed to be adept, and which yet awaits poor Charly. With a great deal of love to you all, and assurances of devotion to yourself, I am your husband, O. M. Poe The 1864 presidential campaign was under way, with George McClellan—still “awaiting orders”—considered to be the probable Democratic nominee. Any praise for him from Republican quarters was not forthcoming. As a man who considered the general a friend, Poe wrote with some sarcasm in this next letter as to how praising McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign tactics were viewed by many as impolitic. Moreover, he revealed his disdain for the way some soldiers in Sherman’s army mistreated Southern civilians. For many of those Union soldiers, their hardening attitude toward noncombatants, coupled with a growing disregard for the traditional rules of warfare, was becoming increasingly justified as the war progressed.26 (165) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp on Acworth Road Headwaters of Alatoona Creek June 4th 1864 Dear wife, It has done nothing but rain for the last two or three days, all of which tends to make it very uncomfortable for all campaigners. There is some satisfaction in knowing that the enemy are subjected to the same inconveniences. I find that quite a number of my old acquaintances are on the other side. Wragg Ferguson27 for one, and that brave but misguided soldier, “Billy Walker.”28 I would like to tell you all that we are doing, and that we propose to do, but the frequent capture of our mails, renders it necessary that we should be very careful. Suffice it to say that all is going on well, though of course a single day might change all that. Still, we have a large army, and it is constantly increasing, so that as far as appearances go, it is all right. I saw some of our Massillon friends to-day, being on the lines of [the] 104th Ohio. Among them 26. Ramold, Across the Divide, 10–12. Also see Grimsley, Hard Hand of War. 27. Brig. Gen. Samuel Wragg Ferguson (1834–1917), West Point class of 1857. Warner, Generals in Gray, 87. 28. Maj. Gen. William H. T. “Fighting Billy” Walker (1816–64), West Point class of 1837. Warner, Generals in Gray, 323–24.

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were Capt. Kelly (the Judge’s son). He looked very well but tired. The fact is, we have all been working hard and all are more or less fatigued. We have had no news from the Army of the Potomac for a couple of days, and naturally feel quite anxious. It is a little singular, that after all the newspaper noise, our army should have finally reached Mechanicsville, the point where the right of McClellan’s infantry line rested on the first of the Seven Days battles. I regard Grant’s recent campaign, as a complete vindication of McClellan’s of two years ago. I am very glad that you have found the map so useful. I knew you could not help but feel enough interest in this campaign, to “post yourself up”, geographically speaking, and I thought it my duty to afford you the means. The scenes of desolation and misery witnessed along this line of operations, exceeds anything I ever saw. It sometimes make me blush that my duty brings me in contact with some of the thieves and pillagers of this army, whose ideas do not rise above a hen-roost, and whose motives of the proper way to subdue the rebellion are exemplified in the maltreatment of innocent women & children. Thank God! this class of ruffians are largely in the minority. Now I know that I have written at least two pages of the rankest treason. You will therefore have to be “careful” that no one sees this letter, or knows that therein I have spoken a good word for McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, or considered the practice of thieving & pillaging indulged in by some of the “Sovereigns” of our army. With love to you all, and devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (166) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Ackworth Georgia June 7th 1864 Dear wife, We entered this place yesterday—the enemy having fallen back. It is decidedly the prettiest little town I have yet seen in Georgia, and reminds me by its white houses and forest trees of some of the neat little towns in the Western Reserve near Cleveland. The distance to Marietta is 12 miles and to Kingston 25. Of course I cannot speak of our future movements. We are more than a hundred miles south of Chattanooga (103 miles exactly) and begin to seriously threaten the enemy’s great lines of communication, as you will readily see by examining the Coast Survey Map I sent you. You will find Acworth, on the Rail Road, between Etowah and Chattahoochee Rivers.

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I am going to-day, with Genls. Sherman and McPherson to Alatoona, to examine the place with reference to its adaptability to the purposes of a Depot, and what I scribble, I do in a very great hurry. I am stopping with a lady whose husband is a captain in the rebel army, and was wounded & taken prisoner in the assault on Fort Sanders. I remember him very well. It is not a singular coincidence that I should, without knowing it take quarters at his house.29 He is still a prisoner, and this morning I sent a letter from his wife, to him, through Col. Hoffman, Comm[issary] Genl. of Prisoners,30 and she is very thankful. He was shot by a rifle ball, directly through the neck. I pity the poor woman, for she has a baby only six weeks old, and looks very haggard & care worn, indeed I might say subdued. As long as I am here, I will see that she is not molested in any way. The rebels all object to Sherman’s “flank movements.”31 They say they believe he came into the world via a “flank movement”, which renders him so crotchety & troublesome to them. With love to you all, and devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe I have not recd. any letters from you since the 23rd ult. On June 8 Lincoln was formally nominated for a second term as president at a Baltimore convention held by the Republicans, now calling themselves the National Union Party. Such important political matters were often lost on the soldiers in the field. (167) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Acworth June 10th 1864 Dear wife, We march from here this morning. The enemy is in force about three miles this side of Marietta, at Kennesaw and Lost Mountains. This is about eight miles from here and as our troops marched early they will come in collision, but I don’t think a great battle will be fought before tomorrow or next day. I have been stopping at the house of a Capt. Lemon of the 18th Ga. He was wounded in the assault on Fort Sanders and was taken prisoner. He is 29. The Confederate officer was Capt. James L. Lemon. He survived the war and became a prosperous banker and merchant. Lemon died in 1907. See Lemon, Feed Them the Steel! 30. Col. William Hoffman (1807–84), West Point class of 1829. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 288. The Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners was set up in 1861 with the responsibility of overseeing all matters pertaining to prisoners of war. 31. A “flank movement” is an attempt by a military force to march past and around the end of an enemy’s line, known as “turning the flank.” If undetected, the maneuvering force may then bring all of its power to bear on a small portion of the enemy’s position.

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now at Fort Delaware.32 Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence that I should have come right here to his house[?] I saw Will Lyster, and Capt. Gay33 yesterday. They were both well. Lyster had just had a letter from Win, but he did not offer to show it to me. I had some curiosity upon the subject, but it was doomed not to be gratified. I spent last evening at the house of a neighbor, and made myself quite agreeable to a couple of nice young ladies. The question whether [or] not I was married, was not asked me, and since my Knoxville experience I never volunteer that information. But to drop all jesting, I was sufficiently punished, for even making a visit, as I had to listen to some of the most execrable singing I ever heard in my life. I am very much disgusted that I have not received a letter from you of later date than the 23rd of May—three weeks ago—and I am getting terribly thirsty for news. With love to you all, and devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (168) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Big Shanty, Ga. June 11th 1864 Dear wife, I have just recd. no less than five letters, one of them containing a “carte” of Win. I am thankful for them all. Your map will show you where we are. This station is 28½ miles from Atlanta, (by Rail Road, and 6½ from Acworth). We are face to face with the enemy. He is strongly posted, his left resting on [L]ost Mountain, and his right on Kennesaw Mtn (see map). The indications are that we will fight a battle tomorrow, but it is by no means certain. The enemy can be seen to maneuver quite extensively, but we dare scarcely hope but he intends assuming the offensive. We have all along been compelled to attack him in his chosen positions, and would ask nothing better than to have him now attack us.34 If 32. Located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River, Fort Delaware served as a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp as well as a jail for both Northern convicts and political prisoners. Pictures of the Lemon House are available online. See “1856 Beauty in Acworth—The Lemon House,” Hidden Magnolias (blog), Dec. 27, 2015, https://hiddenmagnolias.blogspot. com/2015/12/1856-beauty-in-acworth-lemon-house.html, accessed May 22, 2019. 33. Capt. Ebenezer Gay (1836–71), West Point class of 1855, commanded the 16th US Infantry in the Army of the Cumberland. Cullum’s Register, 2:396–97. 34. As a well-trained West Point engineer, Poe was keenly aware that fighting behind entrenchments on the defensive was far preferable to attacking across open ground.

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he ventures upon it, we are certain to secure the line of the Chattahoochee. Marietta, the largest town in Georgia, north of Atlanta, is only 7 miles in front of us, and I am very anxious to get there to see how the place looks, and more particularly, now that we have learned to occupy a town without destroying it. We didn’t abuse Acworth half so badly as the rebels did themselves, and I never felt prouder than this caused me to feel. We ought to show these people that we are not the vandals their lieing, traitorous leaders would make us out to be. Already the tone of the inhabitants, is beginning to change towards us, and through it all I can see a gleam of light, which indicates an early peace, which will be creditable to us, as we will have justified our injured & insulted laws, and at the same time tempered our chastisement of the crimes committed against them by that element of mercy which belongs to the Christian. With love to you all, and an eager longing this night for you and our bairn, I am my beloved wife, your husband, O. M. Poe (169) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Big Shanty In the Field Sunday night June 12th 1864 Dear wife, Such rains as we have had, and are still having I think I never saw before. It is now late at night, dark, and fearfully stormy. . . . The two armies are within sight of each other, but the deluge of water, renders it impossible for either to do anything. Consequently, not a shot is fired from morning to night. The rain is very bad for us, as our time policy is to fight at the earliest possible moment. I’m lonesome, and for the moment, my interest in the war is gone, and I can only think of you and our boy. You both grow so much nearer & dearer to me every day, and I so long for the happy time when we will all be together again. “War’s rude alarms” here interrupted the thread of my ideas, as you will discover by the difference in the color of the ink, and I finish this on the 13th. I must say that I am glad that I was interrupted, for I was rapidly getting into that state, of which I have a great fear, the blues. But this evening the sun has deigned to show himself, and everything looks brighter. If the dry weather holds good until to-morrow, we will undoubtedly advance which will probably bring on a battle. It will be bloody, and desperate, and mourn-

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ing will go through all the land, but the terrible day must come, and the sooner, the better. I feel very sorry that Mrs. Gay should be the unfortunate subject of her husband’s neglect, but I am not at all surprised. I tell you my dear wife, that he is a mean, selfish man; and one for whom I have precious little respect. I know how highly he was, (and possibly is) esteemed in your mother’s household, but I also know that he is every way unworthy of such esteem. I have long (for five years) desired an opportunity to say these things, at least to you, but it was never before afforded me. Any attention or civility you can show Mrs. G will gratify me. Any token of respect shown her husband I cannot but regard as an insult to me. He has never been civil enough to ask after either you, or any of the others of your family. Yet I am well aware, the full degree of hospitality he has enjoyed under your father’s roof. How different the conduct of Will Lyster! So much for that “say”. It is now so few days until the anniversary of our wedding that it is very certain I cannot be at home to celebrate it with you. But if I can possibly do so, I will write you a long letter, and I surely will not forget to thank God for the wife that day gave me. I’m very sorry you did not get the invitation in time to attend the party at Mrs.— for you know that I want you to go out as much as possible, particularly while situated as you are. . . . With love to you all, and assurances of devotion to yourself and our little one, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (170) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Big Shanty Ga. June 15th 1864 Dear wife, I am very tired to-night, and scarcely feel able to write, but the inclination is strong upon me, and therefore I do. We have been fighting more or less all day, but without decided results, or any very heavy loss. Genl. McPherson captured one Regt. of the rebels, colonel and all (the 14th Ala).35 I saw Will Lyster just as the troops were forming, to advance, but have not heard whether he was hurt or not, but imagine not. 35. Poe was incorrect. The captured regiment was the 40th Alabama Infantry. Sherman to Halleck, O.R., 38(4):480–81. Also see Willett, History of Company B, 68–69.

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Genl. King is now in command of the Division, Genl. Johnson having been wounded at Dallas, in such a way that he has been compelled to go home.36 The rebel general, Polk37 was killed yesterday, by a stray shell from one of our batteries. So endeth the Bishop of Louisiana. Tell Bishop McCoskry,38 for if I mistake not, they were classmates at West Point. I went to-day to the highest point along our lines, and which was held yesterday by the enemy, Pine Mountain, and from there took a look at the pretty little town of Marietta, distant five miles. I thought of the number of dead bodies which would probably lie in that space within the next few days. I suppose by this time you have heard of the whipping which Forrest gave Sturgis down in Mississippi. I don’t know anything about the circumstances, and of course have no idea what Sturgis can say in excuse, but to me, it seems simply disgraceful.39 Doubtless Forrest will at once strike for our communications, but we are somewhat independent of him, and if the state of Kentucky can’t take care of him, she can call to have assistance [from] the states of Ohio and Indiana. I have had no letters from you since the 3rd, but don’t despair of getting one yet before I go to bed, which will be within the next few minutes. With love to you all and devotion to you and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe June 17 was Poe and Eleanor’s third wedding anniversary and their first one apart. (171) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Big Shanty Ga. June 17th 1864 Dear wife, On this third anniversary of our marriage, for the first time, I am compelled to write you, instead of being with you. . . . This war must soon close, 36. Brig. Gen. Richard W. Johnson (1827–97), West Point class of 1849, was badly wounded on May 28 at the Battle of New Hope Church. Warner, Generals in Blue, 253–54. 37. Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk (1806–64), West Point class of 1827, entered the ministry after graduation and eventually became an Episcopalian bishop. He joined the Confederate army at the rebellion’s start and held corps command at the time of his death. Warner, Generals in Gray, 242–43. 38. Samuel Allen McCoskry (1804–86) attended West Point for two years in the early 1820s. He was the Episcopal Church’s first bishop in Michigan. 39. General Forrest’s Confederate cavalry routed Union forces under Brig. Gen. Samuel Sturgis on June 10 at the Battle of Brice’s Cross Roads. See Bennett, Battle of Brice’s Crossroads.

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and I look forward to that time, with more of a selfish feeling then I would be willing to a knowledge to anybody else, for I see in the space just beyond it, a happy home, and peace to preserve it. . . . I stole away this morning to write this. I can hear the booming of artillery, and the rattle of musketry along the lines, but I scarcely think there can be a general engagement to-day. The enemy fell back about one & a half miles last night, and the firing is caused by the advance of our troops, to the new position of the rebels.40 . . . With love to you all, and devotion to yourself & Charly. I begin the fourth year of our wedded life, a happier, and a better man. Your husband O. M. Poe (172) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Big Shanty Ga. June 20th 1864 Dear wife, I am wet, cold, and tired, but I feel that I must at least say that I am well. We had a good deal of sharp skirmishing to-day, and a part of our force, principally the divisions of Stanley and Wood had hard fighting, both artillery and musketry been very sharp. You heard us, at mother’s frequently speak of our eccentric cousin, Andrew Poe. He was a private in an Ohio Battery, and was killed on [the] day before yesterday.41 I pity his poor sisters, for they almost idolized him, and they now have no male relation living, closer than cousin. They will indeed feel lonely. I had him buried and a head board put up at his grave. He was killed dead by a shell, while doing his duty at his gun, in action. I saw and took supper with Will Lyster yesterday evening. I had previously shown him Win’s picture, and when I was coming away, he begged me to let him have it for a day or two. Can’t you induce Win to send me one, which I will be at liberty to give him? But don’t you let her know that I lent him mine, for she might not like it. The poor fellow looked sheepish enough when he made the request. I saw Gay, and Trowbridge also yesterday. Tell their respective wives. Excuse the disjointed character of this, for I am as sleepy as can be, and as near worn out as men often get to be. 40. Sherman’s ongoing flanking maneuvers prompted Johnston to take up a new line near Mud Creek on the night of June 16. Hess, Fighting for Atlanta, 91–92. 41. This is not the same Andrew Poe mentioned in the introduction. Corporal Andrew A. Poe was the son of Daniel Poe, another sibling of O. M. Poe’s father.

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With love to you all, and devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (173) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress In the Field near Kennesaw Ga. June 25th 1864 Darling, I find that a mail is just starting and I hurriedly write a few words. I fully realize that our boy is six months old, and also that I am growing older very fast. It is bidding rather high to ask me if I don’t think Charly looks just like me, & in the next question, ask me if he does not resemble me very much. I’m very much obliged to Mrs. Hoadley’s kind expressions of regard. You know how highly I appreciate compliments from old ladies like her, whose years have reached such a number that they can scarcely be accused of a disposition to flatter. We have had several “tastes of summer weather”. Yesterday was hot enough for all practical purposes I nearly melted. So much for the comfort of Georgia campaigning. The enemy has just opened a furious cannonade from the top of Kennesaw Mtn and they make a wonderful noise. By using a glass42 I can see, from where I write, quite a bevy of Georgia’s “fair daughters”, on the top of the mountain looking with the greatest complacency upon the attempt to kill some of the “vile Yankees”. One of them is standing upon a projecting rock, and occasionally waves her handkerchief in defiance. She is wearing black. I can’t help wondering whether for a husband—father—or brother, whether he fell in Georgia or Virginia. She evidently belongs to the better class, for the poorer people are compelled to mourn, (doubtless with as much sincerity) in plainer and coarser dress. I must acknowledge a sort of admiration for her courage, though I feel very sure that we have not got a sharpshooter along our whole line, who would attempt deliberately to shoot her.—I did not see Lt. Wright. I did not know, either that he was with this army, or that he had been wounded. I believe I told you, that Andrew Poe, my cousin that mother was so constantly talking about, was killed on the 17th. He was torn almost to pieces by a shell & never breathed after being struck. Tell Win, that I want an explanation of her conduct, for she certainly led me to believe that Henry was guiltless of any tenderness of feeling on her account.43 42. Poe’s “glass” was a tripod-mounted, then state-of-the-art telescope. 43. Poe was most likely referring to Henry Lyster, Will’s brother and future husband of Win. Also see chapter 1, note 26.

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With love to you all, and devotion to you, my dear wife, and our boy, I am yours, O. M. Poe I enclose a scrap which I cut from a rebel paper. It speaks good advice, to say the least. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27. Three Union assaults up rocky terrain failed to pierce Johnston’s formidable defensive positions, which prompted Sherman to return to a flanking strategy. It was the greatest Confederate victory of the Atlanta Campaign. (174) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Near Kennesaw June 28th Dear wife, I have just recd. three letters from you, one of which has been a long time on the road, and they enclosed two from mother, so that I have heard from all I really care about. . . . We fought something of a battle yesterday. Our loss I presume, was about twenty two hundred men. The enemy’s was very small, probably not five hundred. We made a very feeble attempt to carry the rebel entrenchments by assault. Doubtless our newspapers will claim that it was only a reconnaissance in force, and the rebel papers will say that they gained a great victory, and all that kind of stuff—but they will all lie. The fact is, an assault was ordered. The Army of the Cumberland was to make it. The other troops along the line making a feint. Four brigades attacked, were repulsed, and the assault abandoned. Those are the naked facts, whispered in your ear by a little bird and the message, not to be repeated, Genl. [Charles] Harker was killed, Col. Dan McCook mortally wounded, and a number of Cols. & Lt. Cols. and other officers, whose names I have not heard. Our loss in officers was quite heavy.44 I’m suddenly ordered off to our right some four miles, to make a reconnaissance. With love to you all, and devotion to you & Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe

44. In fact, nearly 40 percent of all Union losses between June 1 and July 3 occurred at Kennesaw on June 27. Hess, Kennesaw Mountain, 154.

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Union entrenchments in front of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, 1864 (National Archives and Records Administration)

(175) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Near Kennesaw Ga. July 1st 1864 Dear wife, After writing to you two days ago I started for the extreme right flanks of our army to make a reconnaissance. I had a long and a hard ride, and came home quite later in a condition which would have required a very large amount of glycerine,45 even if it had been here, but it wasn’t and I had to go without. I went to the right until I found Wolford’s cavalry, and saw some of Wragg Ferguson’s cavalry at a house half a mile away. I saw Col. Sterling,46 and he was kind enough to show me a photograph of his wife. Of course I showed him your picture and Charly’s, and I never before was prouder of you both—proud of you both, because the quiet dignity of your own face was in such strong contrast with the flippancy of hers, and Charly looked like as if he would do his mother no discredit. 45. A sweet compound that was a popular form of skin lotion in the mid-nineteenth century. 46. Lt. Col. James T. Sterling was the acting inspector general on the staff of Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, commander of the Third Division, XXIII Corps, Army of the Ohio.

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Have you told Winnie that I saw Will Lyster, and showed him her picture, and even lent it to him[?] Poor fellow, he wants one so badly, and if she is sending them to soldiers, surely she can’t find a better or truer one to send one to. The weather is extremely hot and we are fairly melting under the direct rays of the sun. Our whole loss in the fight of three days ago will not exceed two thousand men, so you will see that Genl. Sherman even overstated the loss in his dispatch.47 If you use a cypher, use the letter one, instead of the word one. I have a telegraph cypher book, and if you give any evidence of a disposition to use it I will send you a copy, and then we can have a good one. The armies are rather quiet now, only an occasional shot being fired. Indeed so quiet is it sometimes that one could scarcely believe that two immense armies were lying so close to each other that in many places, the lines are not as far apart as [Detroit’s] Jefferson Avenue is wide. Indeed, so close are they in one place that the soldiers amuse themselves by throwing stones at each other. I wish, when you see Mrs. Sterling you would remember me to her. Where Gay’s Regt. is on duty, quite a number of dead men are between the lines, and the rebels won’t allow them to be buried. They are so offensive, that it is almost beyond endurance, but all have to stand it. The bodies are nearer our lines than the rebels, hence our men get the worst of it. The dead bodies are those of rebels. We are occupying an elegant mansion, built of logs. It has neither door nor window, but it has a roof, so that we do tolerably well. True it is somewhat infested by scorpions, and they annoy us some, but none of us have been stung yet, having adopted the precaution to shake our boots out in the morning before attempting to put them on. This will probably be the last letter you will receive for several days for movements are about to take place, which will stop the mails for at least ten days. But if I should have a chance at any time to send a letter through of course I will do so. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe

47. Poe’s casualty estimates here were low. Accepted numbers now place Union losses at around 3,000. Hess, Kennesaw Mountain, xiii.

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For the first time within his letters, Poe expressed doubt about his career path. On July 2 he wrote to an unidentified railroad executive explaining how “a strong desire to quit the roving life of a soldier” prompted him to seek an appropriate position “on any respectable Rail Road.”48 He then asked Nell in this next letter to her to inquire about similar opportunities elsewhere. (176) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Near Kennesaw Ga. July 2nd 1864 Dear wife, I had expected we would have marched before this, but we will not start until tomorrow morning. I need not say that my reconnaissance of a day or two since had direct reference to this movement. I suppose that the result will be a big battle within a very few days. I need scarcely say that I hope so, for I am growing terribly anxious for something decisive, not to speak of the fact that the country is watching for a result. We have just heard of the resignation of Mr. Chase as Secy. of the Treas., and of the consequent rise in gold.49 If it continues to rise, I don’t see but you will be reduced beyond the resolves of the “leaguers,”50 and will have to appear in a much simpler costume, and one less likely to change its fashion. . . . I saw Will Lyster last evening. He has been quite ill for two or three days, with a disease not mentionable to ears polite. I noticed also, that in his case, as in some others, whiskey was regarded as a specific, and taken in large quantities. I can’t imagine that in his case, as in others I wrote of, the results sought was the same. . . . Give my love to Winnie and your mother, and accept of devotion for yourself and our bairn, Your husband, O. M. Poe If you get a chance, tell Mr. Trowbridge that if offered, I would accept any position on a R. Road, which would give me the same pay I now get. Tell him to circulate it amongst Rail Road men. 48. O. M. Poe Letterbooks, Poe Papers, LC, 412–13; Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 167–68. 49. Ohio’s Salmon P. Chase served admirably as secretary of the Treasury, particularly in raising the funds necessary to pay for the war. Yet from day one he was convinced he would be a better president than Lincoln. A darling of the Radical Republicans, Chase resigned on June 30, 1864, with the hope of supplanting Lincoln as the party’s nominee for the upcoming presidential election. His resignation prompted gold to spike in value, while the recently issued paper “greenbacks” fell. 50. Civilian members of the North’s Union Leagues. See Taylor, Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known.

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Mr. Barlow, whom we saw at West Point, and whose wife looked as though she had consumption is ordered to report to me, for duty in the field.51 Johnston withdrew from his Kennesaw Mountain entrenchments during the night of July 2 to a newly prepared line near Marietta. He had little choice, for Sherman’s superior numbers and constant flanking maneuvers would have left his flanks exposed had he not done so. (177) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Marietta Georgia July 4th 1864 Dear wife, The movement I referred to in my last two letters resulted in the abandonment of the strong position previously held by the enemy at Kennesaw Mountain, night before last, and yesterday morning we occupied it. I went to the top of the mountain, and beheld such a scene as I never dreamed of before. I could see the whole horizon from the peak upon which I was. On the Northward the vision stretched off for a hundred miles, the irregularities of the several mountain chains presenting the most perfect exemplification of the characteristics of a mountain country, while in the foreground, the fields and woods for miles were traced by the lines of entrenchments constructed both by our army, and the enemy’s. To the Southward, 23 miles distant I looked, with my big telescope, directly into the streets of Atlanta, while nearer to me I could see the maneuvers of full one hundred & fifty thousand armed men. It was a grand picture, such as one does not behold more than once in a lifetime. The interest was not lessened, when the opposing artillery would open, as the lines would come in contact. Nearly at my feet, but a little to my left, six thousand cavalry were operating. Next on their right—the Army of the Cumberland, with its History, and its proudly waving banners seemed as though it was about to do battle in support of its old renown. The corps of Howard, Palmer, and Hooker, vieing with each other, in their attempts to be the first to strike the foe retreating so sullenly.52 Off to their right, could be seen those men of the Army of the Ohio, with whom my sympathies are so warm, (for I have not yet forgotten Knoxville) 51. Capt. John Whitney Barlow (1838–1914), West Point class of 1861, was assigned as a mathematics instructor at West Point from February through June 22, 1864, when he was transferred to Sherman’s army as an engineer. Cullum’s Register, 2:528–29. 52. These were Major General Howard, in command of the IV Corps; Maj. Gen. John L. Palmer, in command of the XIV Corps; and Major General Hooker, in command of the XX Corps.

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now under the lead of the best general that army has ever had. The flashing of their bayonets and the roar of their artillery showing where the men of Kentucky & Tennessee were right loyally supporting the government, by the side of those from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. On their right, and full ten miles away, the Army of the Tennessee, under the leadership of McPherson, was making giant strides towards that object for which we are all now striving, the city of Atlanta, and it almost seemed as though they would soon have the privilege of inscribing on their flags, just below Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburgh, and Chattanooga, the name of the next rebel city. I could see the flash of their artillery but they were so far off that I could hear no report. Yet I could see that the lines were perfect, and every man was in his place. Still on their right I could see Stoneman’s cavalry, slowly but surely pushing its way towards the Chattahoochee, but the distance was so great, and the ground so rough, that their movements were more covered from my view. Thus, for more than ten miles, in a straight line, our army. . . . [Remainder of letter missing.] (178) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp near Vining’s Station July 6th 1864 My darling, We have shoved the enemy back to the Chattahoochee, and are now in easy view of Atlanta, the distance being only eight miles. But the road is a rough one, and many a good man must go to his long home, before we “possess and occupy” the “Gate City.” I wrote you last from Marietta, at which time the enemy occupied a strong line in our immediate front, but we drove him from there, on the fourth of July with the loss of many prisoners, and with comparatively slight loss to ourselves. We are now one hundred and thirty miles from Chattanooga, almost as far as Chattanooga is from Nashville. Surely, when we consider the nature of the country passed over, the many serious obstacles encountered & overcome, this campaign must be regarded as a very remarkable one. We have had constant fighting, and a great many on both sides have been killed and wounded and the end is not yet [in sight]. I believe I have not said anything about Marietta. It is a very pretty place, about as large as Massillon, though the streets are much better covered by shade trees. Of course the place looks somewhat dilapidated, owing to the fact that it has been for many weeks the receptacle of all the debris of an army. But I can readily fancy what it must have been, before the desolating

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hand of war was laid upon it. The better class of people had, as a general rule left the town, especially the women but I understand they are now coming back. They had been told that they were to be subjected to unmentionable insult at the hands of the Union soldiery, but they are beginning to perceive that they were told what was not true, and the reaction is slowly but surely going on. At first they seemed somewhat surprised, (ought I to say disappointed?) that they were not insulted, and now freely acknowledge that they are treated better by our men, than by their pretended friends. I saw Genl. Williams, Sam Pittman, and Will Lyster yesterday. Remember me to inquiring friends, give my love to “ours,” and believe me as devoted as ever to you & our boy, your husband, O. M. Poe Poe’s previous, politically related tribulations within the army often prompted him to stay publicly silent on the political matters of the day, especially now with a heated presidential campaign well under way. It was yet another example of the army’s learned ideal and his own conviction that one’s actions should speak louder than words. Yet in this next letter (and the August 24 letter), Poe revealed some rare anger toward politicians and politics in general. (179) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Camp near Chattahoochee River July 10th 1864 Darling, We have finally got possession of all the country north of the River, and our lines are now within eight miles of Atlanta. We crossed a force at a point marked on the map as Isom’s, or Phillip’s Ferry, about eight miles above the Rail Road Crossing, and another force still higher up, at Roswell Factory. At the first crossing we captured one gun. The effect of the move was to make Johnston pass to the South side of the river, as we now threaten the Rail Road to Augusta. It was our old friends of the 23rd Corps who crossed first, and did it too without the loss of a man killed or wounded. One of the most ludicrous things I ever witnessed took place yesterday while I was on the line at Powers Ferry. Col. Brownlow (son of the Parson)53 53. Col. James P. Brownlow, son of William G. “Parson” Brownlow. Also see chapter 5, note 48.

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took a squad of his regiment, the 1st Tennessee Cavalry, and all stripped off their clothing, until they were stark naked, and holding their carbines above their heads, they swam the river, and in the condition they were, charged the rebel rifle pits intended to command the Ferry, and took them, capturing some prisoners. They could not pursue, because the briars tore their flesh. Moreover, they were not in such a condition that they cared about passing any houses, where there might possibly be some female to play the part of peeper. I thought the young men rather modest. You can tell Mr. Danforth that in 1856 I voted for Buchanan, and in 1860 for Bell54—that I never cast any other votes, and that I never intend to; that I have found that the first vote was for a traitor, and the second was for a drunkard, and a dotard; that I am fully satisfied from my experience that a man may know how to build a fort, and still be a “ninny” in politics, and that having discovered this, I am disposed to leave politics to politicians, while I ply the profession in which I have been successful. And you can further say to Mr. D—that I say, that Republican or Democrat, I have done what he, and many others, of the sanctified have not done. I have thrown myself in the very front, since the first day of the war. You may also say to him for me, that if he says that he has ever heard me utter a sentiment, not strictly in support of our government, he lies.—I don’t recollect the man, by name, though I probably would his face. I did hope, now that I asked for nothing, aspired to nothing further than to do my duty, that people would let me alone. I am in nobody’s way. I occupy nobody’s rightful place, and I am disgusted with the continual howl from those who are governed in their longnose55 by no other guide than their suppositions, or their disposition to find fault. Among us, everything appears to go by contraries. If a man is in the army, daily risking his life to support the government, he is a “Copperhead,” or something nearly as bad, and must be regarded with suspicion; but if he stays at home, in safety and grows rich out of the war, and howls, then he is a patriot.56 The time was, when that was considered gold, which stood the test of the fire. But times are changed, and God knows that the change is not for the 54. Democrat James Buchanan Jr. served as president from 1857 to 1861. Poe’s opinion of Buchanan stemmed from the latter’s apparent Southern sympathies and prewar failure to deal with the secession crisis. Whig senator John Bell of Tennessee ran for president in 1860 as the nominee for the Constitutional Union Party. 55. A “longnose” is a person who constantly pries or is objectionably inquisitive into others’ personal affairs. 56. “Copperhead” was a pejorative given by prowar, pro-Lincoln partisans against those “Peace Democrats” who stood against the war. Like the venomous snake for which they were named, these allegedly pro-South Northerners were seen as lurking under cover, preparing to silently strike at the Union war effort when they could. See Weber, Copperheads.

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better. But I have no patience to write of these things. I always work myself into a passion when I do so. I send you enclosed, a couple of letters I have just received from Andrew Poe’s sisters, and want you to read them, for they breathe a spirit as noble as ever was evinced. The one signed by Maria S. Poe is from the elder of the two sisters, and is the unmarried one. You know what an exalted opinion I have of her, and how much I admire her character. She is a Christian if there is any such thing in the world. I know how near her heart came to breaking, and I can appreciate the noble sorrow she expresses. God help her. And the roll of honor, in the “Second,” now amounted to 297 men, almost a regiment. Truly it has come their turn to suffer. I was up at Genl. Schofield’s yesterday and saw Col. Sterling. He was very well. . . . I am very sorry to hear of Sergt. Bell’s death,57 but I have been expecting it for some time. Give my love to your mother, Winnie, and Toos, and accept for yourself and Charly the devotion of your husband, O. M. Poe (180) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Near Chattahoochee River Ga. July 14th 1864 Dear Nell, Last evening I was so fortunate as to receive your two letters dated 7th and 8th July. Five days from Detroit is rapid enough for all practical purposes. Lyster was at my quarters when they came, and in giving him the news I had to skip over the part relating to himself. I am very glad that you saw Mrs. Biddle, and that she saw Charly, for she is so kind, and has always been so good a friend of mine, and of yours. It is worthy of remark, that when Lyster was up here a few days ago we were speaking of DeGarmo Whiting’s death (he died of delirium tremors, it is said)58 and

57. Sgt. Peter Bell, 2nd Michigan Infantry, died in Detroit on June 25, 1864, from wounds received during the fighting at Knoxville on November 19, 1863. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:33. 58. DeGarmo Whiting served as lieutenant and quartermaster with the 2nd Michigan Infantry, then captain and assistant quartermaster. He died in Washington, DC, on June 24, 1864. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:182. Also see chapter 2, note 19.

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naturally came to speak of Mrs. W, and I said she must be a good deal broken, and begin to look old. . . . We have got to-day a fair proportion of the army south of the Chattahoochee, and are going to try to get more of it across before night. We expect to have to do some fighting to accomplish the object, but I think we will succeed. Everything looks promising in this region, but we will find a rough road in traveling over the seven miles which yet lie between us and Atlanta. I am disgusted that some of the Northern papers try to make a great defeat out of our repulse of the 27th June. Of course the rebel papers would call it so, but to speak of that as a great defeat, where a great army advanced its lines nearly a mile, only losing 2000 men, is a little too much for friendly papers to say.59 I am trying in this letter to send you the most beautiful flower I have yet seen in the South. It is the “Sensitive Plant,” or “Mimosa”. Of course much of its beauty is gone because of the closing of its leaves, which takes place the instant the plant is touched, hence its name. It may reach you in rather a dilapidated condition, but as a souvenir of the Chattahoochee will have some value in your eyes I know. I think the flower, when growing looks exactly like you, particularly when you wear purple. Somebody has lent me a hat, and I am going to send my Kearny hat,60 old as it is, home. So look out for it. It has the honor of a dozen campaigns, including those of East Tenn., and Georgia. Give my love to your mother, Win, and T—and remember me to the Judge. I am informed by Capt. Barlow, whom we met at West Point, and who has just reported to me for duty, that Tom passed his examination.61 I hope it is so, for from your silence upon the subject I very much feared it was not. With devotion to you and our little one, I am your husband, O. M. Poe P.S. Beckham commands an artillery regiment, just across the river from here.62 59. The battle discussed here is Kennesaw Mountain, a Union defeat that saw the loss of some 3,000 men in an ill-advised frontal assault against the entrenched Army of Tennessee. 60. This was the style of hat worn by Major General Kearny, Poe’s former division commander, who was killed in action during the Battle of Chantilly. Warner, Generals in Blue, 258–59. 61. Thomas Lee Brent, born August 9, 1845, was the younger brother of Eleanor Poe. He entered West Point in 1861 and graduated in June 1865. Brent, Descendants of Collo. Giles Brent, 173; Cullum’s Register, 2:618. Also see chapter 1, note 6. 62. Col. Robert Francis Beckham had served with Poe in the Topographical Engineers prior to the war but commanded the Army of Tennessee’s artillery at the time of Poe’s letter. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, 1864. Krick, Lee’s Colonels, 44. Also see chapter 1, note 3.

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Confederate president Jefferson Davis never held great confidence in the ever-cautious Joe Johnston. Sherman’s deep advance into the heart of Georgia, with little apparent resistance from the Army of Tennessee, was the last straw. On July 17 Davis relieved Johnston of command and replaced him with thirty-three-year-old Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood,63 temporarily elevated to the rank of full general and considered by many to be a hard-charging but reckless fighter. Most Union generals were delighted with this change in command. (181) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Camp South of Chattahoochee River July 18th 1864 Dear Nell, I recd. yours of the 10th yesterday morning, also one from Win, for which you can tell her that I am very thankful, and that I will answer it soon. You will see from the heading that we have crossed the Chattahoochee. We did not have much fighting in crossing, the affair having been managed very well. We did expect some trouble at Pace’s Ferry, in laying the Pontoon Bridges, but Genl. Howard’s (4th) corps having crossed at Powers Ferry, three miles above, the division of T. J. Wood, swept down the river bank and secured the ground where we wanted the bridge to rest, taking the rebels somewhat by surprise. We then built two bridges, each 400 feet long, and the 14th corps crossed. I suppose that we will advance this morning and try to occupy cross-keys and Buck-head, which may possibly bring on a battle, but I have no fears of the result. It is possible that a portion of Lee’s army may come out here, in which case we will have still harder work than we have had. However it is to be hoped that Grant will now do for us, what we have been doing for him, hold Lee’s force in check. This was not a campaign for the capture of Atlanta, so much as it was to prevent any of Johnston’s force going east. I am sorry that you were disgusted to receive those maps, & did I not know very well that you did not mean what you said, I would feel quite provoked. But I know well enough that you only meant that you would rather have had a letter than the maps. I did send a letter at the same time, but it was in a different envelope, and I presume you have received it before this, indeed I think you got it before you did the maps. It was written from Big Shanty.—I am afraid that Win thinks I gave Will Lyster the picture. I only lent it to him for a few days, and he has given it back to me long since. Please 63. Gen. John Bell Hood (1831–79), West Point class of 1853, had lost an arm to a severe wound at Gettysburg and then lost a leg at Chickamauga. Warner, Generals in Gray, 142–43.

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disabuse her mind, for I would as soon think of giving away the Bible you gave me, as to give away her picture, sent to me by herself. . . . I don’t know when I may be able to write you again, possibly not for three or four days, as our movements will be quite energetic. The silence that I spoke of two weeks ago, did not happen to be imposed, owing to the fact that when our movement began, the rebels ran away, so that we did not abandon the Rail Road, as we had intended to do for a few days while we went around them. With love to you all, and devotion to you and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (182) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp before Atlanta Ga. July 24th 1864 Dear wife, I have not written for two or three days, for I really have not had time. The last letter was written at our first camp south of the Chattahoochee. Since then we have advanced right up to the fortifications of Atlanta, and have fought two tolerably big battles. The first was on the 21st of July, and was caused by an attack of the enemy upon Hooker’s corps and one division of Howard’s. The enemy was very badly whipped and the great object of the attack, to crush our columns as they crossed Peach Tree Creek, was completely foiled.64 The second, was yesterday, the attack being made upon the Army of the Tenn. (McPherson’s) which formed the left of our line. This attack was partially successful. Genl. McPherson was killed, one of our Regular batteries was captured & held, another 20 pounder Parrot Battery was captured, and held by the rebels for an hour, when our men charged, & recaptured it. The loss on both sides was very heavy.65 The rebel tactics seem to have been changed so that they now fight all the time. From a strictly defensive policy, they have changed to what is known in military parlance as the “Offensive Defensive”.66—(You see that I am trying to make a soldier [of ] you). Last night I worked all night at building a bridge, and have not closed 64. This was the July 20 Battle of Peach Tree Creek. See Jenkins, Battle of Peach Tree Creek. 65. This was the July 22 Battle of Atlanta. See Ecelbarger, Day Dixie Died. 66. The “offensive-defensive” refers to the Confederate strategy of fighting mostly from a defensive position but seeking to make counteroffensive strikes when the potential for favorable results were greatest. See Dawson, “Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy’s ‘OffensiveDefensive’ Strategy.”

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my eyes since night before last, which accounts for the irregularity of this pencil-manship. I saw Sam Pittman yesterday. He was all right. I hope you are not going down to Ohio, only because it is expensive to live in Detroit. I have three months’ pay (May, June, July) and as soon as I can see a paymaster, will replenish your purse. I’m glad that Charly has got his cup, and will take occasion to thank Lyster, in his name the first time I see him. I saw him day-before-yesterday, all night. You know I never have made any predictions about this campaign, and I forbear making any now, but one thing is certain, there is going to be, from this time forward, the very hardest kind of fighting. Your accounts of Master Charles & his doings, possess more interest than I am in the habit of expressing. Tell me all about him. Give my love to your mother & Win and accept for you & our boy, the devotion of your husband, O. M. Poe I am in earnest about leaving the service. I will do so, if I can get my living out of it. (183) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Near Atlanta Ga. July 25th 1864 Dear wife, I have just recd. notice that a courier was going out in the morning, hence this epistle, hurriedly written, after a very hard day’s work. The “events” of which were somewhat as follows. I started at early daylight, under orders to go to the R. R. Bridge over the Chattahoochee, take up one of the pontoon bridges there, and after transporting it to Turner’s Ferry, to put it down at that place. It was ten miles to the bridge, and four more to Turner’s, and I did not get to the bridge on the road until 4 p.m.—and after starting over a road which was supposed to be in our possession, very suddenly ran into our cavalry picket, where we gained the interesting intelligence that the enemy was just ahead, and would be very glad to pick up any stray Pontoon trains we might have to spare. This one being needed, I turned it around (no small job) and retraced my steps, and the bridge is not laid at Turner’s Ferry. But to-morrow we are going to try it again, and McCook’s Division of cavalry is ordered to drive the rebels away, and to keep them away until the Bridge is built. So I will start out again at daylight. The fight of the 22nd, wherein Genl. McPherson was killed, was a great

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battle. The enemy’s loss was heavy. We have already passed through our hands 1452 dead rebels that fell inside of our lines. The number outside must have been considerable, so that their loss in killed & wounded, making an estimate based upon the usual proportions, will not foot up less than 8000, and in addition, we took 1100 prisoners. We lost, in killed, wounded and missing 3500 men, and one battery, which was captured as it was marching along the road, by some of the enemy’s skirmishers.67 The battery was perfectly unconscious of danger and was captured without firing a shot. Another battery which the enemy captured in the fight, was recaptured by the same troops that lost it. I estimate that the enemy has lost, since the 20th July, when we crossed Peach Tree Creek, not less than 15000 men, and a correct count would rather increase. . . . [Remainder of letter missing.] Poe learned that Eleanor had returned to Navarre, Ohio, from Detroit via ship across Lake Erie, much to his dismay. Furthermore, he sensed, correctly, that Nell was beginning to feel significant stress over both his continued absence personally and the anxieties of being a young mother with no husband present. He lamented that her usual high spirit had sunk “into a condition of grumbling & moodiness worthy of a Wilkins” but entirely out of her character. (184) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Camp near Atlanta Ga. Aug. 5th, 1864 Dear wife, . . . We have constant skirmishing, and generally, about 4 p.m., it rises into the dignity of a battle. The 23rd corps (my old friends) have had quite a hard fight to-day. I was on their line, and the firing was quite heavy.68 I understand that Reilly’s brigade,69 in which was the company commanded by Judge Kelly’s son, and the Ricks boys, suffered quite severely. I don’t know 67. Modern casualty estimates for the Battle of Atlanta (a Union victory) place Confederate losses at approximately 5,500 men and those of Union forces at 3,700. Ecelbarger, Day Dixie Died, 208–14. 68. The XXIII Corps of Schofield’s Army of the Ohio was heavily engaged along Utoy Creek as it attempted to advance to Atlanta’s southern perimeter. Hess, Fighting for Atlanta, 198–99. 69. Brig. Gen. James W. Reilly (1828–1905). An Ohio man, Reilly commanded a brigade in Cox’s Third Division, XXIII Corps. Warner, Generals in Blue, 393–94.

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whether either of them was hurt, and you had better say nothing about their being in a fight, until I can learn something definite about the matter, when I will write you. I am very well, and if you will only keep your spirits up, will be perfectly happy, as the anxiety about you, is the only source of trouble I have now in all the world. Give my love to all, and believe me your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (185) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Aug. 8th, 1864 Darling Nell, . . . I have this moment recd. a dispatch from Nashville, informing me, that some more photographs, and my splendid album, were sent to you by express to-day. Don’t forget to let me know just as soon as you receive them. The album I suppose is a grand affair, though I never saw it. It is a present to me, by some photographic artists. Remember, those pictures which have forts upon them, are not intended for general inspection. Tell me how many of the large photographs you receive in this package, also how many stereoscopes. The usual amount of daily fighting goes on, but we do not progress very rapidly towards Atlanta, and our movements are necessarily becoming slower each day on account of our proximity to the rebel lines. I see by the papers, that the “Second”, was again in the thick of the fight. Poor Capt. Young was killed, also Lieut. Busch. So those brave men drop off, one by one. . . . 70 I have written a complete history, of our doings for the month of July— and will send it, as soon as I can have a copy made to send to the engineer department. Did you find, in the box I sent you long ago, a pamphlet copy of my report on the campaign in East Tenn.[?] Give my love to all, and accept devotion for yourself and Charly from your husband, O. M. Poe

70. Capt. John L. Young, in temporary command of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, and Lt. John G. Busch were both killed in action on July 30 during the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:42, 188–89.

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(186) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Aug. 14th, 1864 Dear Nell, I will write to you to-night, but Wheeler71 must say whether or not the letter will reach you. I know that if he had a wife, and a letter from him to her were to fall into my hands, I would send it on to its destination. You know I have done so with several letters from “rebs” of my acquaintance to wives, mothers, or sisters; and I would always do so, provided the letter contained nothing which could do us injury. Wheeler is somewhere in the neighborhood of Dalton, and intends mischief to our rail-road, but I hope most sincerely that he may be emboldened to such a degree that he will hover about there for a few days, as I feel assured that if he does, he will be roughly handled. Our cavalry is in much better condition, and we have more of it, than the enemy dreams of.72 Now my dear wife, I did not mean to goad you into an explanation of your return to Navarre. I most heartily approve of the move, and for the very reasons you give, though I would not have been the first to utter them. But I never have given myself the slightest uneasiness concerning any of your movements, for I know well enough that your good sense would not permit you to make any serious mistake. If I had not thought so, long ago, I never would have asked you to be my wife. This thought was uppermost, when liked, for I have been extremely busy for the last three weeks. You will readily understand that the position of Chief Engineer of a great army like this, is no sinecure, and particularly during a semi-siege, like our operations about Atlanta have been. Yet we have not regularly laid siege to the place, if we had I could have dug into the town long ago. We don’t want to spend much blood in the capture of Atlanta, for it is of no importance to us, in a military point of view. The object of the campaign is, as I understand it, to completely sever railroad communication between the West & East, via the most northerly of the two routes. This is done, now, since our lines extend to the Augusta R.R. on the eastern side of Atlanta. But there is still the route from Montgomery, via East Point, to Macon, which can be readily used, though it is a little round 71. Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler (1836–1906), West Point class of 1859, commanded all Confederate cavalry engaged during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Gray, 332–33. 72. As of two weeks earlier, July 31, the three Union armies under Sherman’s command had an effective cavalry strength of 10,517 horsemen. Confederate returns for August 10 showed an effective strength just at 10,000 troopers. Poe was right in that the Union cavalry was far better equipped and trained than in the past. Evans, Sherman’s Horsemen, 474; O.R., 38(1):117, 38(3):681.

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about. We must occupy this line, and then Atlanta will be untenable by the enemy, provided always, that we can live longer on our provisions than he can on his. A very few days, and this problem will be in process of solution. The enemy seems to forget, when he sends Wheeler to break our lines of communication, that he thus exposes his own, which if I mistake not, are as vitally important to him, as ours are to us. I regard this campaign as certain to end within one month, either by our occupation of East Point, or by our complete overthrow and discomfiture. I would like to send you a map, but I am afraid that this letter may fall into the hands of persons for whom not intended. I enclose a couple of photographs, that of Dr. Kittoe, our Med. Inspector.73 I want [it] put into an album. The other, you can put with the select package I sent you in Detroit, some three months since. I will explain when I see you. I suppose you have got the two boxes, by express from Nashville, containing the photographs and my fine Album. At least I hope so, for I prize [all] of them very highly, and am patiently waiting to hear of their reception as well as of the check I sent you some ten days ago. I shall watch to see how business like your acknowledgment will be. With love to you all, and, as you well know, devotion to yourself, and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (187) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress August 17th, 1864 Dear Nell, I send you the original copy of my report to the Engineer Bureau for the month of July. It is somewhat lengthy, but gives a connected account of our operations here, and will afford any one a much better understanding than they can get by any other means. It is sent for your benefit, but I have no objection to you showing it to Uncle Leiter, or anyone else that would really care about reading it, always taking care that no part of it finds its way into the newspapers. I don’t know when you will get this, for Wheeler is still on the road somewhere, and we’re not sending any mail through. I suppose that after tomorrow we will be separated from the road in such a way, that if we do drive Wheeler off it, we will still have no communication with the north. I would 73. Dr. Edward Dominicus Kittoe (1814–87), medical inspector for the Army of the Tennessee. O.R., 38(4):33.

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like very much to go on and tell you all about what we hope to do, but it is not now the proper time. I have another great secret to tell you, or rather, confession to make, but am afraid to do it now. I can assure you that nothing short of serious symptoms of scorbutic74 affections could have induced me so far to forget myself, in what was due to respecting, not to say loving friends. I will only hint at it, by saying that the onion crop will hereafter be a more profitable one in the North. We hear little of what is going on in the outside world, and care a great deal less. What news we get, is by rebel newspapers, and we consequently have to view all recent military operations through their “specs.” We gather, however, that our fleet is actually inside the harbor of Mobile, and that we have possession of Fort Gaines.75 I have not seen anyone you know, for some days. Col. Henry Mizner76 was the last. He took dinner with me on Sunday. He told me of several “jokes,” which he had sent his wife, giving her my name, as that of the author. If I only improve a little more, I will be an eligible candidate for the presidency. Will Lyster was up to see me yesterday, but I had gone down to our extreme right flank, and consequently did not see him. I don’t care about your not showing me his letters. I know how innocent he is, and the little harm he is likely to do, at a distance of six hundred miles from you. But I can’t be induced by any such threats to show you Win’s letters. She and I are going to keep up a gay correspondence. Give my love to all. Hope you have received the check. Accept the devotion of your husband, O. M. Poe (188) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress August 24th, 1864 [#1] Dear Nell, I have only time to write a line to enclose this map. Be sure to let me know that you get it, for I will be very anxious for fear that the rebels may get it. I have marked all the roads in red, and have made a blue curve where each of the battles of the 20th, 22nd, and 28th July were fought—and have 74. “Scorbutic” means related to, producing, or affected with scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. 75. Located at the easternmost end of Dauphin Island, Fort Gaines was one of three Confederate strongholds guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay, Alabama. 76. Col. Henry R. Mizner (1827–1915), colonel of the 14th Michigan Infantry. Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 419.

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drawn a blue circle to show where the next one will probably take place. So look out in the newspapers, for tidings from that vicinity. God grant that they may be favorable for us. Your loving husband, O. M. Poe. (189) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress August 24th, 1864 [#2] Dear wife, The long expected move will now take place, unless the order is countermanded between this and to-morrow night. The map I sent you yesterday will indicate what direction our march will take. We may be able to keep open communication with our rear, but I scarcely expect it, and you need not be at all surprised, if you should not hear from me for some time. I feel sure that a decisive battle will be fought before many days, and the sooner it is done, the better for us. My dear, don’t meddle with politics in any shape or form. No one knows how matters will turn, and while I am no time-server, yet I do not feel like unnecessarily making enemies. Let this thing of O.A.K’s, and everything of the sort alone.77 I believe firmly that there is a good deal of humbug about the whole matter, but be that as it may, I know that neither you nor I can do any good by interfering in the matter. We will only be crushed between the contending parties. My policy is, to go quietly along and do my duty, and let the next few months develop themselves. Meanwhile I make it a particular request that you aid me in this. Only this much I may say that I am fighting for my country, and not for Abe Lincoln, nor the Republican Party, and I want no course taken by you which will indicate that I have forgotten my oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies and opposers whomsoever.” Neither do I want it understood that I am fighting for the democratic party, for God knows that I have no wish nor thought beyond contributing my mite to the honorable ending of this war, a consummation only to be attained by the defeat of those who oppose the constitutional armies of the United States. You know very well that I can afford to be patriotic as I have not received such favors from any party, as to feel under any obligation to it. 77. The Order of American Knights, or OAK, was a midwestern, anti-Lincoln “secret society” created in late 1863 as a means of countering the growing pro-Lincoln Union Leagues and furthering the aims of the Democratic Party. Taylor, Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known, 196.

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But enough of political talk. I know that you at least know and can appreciate the purity of my motives, and I care very little for the opinion of anybody else. I’m very sorry Nell that you did not go to Miss Ricks’ party, for I have felt for some time that you would be much happier if you did not isolate yourself quite so completely. You certainly are able to accommodate yourself to the varying character of those whom you meet, I. . . . [Remainder of letter missing.] (190) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Mt. Gilead Church August 27th, 1864 Dear wife, Our movement has progressed all night, this far. We are now about 3 miles (3 inches by the scale) from Red Oak, (on the R.R.), and are due north from that station. Our march has been but slightly opposed today, but there is no doubt we will meet with much more resistance tomorrow. The map I last sent you can be referred to, and you will find us about 1½ miles due west from that place marked Tollis. It is exceedingly doubtful whether this gets through, as we have entirely detached ourselves from the R.R. and are now out in “the air”.78 Therefore I can’t say everything I would like to, and feel bound to write a very short letter. Genl. Thomas says he will try to send it through for me, and if you get it, you will be more fortunate than any other woman in Ohio. With love to you all, and devotion to you my dear wife, I am your husband, O. M. Poe When the war began in April 1861, both sides seemed to agree that the conflict would be waged only by white men strenuously observing all traditions of civilized warfare. Major General McClellan certainly believed that, as did Poe. Though many Union soldiers and politicians now espoused a much harsher war against Confederate soldiers and civilians, Poe’s conviction that the war should only be fought by competing armies and not waged against innocent women and children remained intact.

78. To be “up in the air” was a Civil War military phrase that meant a unit’s flanks were not anchored on a physical barrier or otherwise secured, making it extremely vulnerable to a flank attack by the enemy.

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(191) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress August 30th, 1864 Dear wife, I am very tired to-night but must acknowledge having recd. your letter of the 20th before I go to sleep. We have marched about eight miles to-day starting from Red Oak Station, and are resting for the night, about one mile and a half (one inch & a half ) south of the church & mill around which I made a blue nog on the map I sent you. We are six miles from Jonesboro, a station on the Macon Rail Road, which point we want to reach if possible, and then destroy that road, as we have the one running from Atlanta towards Columbus, Georgia, and Montgomery, Ala.—by burning every tie, and bending every rail for

Union men destroying rails around Atlanta, as illustrated in Poe’s letter of August 30, 1864 (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

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many miles (12, in the case referred to as completed).79 We have not had any hard fighting yet, but fully expect to have a battle to-morrow for the enemy will certainly come test our attempt to effect a lodgment on the Macon Road.80 It is perfectly pitiable to witness the distress of the people through here, and I pray God it may never be my duty to see the like again. A great many of our soldiers are acting very badly; robbing and plundering. I lose my temper when an attempt is made to do anything of the kind in my presence, and make pretty free use of the physical strength with which Providence has blessed me, as more than one “bunged up” face in our army can testify this night. But my attempts to stop this thing are but a small & feeble effort, when we regard the great number of those who either wink at it, or openly encourage it. You know I always did lose my temper when people asserted in my presence that it was necessary to lend this additional cruelty to a war, already bloody and sanguinary without parallel. I would like to tell you all that we hope to accomplish, but the risk of this falling into the hands of the enemy is so great, as to deter me. While I would not make war upon the women & children of rebels, I have providence and loyalty enough to keep me from writing that which might, if known to improper persons, do our cause an injury. My love to you all, and devotion to you and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Don’t write to Winnie or your mother until they write to you. I have already expressed my views upon that subject. With Sherman’s armies closing in and his own decision to fight another day, General Hood ordered the Army of Tennessee to evacuate Atlanta during the night of September 1–2. After Union troops occupied the abandoned city on the second, Sherman sent a telegram to Lincoln stating, “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won.” Northern morale soared, prompting Lincoln’s reelection chances to flip from doubtful to likely.

79. Union soldiers would create an inferno by burning wooden rail ties. The steel rails were then placed in the fire and, when red hot, were bent around a nearby tree, rendering them unusable. These twisted rails became known as “Sherman’s neckties.” 80. Poe’s prediction again came true. On August 31 two Confederate corps attacked Sherman’s entrenched and more numerous troops in the Battle of Jonesboro. They were repulsed with significant casualties, paving the way for Union forces to seize Atlanta. Hood’s Confederates evacuated the city the following night. Hess, Fighting for Atlanta, 262–63.

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(192) poe telegram to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Sept. 3rd, 1864 Mrs. O. M. Poe / Massillon by telegraph from Atlanta, Ga. We have Atlanta. Have whipped rebs every time. None of your friends hurt. O. M. Poe (193) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Camp at Gunter’s House 26 miles south of Atlanta Sept. 3rd, 1864 Dear Nell, Take your map and look on the line of the Macon R.R. for Lovejoy’s Station, and then find a point halfway between there and Jonesboro, and you will have very nearly the position from which I am writing. We have possession of Atlanta, and East Point, but of course may have to fight to retain them. It would be a long story to tell you all the steps by which we have accomplished this result but as military operations, they have been very successful. The main features were a movement by our right flank south of East Point, so as to turn that position, and cross both rail-roads leading thence southward. The enemy showed but little opposition to occupation of the West Point Road, but attempted to dispute our advance upon the Macon Road. In trying to do this, and at the same time hold Atlanta they divided their forces, where upon we fell upon the part at Jonesboro, and handled them very roughly. This was Hardee’s corps and it was compelled to retreat during the night.81 Nothing but the darkness of the night saved the rebel corps from annihilation. We followed at daylight, and brought them to bay here, where they have again united their army behind strong lines of earthworks. Meanwhile, one corps of ours, (the 20th) was left to guard the crossings over the Chattahoochee, and as soon as we had drawn the rebel army down here some portion of that corps marched back to Atlanta, and driving out the militia garrison, took possession. We now hold the town, and all the country this far south. I enclose three letters of yours, and am glad that your mother wrote to you, but can’t help thinking they are mistaken about not having recd. your letters. 81. Lt. Gen. William “Old Reliable” Hardee (1815–73), West Point class of 1838. Poe mentioned the Battle of Jonesboro fought on August 31–September 1. After that battle, Hardee was given command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Warner, Generals in Gray, 124–25.

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my dear nelly

I telegraphed to you this morning the most important points connected with this last movement. At that time I did not know that Genl. T. J. Wood has been quite seriously wounded in yesterday’s fight, and that he will probably lose his foot.82 With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am your husband, O. M. Poe

82. During the battle at Lovejoy’s Station, Wood was wounded by a rifle ball that shattered his left foot.

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eight

R “We Have Left Nothing but Desolation behind Us” Fortifying Atlanta and the March to the Sea, September 7–December 26, 1864

S

herman’s and Hood’s armies seemed to take a much-needed rest from war following the Confederate evacuation of Atlanta. The Army of Tennessee withdrew to the southwest, where it camped near Lovejoy’s Station. Sherman, meanwhile, had to decide his next move. He had no intention of occupying Atlanta and being faced with the responsibility of feeding its citizens or attending to their grievances. His decision, issued as an order on September 7, 1864, was to, in essence, turn the city into a fortified garrison by ordering all citizens to evacuate. These individuals and families were not only forced to abandon their homes but also almost all of their possessions—this only a few months before the onset of winter. Hood was outraged when he learned of Sherman’s edict, resulting in an icy war of words between the two generals during the following week.1 (194) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta, Ga. Sept. 7th, 1864 Dear wife, I reached here day before yesterday, but have been so very busy that I have had no time to write. I telegraphed you from near Lovejoy’s that we had possession of the city, and that we were all well. Afterwards I learned that Genl. T. J. Wood was very seriously wounded. He will probably lose 1. O.R., 38(5):838.

259

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Peach Tree Street with wagon traffic, Atlanta, 1864 (National Archives and Records Administration)

his foot. That telegram was sent in care of Mr. Ricks, and you will have to be very careful to pay him the money he had to pay the telegraph men. You see that I give you the funds of the household, and expect you to pay all bills. Atlanta is quite a town—[it] is about the size of Dayton Ohio. It has something of the tumble down look of all southern towns, but still there are some fine residences, and more evidences of thrift than are usually met with south of the Mason & Dixon’s line. The city, in some localities has been a good deal injured by our shot, and I learn that several women and children were killed. You know I was opposed to shelling the place, for it did no good at all, and only brought harm to unoffending people. Some of the buildings destroyed, would be useful to us now for warehouses & depots in which to store our army supplies. I venture to say that all the shelling we did, did not get us into the town, a single second sooner than we would have got in anyhow. It was the movement of our army, around to their rear, that drove the rebels out, and not the burning & destruction of a few houses occupied by non-combatants instead of rebel soldiers, who were safely and snugly stowed away in the forts where no shot could reach them. We have learned that Genl. McClellan has been nominated by the Chicago Convention.2 Now I want to warn you again, about saying anything either for 2. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, August 29–31, 1864, and as expected, George B. McClellan was nominated to be the party’s presidential candidate in the upcoming November election. Ohio representative George H. Pendleton was nominated for vice president.

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or against him, or any other candidate. Let things take their course, and let the next two months develop themselves before you say anything. You must understand, that what is loyalty in case of Mr. Lincoln’s re-election may not be so construed if his opponent is successful, and as our duty lies, not to either one of the contestants, but to the country, but the people decide by their votes the path of that duty. . . . I think Master Charles begins to need whipping, and I shall expect you to perform that necessary duty. It is the only way to teach him his proper place. He is evidently getting the advantage of you, and my word for it, you are laying the seeds of many a heartache. If I was only at home I would give you several lessons in child training which would surprise you. But I always knew that your children would rule you, for your mothers’ did the same to her, and it is not likely that they would depart from the teachings of the youth. . . . I can form no idea of what is to be the Programme, now that our campaign has terminated successfully, but I don’t anticipate very active movements for some time to come, certainly not for a month. An order has just been promulgated, sending all the inhabitants of Atlanta, North or South as they may elect. This seems hard, but it really is an act of humanity, because they would certainly suffer if they staid here. With love to you all, and devotion to you and Charlie, I am your husband O. M. Poe I enclose some specimens of Atlanta flowers. I could have sent a rose-bud instead of the full blown one, but it would scarcely have been appropriate. (195) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta, Ga. Sept. 10th /64 Dear wife, War in this neighborhood seems to have almost ceased, and were it not for the peremptory order for all persons, not belonging to the army, to leave Atlanta, one could almost fancy that peace had been declared. A truce of 12 days has been arranged, during which all those who are to go south, will be delivered to Hood, at the little place “Rough and Ready,” where their friends will meet them with wagons and take them on their way rejoicing. Those who elect to go north will probably remain until the others go. It seems, at first glance to be a very hard case but after all, it is an act of humanity, for they would inevitably suffer if they remained here. They are permitted to take away with them, all their movable property, which makes the hardship much less. . . .

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my dear nelly

While this is a time of rest for the army, it is not for me, as I have to go to work and entirely remodel all the fortifications here, to render them suitable for our own purposes.3 Sept. 12th. I was interrupted, and in the pressure of business have not had time to finish my letter. To-day we received the first mail for more than two weeks, & I was delighted to get the enclosed. There was no use in our writing, because there was no mail sent off. I am very glad, my dear wife, that you enjoyed Will Lyster’s visit, and hope that he was as much pleased. I’ll warrant that he got something good to eat, if the “Chateau de Poe” contained it. I don’t know whether [or] not I wrote to you on your birthday but fear that the “big raid”, upon which we had then started, prevented. I wrote to you, once or twice during the interval between the 24th and 31st of August, but do not remember whether I did so on the 26th. You know that we had no communication with the North, having cut loose from everything, and marched out to decide the fate of a nation. I am much obliged to Mrs. Richmond for her complimentary notice of you, they can assure you that I do not think any the less of her for it. . . . I am very glad that the map reached you safely and that you found it interesting. I am always so fearful that I will bore you with such things. I know as well as any one, how rarely we find a person who cares about such things, and therefore I rarely impose them on any one. Imagine then my gratification at finding that you are willing to take a second look at one of our maps. The map, together with the report ought to give you an excellent idea of the general plan of operations. In the great movement which resulted in the capture of Atlanta the enemy did not fight us at Murry’s Mill [or Morrow’s Mill], as he ought to have done, and the fact that he did not do so gave us a great deal of assurance, for it indicated that the enemy did not comprehend the movement; in other words, that he was completely out-generaled. I am very pleasantly situated in an Atlanta, but am dreadfully homesick. There is not the slightest chance of my getting home soon. Will Tillman is here, a fact made patent by his paying me a few days ago, my pay for the month of August.

3. Poe wrote that the Rebel lines were twelve miles in length, far too long to be properly manned by Union forces. He selected and constructed new lines only three miles in length. O.R., 38(1):138.

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With love to you all, and inexpressible devotion to yourself, I am my own dear wife your husband, O. M. P. (196) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta, Sept. 15th /64 My darling, The enclosed will show you what letters I have recd. since my last. The one dated Sept. 8th is particularly though not solely acceptable. It does me a world of good, my wife, to have you write in such spirits, and I can see you and our boy in your attempts to glorify our achievements in this region. I was afraid to send you a telegram, lest you should not open it, through some ridiculous sort of a scare. But you see that a telegram may contain good news. . . . I have had a note from Beckham, and am going to meet him on flag of truce, on Saturday. I enclose the note, so that you may see that he does not hold a very great degree of spite against his Yankee friends of olden time. I have just heard from Genl. Wood. There is a fair prospect of saving his foot.4 He is very cross, but very plucky—will not relinquish command of his division, but retains it. He must be wonderfully afraid of Madame W.—Else why not go home. . . . Tell mother that my place can only be bought for gold. This is not the time to transfer property, in real estate, into anything so unreliable as paper money. I will sell my farm, for four thousand two hundred dollars ($4200) or a little over $45 per acre, but the payment must be gold in hand. Mother ought to have at least $55 per acre, the payment to be the same. If any man is willing to pay the price I have named, or will make a close offer, I will correspond with him. It is useless for anyone to offer anything but gold in payment, for land is just as good, and I will not exchange it for anything but the specie.5 I have seen a Cadet Register. Tom stands No. 40, in a class of 78, which is quite good. He is beyond all danger, and I regard him as certain to graduate. Eleanor, my wife, I am very much interested in your descriptions of the pranks, and doings in general of my boy Charly. Don’t think because I do

4. Wood did retain his foot and his commission in the regular army, serving for the remainder of the war. Yet over time, the wound gradually became so debilitating that he was forced to resign his army command on January 25, 1868. Lee, Thomas J. Wood, 240. 5. Specie is money in the form of precious-metal coin, as opposed to a paper currency.

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not always allude to them that I do not regard them. They always set me to thinking of you, and I can then fairly see you, in your true place of mother, wife—everything to me. Don’t think I envy any man living, his lot, rank, station, such to me the veriest tinsel, in comparison with the honor shown me by my honorable wife, and all I ask is that my children may be like her. Now is the time that Charly would begin to be a pet with me, and I would give a great deal to see both you and him. Yet that is not to be, for some time yet. For some reason, I feel like seeing the end of this thing before taking any more rest. The visits home are always so delightful than I can scarcely bear to come away. I will avoid all this by not coming home, until I can stay. I am going to take the photograph of Charly down to show to Beckham, to see what he thinks of him, and I fancy he can’t help but acknowledge that you, and your boy (who shall be exhibited together) are treasures a man may well be proud of. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (197) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta, Sept. 18th 1864 Dear Nell, I have just learned that a mail will leave in a few minutes. I have only time to say that we are all well. I went down to Rough and Ready yesterday by Genl. Sherman’s permission to meet Beckham, but he could not come. I saw several officers of Genl. Hood’s staff, and tried as hard as possible to forget that a state of war existed. Beckham is Genl. Hood’s chief of artillery. Procter Smith is Lieut. Col. of Engineers, and is with Lee’s army.6 Ferguson is a Brig. Genl. comdg. cavalry here, but is now under arrest.7 Beckham wrote me a note to explain his failure to meet me, and asks after his Detroit friends, and particularly the ladies. He wants to know what has become of Miss Julia Terry and Miss Maria Wilkens; inquires whether you and I are married yet, whether George Brady is at home, and many other

6. William Proctor Smith (1833–95), West Point class of 1857. Cullum’s Register, 2:452; Krick, Staff Officers in Gray, 271. 7. S. Wragg Ferguson faced a court-martial on September 8, charged with disobeying orders and assumption of authority. The trial resulted in a suspension from his command. Folder 12, Box 3, William Hicks Jackson Papers, Tennessee State Library & Archives, Nashville; Bunch, Roster of the Courts-Martial in the Confederate States Armies, 113. Also see chapter 7, note 27.

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things. He has sent me several notes and I will send you one of them when I write more fully this evening. Love to you all, your devoted husband, O. M. P. (198) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta, Sept. 20th /64 Dear Nell, The Nashville people are becoming very negligent, and have not forwarded to me the letters I know you have written. Atlanta is very quiet now, owing to the armistice. That will end on [the] day after to-morrow, and then I suppose we will again have our share of war’s alarms. There is but little that is new or strange to you, and the people have nearly all left Atlanta, under the operation of Genl. Sherman’s order. Many have gone south, and some have gone North, but all are leaving.8 I made the acquaintance on Saturday last of an English lady, who came from Macon, through Genl. Hood’s lines, and thought she was going on North. When she arrived here she found all her people were going South, and she is compelled to turn around and go with them. I was extremely pleased with her appearance, for she did neither chew snuff,9 or say “whar” & “thar”, but was a lady in every sense of the term—affable—pleasant, dignified, refined. But you’ll get jealous if I discourse about her any longer. I am beginning to look for Will Lyster to return, in which case I shall hope to get some tidings of home, from an “eyewitness”, and I can assure you it will do me as much good, as if I saw all your shadow. I am fairly hungry for the sight of you & ours, or if that can’t be, for the advent of someone who has seen you. Genl. Sherman’s official report is written. He pays me a very handsome compliment. I will send you in my next letter, the paragraph referring to me. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband O. M. P. Write me all about Charly.

8. Approximately 446 families, or roughly 1,600 civilians, were required to leave Atlanta. Hattaway and Jones, How the North Won, 625. 9. “Snuff ” is a dry, finely ground tobacco usually inhaled through the nose, but it could also be placed in the gum line. Snuff was most popular among Southern women. Barry, “Snuff,” 10–11.

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my dear nelly

(199) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta Georgia Sept. 21st 1864 Dear Nell, Just when I was complaining most loudly about the delay in the receipt of your letters, along came the two which I now enclose to you, and I was indeed glad to get them. I hope you have become reconciled to the idea of my not coming home, for I can assure you there is no hope of it at present. I could not come, even if the leave were granted me, as I am perfectly overwhelmed with business. It does me a world of good to hear of your pride in my having been in this campaign—but my dear wife, does it occur to you that I was not only along, but that I was Chief Engineer of the army that made it? And while I am writing to you my darling, may I not indulge in a remark or two which it would scarcely be proper for me to make to anybody else than my wife. The first is,—that I was McClellan’s chief engineer in the only successful campaign he ever made. Second, I was Burnside’s chief engineer in his successful campaign in East Tennessee. Third, I was Sherman’s chief engineer in the highly successful campaign of Atlanta. These are three very remarkable coincidences, but I would not mention them, even to mother, only to you, for you alone can fully sympathize with me in the just pride I feel, at having been associated with events which will fill such honorable pages in history: for they are now history, and not even a Congress can sever my name from its official connection with them. . . . Didn’t Mr. Ricks see my telegram from Atlanta to you[?] It was worded so that he would know that his son was safe. I took particular pains to do so, and I want you to call his (Mr. Ricks’) attention to that fact, also Judge Kelly’s people. If any of them had been hurt, I would have mentioned it. My phrase, “all your acquaintances are well”, was intended to cover all the Massillon people. So far from Genl. Hascall having been killed, he was not hurt at all, nor was he in the fight. . . . I promised to send you the extract from Genl. Sherman’s report, and do so now. “To Capt. O. M. Poe, chief engineer, I am more than ordinarily indebted for keeping me supplied with maps and information of roads and topography, as well as in the more important branch of his duties, in selecting lines, and military positions. My own personal staff has been small, but select.”10 10. Sherman report, Sept. 15, 1864, O.R., 38(1):84.

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This paragraph puts on record the fact that I was of use. You see, “I return to my muttons.”11 I am very sorry to say that my English friend has gone south, though she asserted that she would manage to fall within our lines again, and would then be prepared to stay. I was quite sorry that she went, for she is altogether too much of a lady to be wasted upon the Southern people, such as I have seen them. Moreover, it was a great relief to see one woman down here, who did not chew snuff. She was the only one I had seen, that was guiltless of that habit: since we entered the state of Georgia. . . . What is the reason that Wm is so anxious that mother should sell her place? And if she sells, where does she talk of going? I feel a little anxious about the whole matter, and would like to hear all you know about it. Does Thomas Chapman have anything to do with it? Does he want to sell his farm? I won’t sell mine, without my eyes being wide open, and at the same time, getting my price. We have a home now. If we sold, God only knows when, or where we would have another. With love to all, and my devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Despite the “strong silent male” stereotypes of the era, nineteenth-century manliness did allow for tender displays of affection. This next “love letter” from Poe to Nell is a prime example from the era in which he pulls back the curtain to reveal his softer side and what he believes to be Nell’s past relationship with her mother. (200) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Sept. 24th 1864 My darling, I have just recd. the enclosed. You are very good to write me such nice letters. I can see you trudging off to the store, with butter to sell. Truly you will soon be a real farmer’s wife, and I honor you for the independence of character, which enables you to do anything which you feel it to be proper and right for you to do. I tell you I was not mistaken when I made up my mind that you were the person I wanted for a wife and determined to marry you if I could. Your mother did her best to make me believe you were good for nothing, but I had used my eyes for myself, and knew better. And every day I am furnished with fresh evidence that I was right, and can fervently from the bottom of my heart, say God bless you. 11. To “return to one’s muttons” is an idiomatic expression meaning to get back to the business at hand.

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Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, leaning on the breach of a gun, with his staff at Federal Fort No. 7. This scene is described by Poe in his letter of September 28, 1864. (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

Of all our “engaged” days, or moonlight nights, I remember but few. They are obliterated by the greater happiness of our married life. I recollect the evening we went to [Detroit’s] Christ Church, and our conversation about the future. Our sled ride, along with Winnie and Jo. Brown & Maria & Will Lyster—and a few, very few other occasions. My wife, you know I think a great deal of our boy, and I need no preparation to make me believe he is something wonderful. Of course he is, he couldn’t be otherwise. No other can be like him, for no other has you for his mother. There now, that is more of the lover that I have permitted myself to exhibit for many a long day, and if it partakes too much of the softhearted, you can thrust the letter to one side, and have no answer for it. But my own Nell, the feeling will creep up, and sometimes I make a goose of myself. But I don’t often offend in that way, and I hope you will pardon me when I do.

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I am very well, “and hope these few lines may find you enjoying the same blessing.” With love to you all, and devotion to yourself, I am, my dear wife, your husband, O. M. P. (201) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Sept. 28th /64 Nelly dear, I write this evening for two good and sufficient reasons—first—because I want to, second, in order to enclose a couple of pictures of Genl. Sherman & Staff, taken in one of the Atlanta redoubts. No one else has any, and you will be quite fortunate. I have some lovely pictures of Atlanta and vicinity, and will send you some, as soon as I can. In the cards I send you will have no difficulty in recognizing Genls. Sherman and Barry, but whether or not you will be able to distinguish “which is Daniel, and which is the Lion”, is more than I can tell. Blue cotton umbrellas are scarce, and therefore that sign, so significant is not apparent. Therefore I will name them, from left to right, leaving out Genl. Sherman who leans on the breech of the 20 Pdr. Parrot gun, and Genl. Barry, who leans on the wheel of the gun carriage. No. 1. Captain [Lewis M.] Dayton, A.D.C. No. 2. Dr. [Edward D.] Kittoe, Lt. Col. Med. Inspector, leans on the muzzle of the gun No. 3. Col. Beckwith, Chief Commissary No. 4. Capt. Poe, Chief Engineer No. 5. Lt. Col. Warner, Inspector General No. 6. Capt. Marshall, (Genl. Barry’s staff ) No. 7. Capt. Baylor, Chief of Ordnance No. 8. Capt. Nicholls, A.D.C. No. 9. Lt. Col. Ewing, Inspector General No. 10. Maj. McCoy, A.D.C. Miss Rousseau (that was) now Mrs. Watkins, (I sent you her picture long ago) is here, having come down from Calhoun [Georgia] with her husband, who is a colonel of cavalry, commanding a Brigade at that place. Col. Watkins is a young officer in the Regular Army,12 and is the same who captured

12. Col. Louis D. Watkins (1833–68), brigade commander in the First Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland. Warner, Generals in Blue, 543–44.

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& hung Orton Williams (Lawrence’s brother) a year ago,13 and who so successfully defended Lafayette against Pillow, this summer.14 She almost talked me blind, and made me feel very foolish. Why is it, my dear that I can’t do the “small talk” of social life? I certainly have had practice enough. You are the only person I ever saw that I could always talk to, and in whose presence I never felt embarrassed. Now there is a frank confession for you, but you need not go to putting on airs, on account of it. It is said that the rebel cavalry is again in our rear, where it is chronically. But it does us very little injury. Though I would regret very much, the capture of the mail which contained this letter. Gus Ricks has gone home, and will probably see you. I didn’t send you a kiss by him. He can tell you all about the capture of Atlanta. Your devoted husband, O. M. Poe By the end of September, General Hood’s Army of Tennessee abandoned the Atlanta area and began marching up the Western & Atlantic Railroad toward Chattanooga in an attempt to cut off the Union supply line and therefore induce Sherman to follow. Hood’s plan was to draw the Union armies onto ground of his choosing, where they could then be destroyed. Sherman followed the rebel army but kept the XX Corps in Atlanta to serve as a garrison force. Poe stayed behind as well to begin the engineering task of creating that fortified reality. (202) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Oct. 6th /64 Dear wife, I have had no letter from you of a later date than the 16th August, and as our Rail Road has been cut for several days I don’t expect any word from you for some time to come. The rebels captured one mail and I suppose got some of your letters there. I hope they contained nothing but what you would be willing that any wild cavalry man might read, for such has surely been the fate of some of them. 13. William Orton Williams was a Confederate officer who was captured behind Union lines on July 8, 1863. He was wearing a Union officer’s uniform and carrying fake papers. He was immediately tried and convicted as a spy and hanged the next day. Beymer, Scouts and Spies of the Civil War, 28–54; O.R., ser. 2, 6:117–18. 14. On June 18, 1864, Colonel Watkins successfully defended his position at Lafayette, Georgia, against a much-larger force of Confederates under Maj. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow. Watkins report, Sept. 10, 1864, O.R., 38(2):793.

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I need not say how hungry I am to hear from you, and our boy. You can well imagine how long the time seems. And it is doubtful when we may be able to get any mail matter through, to or from Nashville. Genl. Sherman is after the enemy, but there is no telling whether he has yet been able to catch up with them. The very heavy rain now falling undoubtedly, prevents his attacking them to-day. If Grant fought them yesterday, as I suppose he did, and Sherman had done so to-day, it would have furnished sensation items for the newspapers for a whole week. The army has gone principally from Atlanta, to catch the enemy, though there is a large force here still.15 I have been kept here, to fortify the town, stronger than it was. Perhaps we may have another siege of Knoxville here. If so I hope we may be as successful. I saw Will Lyster a few days ago. He has gone with Genl. Jeff. C. Davis,16 in the absence of Genl. King, who has not yet returned from his leave of absence. Sam Pitman17 has resigned and gone home, but Genl. [A. S.] Williams is still here. Will Tillman started north a week ago, but I presume has got no further than Chattanooga. Gus Ricks also started for home, but I don’t know whether he succeeded in getting thorough before the Rail Road was cut. Oct 10th—The town is all agog with rumors of all kind of news. We have Richmond taken, and many other stories fully as creditable. But one thing is true, the rebels made a heavy assault upon Allatoona Pass two or three days ago, and were very badly whipped. Genl. Corse (I sent you his picture) commanded our troops—and I had the honor some months ago of building the fortifications. I wonder when the rebels will learn to quit battling against my “dirt piles.”18 If the enemy had got possession of our line there, it would have been a terrible blow to this army, as there were in the pass, at the time of the assault, more than one million rations of bread, and eight thousand head of Beef cattle—fully enough to keep this army for one month. And it was nearly all the meat we had immediately in reach. Genl. Corse, who so 15. The roughly 11,700 men of the XX Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum, were to stay behind and guard Atlanta and the Chattahoochee railroad bridge. Warner, Generals in Blue, 451–53; Sherman report, Jan. 1, 1865, O.R., 39(1):581. 16. Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis (1828–79) commanded the Second Division, XIX Corps. He was no relation to the Confederate States president. Warner, Generals in Blue, 115–16. 17. Capt. Samuel E. Pittman of Detroit, aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams, resigned September 7 and was honorably discharged. Robertson, Michigan in the War, 907. 18. On October 5 the Confederates attacked the important Union supply base at Allatoona, Georgia. Though outgunned, the Union defenders were positioned behind superb defensive works designed by Poe months earlier. See Scaife, Allatoona Pass; and Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 187–89.

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gallantly defended with less than two thousand men, this attack of the rebel army, and by his success saved this army, will probably (as he ought) be made a Major General—while I who built the fortifications which enabled him to do so will never be mentioned. Well “so mote it be,”19 such is the fate of war—but if gratified ambition can give to any General in our service more pleasure than I derive from a sense of duty done, and fidelity to the trusts imposed upon me, then he is indeed a happy man. You will notice that four days elapsed from the beginning to the end of this letter, and may wonder why I didn’t write every day. My dear wife, the monotony of one’s existence at such a place as this is beyond expression, and the self same tale is to tell, that this day, like that, was devoted to the immediate duties of my position—the intervals of labor being filled up with thoughts of my wife & boy. God bless them. With love to you all but more than love to you my darling. I am your husband, O. M. P. During the antebellum era, the romanticized image of the cavalryman as the beau sabreur of soldiers held considerable sway in the public’s mind. For many foot soldiers, however, cavalrymen were mostly pomp, which led to the infantryman’s joke, “Nobody ever saw a dead cavalryman.” In this next letter Poe concurs with that less-than-stellar opinion of the dash and glory often bestowed upon horse soldiers. (203) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Oct. 15th /64 Nelly darling, We are slightly shut off from the outer world, and of course are correspondingly anxious to learn what is going on, and more especially at such a time as the present. I have recd. five letters from you, the latest dated Sept. 28th. There must be a good many on the road somewhere, but the presence of one “John” Hood on our line at or near Dalton [Georgia] interferes sadly with regularity of mails, etc. I recd. Win’s letter, enclosed in yours, also Tom’s and Aunt Lizzie’s. It is extremely amusing to me to see Tom’s distress lest he should be put in the Engineers or ordnance [that is, artillery]. If he graduates at all, he will have 19. “So mote it be” is a Freemason’s phrase, used in rituals, that roughly translates as “so it must be,” similar to the Christian “amen” at the end of prayer.

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just cause for gratitude, without being indulged in his vitiated taste for the life of a “roystering dragoon.” Nell, I would rather see Tom dead, entitled to the legend “died in battle,” than to see him follow in the footsteps of some of the cavalrymen whom he has always heard extolled at home, as models worthy [of ] the imitation of a true and earnest man. I am very much interested in your descriptions of Master Charles. Keep them up. You speak of heaping coals of fire upon my head by sending, in the most generous way, Win’s letter for me to read. I did not send you hers, because she requested me not to do so, and as the matters she referred to were her secrets, not mine, I did as she requested, and showed her letters to no one. I pity Win and therefore do what I otherwise would not. She seems so lonely—so completely separated from every one, that I feel I cannot be too much her brother. And in this, I know you will support me. But I’ll promise you, that if I get any letters from any other woman than your sister, you shall see every one of them. I don’t send your letters back to you now, for they have run so much risk in getting down here, that they could scarcely get safely back home. I hope that Hood will soon receive such a whipping that he will not only go away, but stay away. We are strengthening greatly, the fortifications at this place.20 Of course I can’t tell just what the changes consist in, for Beckham, or some other of Hood’s staff might read this instead of your blessed self, and I’m not prepared to give the enemy such valuable information. With love to you all and assurances of devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (204) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Oct. 21st /64 Dear Nell, The chances of getting letters either to, or from home has for some weeks been so very nearly hopeless that I have not written oftener than once in four or five days. Even now there is no telling whether this will ever reach

20. Poe had about 2,000 men working around Atlanta to shorten and strengthen twelve miles of Confederate defensive lines into three. Much of the new works ran through the northern part of the city, which required the destruction of many private homes. Poe report, Oct. 8, 1865, O.R., 38(1):138–39.

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you. The enemy, by some means or other manages to keep our road broken nearly all the time. We get plenty of provisions, but not much of anything else. I don’t know how long this is going to last, but hope not much. Almost anything would be better than to sit quietly here and rely upon the forbearance of our enemies for every letter, and each batch of news we get. Now we hear nothing from the outside world, except what we get from rebel newspapers. We naturally feel somewhat anxious to know how the election has gone, what they are doing at Mobile, what Grant is doing—what Sheridan is doing, and the balance of what the great world wags. Nelly dear, I don’t know when I can come home. It seems to me a very great while since I saw you, and the future looks still longer. We are evidently going to have hard campaigning this winter. Hood will not let us alone, and it will be tramp, tramp, all over Georgia. I hardly think that many battles will be fought, but God only knows—it may be fight all the time. But one thing is certain, be it march or fight, hard work lies right before us. I have not seen any one whom you know for several days. I suppose some of my old acquaintances will be here before long, that is, when the army absent after Hood gets back. I don’t know, my dear wife what the reason is, but somehow your face is all the time present to me now. Sleeping or waking it is all the same. Believe me, I do not try to banish such visions—but encourage their presence. It is the very next thing to yourself. Pshaw—I’m foolish—Yet when I think of it, I’m no boy, no child, and these are the real visions of a man and I will revel in them even at the cost of a change of dotage, or of youth. Good night my wife. Kiss our boy for me. Give my love to all, and believe me devotedly your husband, O. M. Poe (205) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta Ga. Oct. 23rd /64 Nelly Darling, I’m out of humor to-night and I’m going to be so ungenerous as to inflict upon you a sprinkling of the ill-humor which probably should be vented in some other direction. I’m mad because we get no mails, mad because almost everybody else has succeeded in going home, mad because some of those who have not gone home have brought their homes to Atlanta. A perfect dog-in-the-manger sort

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of spirit actuates me, and because I can’t possess all the happiness I desire, I begrudge to others the little which falls to their lot. . . . Genl. Sherman is still up the country, confronting Hood. No fight of any importance has taken place. The enemy is at Blue Mountain, and when that is said, all is said.21 We are preparing for another campaign: “stripping for the fight,” as the phrase goes. I would like to tell you what the proposed campaign is to be, but of course cannot write such things. One thing you must expect, that a time will come before long when it will be impossible for me to send letters to you for weeks, and you will have to exercise all of your patience, even better than I do now—and you know I’m doing admirably at this time.22 With a hearty God bless and preserve you, and love to you all, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (206) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta Ga. Oct. 29 Nelly darling, . . . Now my dear wife, don’t you think of coming down here, or even trying it. I would be very angry. I don’t often give you “orders,” but in this matter I do insist that you must not make any effort. You could not get here, and I would not know what to do with you if you were here. You may go to Detroit, to Cleveland, to New York City, or anywhere else, but you must not think of coming down here, or even making the start. These are my “commands” and I expect obedience. So much for asserting my marital authority.23 I enclose one of my photographs, that you may see me as I am. I will say that I have had my hair cut since the picture was taken. You need not make any remarks about the appearance of my clothes, for they are good enough for any purposes, and surely good enough to campaign in. Don’t suppose for one moment that I pity any of those persons whom you 21. Sherman’s armies continued their cautious westward pursuit of Hood’s Confederates. Blue Mountain, Alabama, about sixty-five miles southwest of Rome, Georgia, was an important railroad hub from where Hood could be resupplied. Sherman, Memoirs, 2:145. 22. Poe was well aware at this time of Sherman’s plans for the upcoming March to the Sea and that his army would sever all communications and supply lines with the North. 23. Poe’s assertion of his patriarchal marriage “authority” was typical of the era. The age difference between him and Eleanor—not uncommon during the antebellum era— prompted some men, and perhaps Poe in this case, to exert their dominion by sometimes acting more as a father offering instruction to a daughter than as a husband to a spouse. Rose, Victorian America and the Civil War, 158.

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name as drafted.24 I pity Marian Crawford however, for she needs her husband to take care of her. The others can go, and no harm done to anybody. . . . Now my wife, my letters may stop at any moment, and you hear nothing of me for a couple of months. So don’t be surprised, when you cease to hear from me, and by all means keep quiet, and not start down here. I have tried all proper means to get to see you, and I have failed, and you must reconcile yourself, not only to my absence, but to my silence for I will be where it will be impossible for me to write, or rather, to send a letter to you, so govern yourself accordingly. I cannot write more fully upon this subject because you have willfully neglected your “ciphers.” With love to you all, and a kiss for yourself, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (207) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Oct. 31st/64 Dear Nell, I send you, by various routes, a box full of Photographs taken at Atlanta, including nearly everything of military interest in this neighborhood.25 They are beautiful pictures, as you will agree when you see them. As there are quite a number of stereoscopic views you will have to get you a stereoscope to look at them with.26 Buy a good one the first opportunity you have,—or wait until I can get you one from New York. Remember I prize these pictures very highly and expect them to be well taken care of. As usual I send them to you by Express, and leave you to pay the charges. So look out for the arrival of the box at Massillon and go prepared to pay charges. I think I will send the box to the care of Mr. Ricks so that it will not lie in the express office. I think that you ought to send me at least a kiss for the two nice presents I have made you to-day. I also send you in the box, a map of the region to the South Eastward of this. You will notice that the map is marked “confidential,” and you are 24. Most volunteer soldiers toiling on the battlefield held little sympathy for those healthy men back home who chose not to enlist but then found their names called in accordance with the March 1863 draft law. Frank, With Ballot and Bayonet, 15–16, 52. 25. Many of these photographs were later published. See Barnard, Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign. 26. Stereoscopic images consisted of paired two-dimensional photographs that when viewed side by side through a stereoscope presented a single, somewhat three-dimensional image.

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expected to let nobody see it, and to hold your tongue, not only about maps in general, but about this one in particular. If you do I will never trust you with another secret. With love to you all, and a heart full of devotion to yourself, I am your husband, O. M. Poe (208) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Ga. Nov 1st / 64 Dear Nell, I am mad—mad—to-night. A large bundle of letters, amongst which were several of yours, reached here last night, and was then stolen—after the cars had stopped. The officer who was bringing the package through from Genl. Sherman’s Head Quarters had them in his valise, and it was stolen. Hence my dear, I have nothing from you of a later date than the 18th Oct. This is the more provoking because I can hardly hope to get any more letters from you before we start on our new campaign, which will last several weeks at least, and be made without a “Base,” so that we will have no communication with the North. We are going to move out on our own hook, and all the news you will have of us will be from rebel newspapers. I sent you four hundred dollars to-day, in two checks which will supply you tolerably well until you hear from me again. I also send to-day a box of Photographs which I prize as the apple of my eye. If they should be lost they never could be replaced. I sent one set to the Engineer Bureau, one set to Mrs. Sherman, one set to the West Point Library, and one set to you. I sent in the same box, some maps which will explain themselves. One of them is marked Confidential. You can look at it yourself but must not show it to anyone before the 20th of November, and then only to a few. The rebel papers will indicate our position on that map. I will write every day until communication is cut off.—Meanwhile believe me your devoted & loving husband—O. M. Poe (209) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Nov 2nd Dear Nell, I haven’t quit raving yet about the loss of our mail, and can assure you that there isn’t an amicable streak about me. I enclose some photographs, some of which you will doubtless recognize.

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The one of Capt. Reese,27 I want a great deal of care taken of, as he is one of my particular friends. Be sure to keep that one of Genl. Williams, taken with his hat on, as I think it is the best likeness of him that I ever saw. I sent your box of photographs to you to-day, also a Box of Books, which contains a couple of sets of Harper’s Weekly.28 Those I want to have kept just as they are until I come home, when I will have them bound. There is also a set of the Encyclopedia Americana, and one of Malte Brun’s Geography, and a few other valuable books. The balance is trash, only put in to fill up. I bought these books off a man who was going north from Atlanta, and could not carry them. I suppose it will cost more to get them home than they are worth, but you know I never could resist the temptation to buy books. The month of November has come in with most fearful whether, which I hope will improve before many days, for if it don’t, we will have terrible campaigning. I tell you, these days make me think of home and its comforts, and almost make me regret that I am here. There is much to write about, but it concerns army movements, and of course must not be spoken of at present—but after a few days, probably in the last letter I write you before the stoppage of the mails I will tell you all that I will be justified in telling. If you are “sharp,” and put on your studying cap, the confidential map which I have sent you will indicate pretty nearly what the campaign will be. See if you are “Soger” enough to make it out. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Poe received his captain’s commission in the regular army, which he informed Nell of in a very brief note on November 3. Having Sherman’s full confidence and trust, he knew the still-secret March to the Sea was imminent. (210) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta Ga. Nov. 6th / 64 My own darling wife, Your last letter, (Oct 19th) I send you by this opportunity. I do assure you

27. Capt. Chauncey B. Reese (1837–70), West Point class of 1859, served under Poe during the Atlanta Campaign. Cullum’s Register, 2:482–83. 28. Harper’s Weekly was the North’s premier national weekly newspaper during the Civil War. It existed from 1857 to 1916. Stevenson, Victorian Homefront, 42.

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Nelly dear that you not only have a husband, but one who thinks of you constantly—morning noon and night. My long silence has been only seeming as you doubtless have received many letters before this, which were written during the interruption of communication with the North, but which could not be sent until the reopening of the roads. My wife, the silence for the next couple of months will be real. I will have no chance to write, nor can I tell you where to direct your letters so that they will reach me. We are going off on a sort of wild goose chase, and I will have no communication with the North. You will have to content yourself as well as you can during that time: remembering that wherever I may be, I am thinking of you. The time will seem very long to me, but I will be busy, and that will relieve the tedium somewhat, while you will have your boy to help you forget. I’m very sorry indeed that you were not pleased with the visit of Gus Ricks, for I know that it was made with the kindest of motives. He knew very little of what was being done in the way of fortifying. I have built the finest line, here, in all the Southwest, and I take a great deal of professional pride in it. My line is nearly four miles long and the work, and finish is most beautiful. But shame on you for your allusions to my distinguishing myself. It looks too much like blowing our own trumpet. Since you suggest that I distinguish myself only in the field, I will bear it in mind, and thank you not only for the suggestion, but for the implied permission, and will take all due advantage of it, and will be careful to carry a “revolver.” You shall have no cause to blush for your husband, who, you may be certain from past experience has all the “spunk of all the Hendersons”. . . . As for your being good, in always sending me such fine accounts of my old “flames”, I admit it, and am very thankful for your thoughtfulness. But won’t my wife do me the honor to say that of course she could write nothing bad of them? Are they not the friends of your husband? I can tell you, and truly too, that I have more respect for “Lile Carpenter,” undergoing every hardship, that her husband might go to the war than I have for some of those more favored of Fortune, who have lived in ease and comfort in Detroit, and “patronized” the war, rather than supported it, and those engaged in its labor. As Artemus Ward29 says, “I have spoke my piece”. . . . I don’t know whether not I will be able to write again before we start, but I will try. Should I fail to do so, I give you as my last charge to keep a brave 29. “Artemus Ward” was the pseudonym of Charles Farrar Browne (1834–67), a popular humor writer of his era and considered the nation’s first stand-up comedian.

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heart, and drive away from you all tendency to low spirits. Wait as patiently as you can until you hear from me again. Pray for me often, dear wife, for I have faith in your prayers. Love Charly and comfort mother, and believe me my darling, ever your devoted husband. O. M. Poe November 8, 1864, was the date of the presidential election between Abraham Lincoln and War Democrat George McClellan. (211) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Nov. 8th / 64 Dear Nell, I have only time to say one word before the last mail from Atlanta Northward goes out. Indeed I might almost have said male, instead of mail. It is very hard to tell where you will hear of me next, but I’ve no doubt I will be like a cat, and come down on my feet, all right somewhere or other. I’ve sent you lots of Photographs, and such like things with which you can amuse yourself until I turn up again. I had hoped to have gotten another letter from you, but that is now out of the question. The last letter I had was dated Oct. 19th—nearly a month ago. To-day is election day and I suppose there is plenty of excitement where you are. To those of us who are down here doing our duty, it seems like child’s play. Let all come into the field and put down the rebellion, and then elect all the presidents they want to. But these are shocking sentiments. The idea of making the milk saps of ease and comfort help do the work at the front is to say the least of it, high Treason. Give love to all at home. Kiss Charly for me, and my beloved wife, believe me your devoted husband. O. M. Poe (212) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Nov. 9th / 64 Nelly Dear, I had thought that I would not have another chance to write you, but fortunately there is one more train going out. But even now I have very little to write—it seems so poor a means of expressing one’s feelings. You know I am given more to acts than to words, and five minutes in your presence would be worth to me all I could write in a week.

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We are of course, all excitement. I would like very much to tell you all about it, but I must keep quiet—though sorely against the grain. We had a lively little skirmish this morning in front of the works, on the East Point road. The enemy supposing that we had evacuated, rushed up to occupy the lines, and found the infernal Yankees still in them, with plenty of ammunition. It was a very impudent proceeding upon the part of the rebels.30 I think they were commanded by Genl. Iverson,31 one of your old cavalry acquaintances. I have not received any letters from you of a later date than Oct. 19th. The thief who stole the mail must have made a good haul. I hope you said nothing which was intended for my sight only. Some days since I sent you two drafts on New York for two hundred dollars each. I hope you have received them, for they must support you until this campaign is over. I also sent you a Box of Photographs, my “Pets”, and a box of books. I have sent you some Photographs almost every day. I have ordered Capt. Jenney32 to send you the dozen stereoscopes which were left out of the box sent you from Nashville some months ago. It will come by express. I really think this time, I will not be able to get any more letters through. Be a good girl,—remember the requests I have made of you—give my love to mother and the rest of the family. Kiss Charly for me—and believe me, my own dear wife, your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (213) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Atlanta Ga. Nov. 10th My dear wife, My eyes were gladdened this evening by the sight of two of your letters— those of the 30th and 31st October. I can’t imagine why you have not heard from me more regularly, as I have written every time I had a chance to get letters through. You ought to feel ashamed of yourself for threatening not to write to me for six months, for you surely knew that I was not silent all 30. Poe’s description was essentially correct. Approximately 1,000 dismounted Confederate cavalry were engaged. Geary report, Oct. 31, 1864, O.R., 39(1):667. 31. Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson Jr. (1829–1911) commanded a cavalry unit during the Atlanta Campaign. Warner, Generals in Gray, 147–48. 32. Capt. William Le Baron Jenney was in charge of the Engineer Bureau at Nashville. O.R., 39(2):720.

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those six weeks, but if you did not hear from me, that there was some good reason for it. Please don’t doubt me again, but remember that I do the best I can to send you letters. “Neglect” and “doubt” are hard words to me, my darling, and I read them with a cramping in my throat; only soothed by my knowing as well as I live that you do not mean them. It would give me a great deal of pleasure to see Charly, but he will be more than a year old before I have that pleasure. Meanwhile I think he is doing famously, under the tuition of his mother, Lucky Charly—to have such a mother. I hope you have not sent Win’s letter to me, for I will never get it. It will be useless for you to write to me again, until you hear from me at the end of our campaign. I don’t know why it is, but I feel a hope that when we have done the work allotted us, that I will be able to come home It would be right nice to spend New Year’s day with you, or even any other day for we could consider that the beginning of the New Year. Wherever I am, on Christmas Eve, I will talk to no one, think of no one but you. If it is possible I will go off by myself, and let my memory aid me in merry making with you. . . . I’m going to take with me all my nice clothes. I have kept them boxed up so long that they are going out of fashion, so I am compelled to go to work and wear them out. I have with me all my white shirts, your own handiwork. I’ve had the last word to you so often, within the last ten days, that there is very little prospect of my boring you with another one this time. I will be very good, and will think constantly of my wife & child. . . . Give my love to all the family, and take for yourself and Charly all the devotion of your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe (214) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Atlanta Nov. 11th Dear Nell, We are not away from here yet, and I don’t see but the prospect is tolerably good for our being here some hours yet. There isn’t a speck of news further than this—the last train of cars leaves Atlanta to-night. After it has gone, the Rail Road will be destroyed, and so effectually too, that it will be many a day before another train comes into this city. I have my own allotted task, and would like to tell you what it is, but it wouldn’t be prudent.33 33. Poe’s “allotted task,” per Sherman’s direct orders, was to destroy and burn anything in Atlanta that could be of any use to the rebel army. Sherman to Poe, Nov. 7, 1864, O.R., 39(2):680.

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“The March to the Sea, November–December 1864”

I will not send back the last two letters I have had from you, because I want your handwriting with me. Remember me to all our friends. Tell Enos Raff that I’m going to do all I can towards giving the rebels a hard lick. With love to you all and many kisses from you and our boy, I am your affectionate husband. O. M. Poe This is my “Good bye” letter. I durst not trust myself to write any more or I will go off into a blubber. The legendary March to the Sea began on November 15, 1864, with 60,000 well-fed, fit, and trim Union soldiers thoroughly ready for war. Over the next month Sherman’s army, in two great wings, marched in a southeasterly direction through the heart of Georgia toward Savannah, living off the land and destroying everything of the slightest military value. Many men considered the march a grand picnic. Among other events, it included the sacking of much of Milledgeville, the state’s capital, after which soldiers held a mock session in the capitol building to repeal

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Georgia’s ordinance of secession. Prior to their departure from Atlanta, Poe oversaw the destruction of the city per Sherman’s orders. His engineers knocked down public buildings and burned everything of possible value to the Confederate army, though personal property and dwellings were to be respected and left untouched. (215) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress The “King’s Bridge” Near Savannah Ga. Dec. 16th 1864 Nelly Darling— For the first time since we started on our campaign from Atlanta, I have an opportunity to write to you. We carried Fort McAllister by assault on [the] day before yesterday, and are now in communication with the fleet.34 There are thousands of things I want to write to you, and want to tell you, but I can’t do so in a letter. I could write all day but then I would not be able to tell you all our adventures when I see you—which I now hope, though slight, of doing sometime within the year 1865. We are close up to the City of Savannah, and throw shells into it whenever we wish to do so. Our army is in high spirits, and we think we can do good work yet, though we have just marched three hundred miles through the heart of the enemy’s country. We have left nothing but desolation behind us. Every Railroad is destroyed, and everything eatable is carried away. All mules, horses, and slaves have been appropriated by us, and the rebel state of Georgia will long have cause to remember the march of Sherman’s army. For forty miles in width, the country throughout our whole line of march is a desert. I write in the open air, on the banks of the Ogeechee River, some 16 miles south west from Savannah (look at your map), and am going to send this north by Col. Babcock, who goes to-night. He came here yesterday with dispatches from Genl. Grant and makes so short a stay. The weather is as warm as June in the North, and day before yesterday I found some ripe oranges, in the open air. 34. Fort McAllister was the southernmost of three Confederate forts guarding Savannah. This earthen bastion was situated on the Ogeechee River, preventing communications between Sherman’s armies and the Union fleet waiting off the coast. On December 13, 4,000 Union soldiers stormed Fort McAllister, which was defended by only 250 rebels. It fell in fifteen minutes. Sherman now could obtain the needed supplies and transmit and receive mail via the waiting ships. Sherman report, Jan. 1, 1865, O.R., 44:10–11. Also see Poe report, Dec. 26, 1864, O.R., 44:57.

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I am well aware that this is Charly’s birthday, and congratulate both him and his momma—but I want it understood that I send a kiss to the mother alone. Give my love to all the family, and direct to me in care of Genl. Sherman, near Savannah, via Washington D.C. Your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (216) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Anderson’s Plantation, Ga.35 Dec. 19th 1864 Dear wife— I wrote you on Charly’s birthday sending the letter North by Col. Babcock. I hope you will receive it soon as I gave therein my new address, and shall be terribly anxious until I hear from you. So long as we were in the interior of Georgia, I did not worry because I knew there was no hope of hearing from you, but now that it is possible, all my patience has deserted me. We are still banging away at Savannah. Genl. Sherman has demanded the surrender of the city, and Genl. Hardee has signified his intention of holding the place until the last moment. We all expect that an early assault will be made upon the enemy’s lines. This army will not remain in front of Savannah all winter. We will either take it soon, or move away from it, and I for one would feel very much ashamed were we to turn our backs upon the beleaguered town, after marching three hundred miles to get at it. Don’t delay, my dear wife, one moment, your writing to me. Recollect I have had no letter from you of later date than the 3rd of November and you have six weeks of news to write me. Let me know whether or not you received the four hundred dollars (in two checks of two hundred each), which I sent you about the first of Nov. Also, whether you received the box of Photographs which I sent you from Atlanta. Mention them in three or four letters, so that I may be sure to hear of them one way or another. The wind is blowing up quite cold to-night; still I sit writing in my tent without an overcoat, and am not uncomfortable. I have just returned from Fort McAllister where I have been on duty for a couple of days. While there I 35. The Anderson plantation, home of Confederate major George Anderson, was also called Lebanon Plantation. It was located about eleven miles southwest of Savannah. It became headquarters for the XV Corps. Durham, Guardian of Savannah, 130–31.

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dined on board the Coast Survey Steamer “Bibb”, and made the acquaintance of Mrs. Bontelle, wife of the Coast Survey officer in charge—a very pleasant lady with grown up children. It was really refreshing to see once more a woman whom one could feel assured was truly loyal, and to sit at the table with clean and well behaved children. I thought of our own boy, and his mother, and envied you both, each other’s company. With much love to you all, my darling, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Address Capt. O. M. Poe / U.S. Engn / Chief Engn Mily., Divn. Miss. Genl. Sherman’s Head Quarters via Washington & Port Royal (217) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savannah, Ga. Dec. 21st 1864 Darling Nell— You will notice by the heading that we are in possession of this city, the enemy having hurriedly left during last night.36 We have captured a very large amount of property of all kinds, and many guns, but I don’t as yet know how many.37 The rebel “Iron Clad” ram Savannah is in the channel on the opposite side of the Island and it is supposed she will try to run out to sea to-night, but I hope our fleet will be on the alert, and prevent it, for it would put a fine finish upon our great campaign to capture all vestiges of the rebel navy.38 The city is full of people—many of whom are almost starving. I am staying with a Mrs. Cheeves—a sister-in-law of Langdon Cheeves [sic], a refined and elegant lady who never knew what want was until the war began.39 There is no male in the house but myself, and Capt. [Lewis M.] Dayton, 36. On December 17 Sherman sent a letter to Lieutenant General Hardee, commanding Confederate forces in and around Savannah, demanding the city’s surrender. Rather than yield his troops, Hardee and his men escaped via a pontoon bridge over the Savannah River during the night of December 20. Durham, Guardian of Savannah, 182. 37. The next day, December 22, Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln, stating, “I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.” O.R., 44:783. 38. The CSS Savannah was built in its namesake city and commissioned in June 1863. The Confederates burned the ironclad on the day of Poe’s letter rather than allow its capture by Union forces. Bisbee, Engines of Rebellion, 115–16. 39. Langdon Cheves (1776–1857) was a prominent politician and businessman from South Carolina. His career included serving as a US congressman, Speaker of the House, and president of the Second Bank of the United States. “Cheves, Langdon,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/ MemberDetails?memIndex=C000350, accessed Mar. 11, 2020.

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and I really pity the poor women,—But they suffer for the cause they have adopted—and have no right to complain. They are all in mourning and I presume some member of the family has been killed in battle, as they talk of the dreadful losses of life. Mrs. Anderson (Sallie Clitz) is in the city, also Mrs. G. W. Smith. I have not seen either. Mrs. Smith’s reputation is very bad, and I will not call on her.40 If I could only get a letter from you now, I would be happy. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (218) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savannah, Ga. Dec. 24th 1864 My darling, I was terribly disappointed to-day at not receiving a letter from you. Two “Detroit Tribunes”41 of the mail mark of 8th Nov. came, but no letter. Every other officer on our staff heard from home, myself alone excepted. I can only imagine that someone in Nashville is delaying my letters, for I know you have written. Oh! my dear wife, if you could only know how lonesome I am; how much I desire to see you and our boy. Capt. Scott of the Navy was here today.42 I did not see him, but he left a message for me; and even that made me so very homesick. But the fates have ordained that we are not to meet yet, and we must exercise all our patience and wait. This being Christmas Eve, everybody is around offering congratulations to all others. I remain at home, and send loving greeting to my world. So you may accept for yourself & Charly all the love of your husband and his father.

40. Lucretia S. (Bassett) Smith (1822–81) was the wife of Confederate major general Gustavus Woodson Smith (1821–96), West Point class of 1842. Smith, a Kentuckian, briefly commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the Battle of Seven Pines, after General Johnston was wounded and before General Lee took over. Smith later commanded the Confederate forces in Savannah, and it was his men who built the bridge over the Savannah River that allowed General Hardee’s forces to evacuate the city. After Lucretia married the general, she returned home upon learning of her mother’s illness. She was considered a spy and asked to leave town. Warner, Generals in Gray, 280–81; Decker, Whaling City, 123. 41. The Detroit Advertiser & Tribune was the city’s leading Republican daily newspaper during the latter years of the Civil War. The Detroit Free Press was its Democratic counterpart. 42. This was Capt. Gustavus H. Scott (1812–82), who most likely first met Poe when the former commanded the USS Michigan on the Great Lakes in 1857.

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God bless you both, and bring us together again before many months! No more heartfelt prayer can I offer this night.43 We will start on another campaign, very soon, and of course I will take part in it, as I have in all of those which have preceded. I don’t like to write all that is on my mind, but it would be a great relief to me if I could only tell you what I think. Still I can’t refrain from giving you my opinion that the days of the rebellion are numbered, and that peace will soon dawn upon us. Are there other two in all the land who will be rendered happier by its advent[?] I know you will take a just pride in what your husband has done; a pride which will not be diminished when I tell you that no man’s hand in all this army, is more cordially taken by men of all grades, than is mine. The private in ranks is glad of my grasp, and the major generals never fail to offer theirs when meeting. But this is all to my wife, and nobody else is expected to see, or know what I have written. With love to you all, I am, your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (219) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savannah, Ga. Dec. 26th / 64 My darling, I can’t imagine why I don’t get any of the letters which you must have written before we started on our march from Atlanta. We have now been in communication with the sea for nearly two weeks, and not a single letter have I received from anybody. Consequently I am getting lonesome. This city of Savannah is more completely subjugated than any I have ever seen before. The belles of the city (they are all here) have signified their willingness to walk upon the streets with the “vile” Yankee officers—which is a great coming down from their lofty pride of three years ago. We see nothing of the disgusting exhibitions of contempt, which characterized the course of the women of Nashville & New Orleans, to-wards our people when those cities passed into our hands. The grand rush of those who desire to take the [loyalty] “oath” has begun, and the crowds seen about the Provost Marshal’s office, are amazing, to those who really believed, at one time, that the last man and the last child 43. Over the four years of civil war, Christmas evolved from a middling holiday to one that presented an idealized vision of hearth and family. See Blakemore, “How the Civil War Changed Christmas in the United States,” accessed June 2019.

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even, would be sacrificed before the allegiance of the “chivalric” sons of the South would be received. I strongly suspect that the huge bales of cotton which fill to plethora the immense storehouses of Savannah have a great influence over the political sentiments of the owners. We are just beginning to realize the effect of our recent operations in the devastation of Georgia, and the destruction of Hood’s army44—events which must make the Southern Confederacy struggle, and stagger under them, with a fair prospect that the result will be a fall. I dined yesterday with Genl. Sherman, and heard him make a beautiful speech. Only the members of his staff were present. The General was much moved and spoke very feelingly, giving us good advice. I suppose we will make another campaign very soon, and it requires no sage prophet to divine its direction. Woe to South Carolina! We are on her borders, ready to carry fire & sword into every part of that state, and there is not one in all the length & breadth of the land to stay our hands. With love to you all, I am my dear wife, your devoted husband. O. M. Poe

44. General Hood’s Army of Tennessee was defeated with heavy losses on November 30, 1864, at the Battle of Franklin and then all but annihilated two weeks later, on December 14–15, at the Battle of Nashville. These were the major actions in what became known as Hood’s Tennessee Campaign. See Connelly, Autumn of Glory; and Hood, John Bell Hood.

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my dear nelly

nine

R “The Enemy Is More Desperate Than Ever” The Carolinas Campaign, January 1–April 26, 1865

T

he year 1864 ended as a time of rest, reflection, and celebration for Poe and all of his comrades in Sherman’s armies. The Atlanta Campaign and the March to the Sea had been stirring successes. In Virginia, where Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was present, the Army of the Potomac was slowly but surely tightening its noose around the Army of Northern Virginia in the Petersburg trenches. All sensed that the Confederacy was slowly dying and that the war would be over soon. One last campaign remained. Sherman’s plan was to turn north from Savannah and march up through the Carolinas, where his 60,000 men would rendezvous with Grant’s army at some point. In the process South Carolina, as secession’s initiator, would be made to feel the hard hand of war. Poe was again Sherman’s chief engineer, prompting him to spend the early weeks of January 1865 ensuring that his men were properly fitted and equipped with sufficient axes, saws, and other tools and materials for dealing with the Carolinas’ rivers and swamps in the middle of winter. (220) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savh. Ga. Jany. 1st / 65 A happy New Year to you my own dear wife, and may we both see many more of them. I feel so lonesome. All other persons in this city have had letters from the North, but I still get none, though it seems to me that the first letter I wrote you, the day succeeding the fall of Fort McAllister, must have reached you. The New York papers of the 22nd have full accounts of the storming of that work, and that would clearly indicate our whereabouts. But what worries 290

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me most, is that I don’t get any of the old letters which must have been written before you knew where we were going from Atlanta, or in fact before you knew that we were going at all. You would scarcely believe Nelly dear, how nice and pleasant it is here to-day. The sun shines as though it had nothing else to do, and the people of this subjugated city are going to church as quietly, and peaceably, as if stern war had never visited its gates. The natives are very civil to us, do not indulge in any of those insults which drew down upon New Orleans, the heavy hand of authority.1 Last Sunday, the prayer for the President & Congress, was omitted, in the Episcopal churches, but I hope, for the sake of Christian principle, it will be accepted as part of the Ritual. To pray for our enemies is inculcated by the Bible, and if they (the people of Savannah), recognize in President Lincoln an enemy, it seems to be their bounden duty to pray for him. If he is all wrong in his theories of government, so much more does he stand in need of the prayers of all, whose supplications are of any avail. If he is a pitiable sight, and one calculated to bring obloquy upon the Christian religion, to see political animosities brought into the worship of the Most High God; and that too to such an extent that the plainest of all the commands of the Redeemer are violated—no other excuse being offered than that to obey the command would give offense to sinful mortals. There’s my sermon. We are getting ready for another campaign. The troops have been reviewed, clothing & provisions are being distributed, and the bugles are ready to sound the advance. Genl. Sherman has notified me that he desires me to accompany him (I am still useful thank God!) and I am ready to go. The tramps of thousands will soon be heard in South Carolina, and I have strong hopes that the flag will float over the capital of that super-rebellious state before many more weeks have passed away. I want you to remember when you write, that I have not heard a word from anybody for two months—not a single letter has come to me for that length of time, and I want to hear all that has transpired during that interval. I’ll not insult you by expressing any doubts about your desire to do all this, or to write to me every hour in the day, but it seems dreadfully long to wait. 1. New Orleans’s Confederate citizens, especially its women, were contemptuous and recalcitrant toward the Union soldiers who occupied their city from May 1, 1862. This led to Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, Union military commander over the city, issuing his infamous General Order No. 28, which decreed that any woman who insulted a Union officer or soldier would be “treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation”—i.e., a prostitute. Monroe to Butler, May 16, 1862, O.R., 53:526.

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There are so many things to be said about our affairs, about Charly, and all others dear to us that you will be kept busy with your pen for some time. Meanwhile I will try to be patient. I never see any person now, whom you knew. I therefore can say but little about the people around us. The mail agent tells me that letters should be addressed here via New York, instead of via Washington. Please take notice and govern yourself accordingly. With love to you all, and more the love to you, my darling, I am your devoted husband O. M. Poe (221) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Savannah Ga. Jany. 5th 1865 My dear wife, I am very thankful to you for the several letters I received from you yesterday. You may well believe that I would like to be with you, but that is out of the question. I cannot get away from here, and I readily see that it is my true policy to rest contented here for a short time longer. To say it all, in a few words, Genl. Sherman declines to have any other engineer officer than myself, though the Department has offered him a Major for his staff;—and he has recommended me for the Brevet of Brigadier General in the Regular Army. He told me, however, that if the appointment was given, he would expect me to remain with him, and he would get me assigned to duty according to the Brevet rank, in order that I might draw the pay. I thought that no temporary benefit, should be taken into consideration against one so permanent, and you will have to make up your mind to content yourself as well as you can. I don’t want this matter spoken of, for I may fail, and then publicity would only mortify me. . . . . . . I am very glad that you received all the photographs, and the two checks. Money is getting to be an object, and we cannot afford to lose any of it. I have just drawn my pay for the months of November & December, but I cannot send you any of it. I will need it all. It may be pleasant to live in Savannah but it is terribly expensive.2 And my clothes are giving way, which ought not to surprise you when you know that I have purchased nothing new, since 2. By April 1865, the cost of living in the South was ninety-two times higher than what it had been four years earlier as the rebellion commenced. See “Confederate Inflation Rates (1861–1865),” InflationData.com, https://inflationdata.com/articles/confederate-inflation/.

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we first went to Lexington, except one vest. In short, I’m growing seedy, and to replenish my wardrobe, should I come north, would require some three hundred dollars.3 So you see there are more reasons than one, why I should stay in the field where one’s looks are never made a subject of remark. I enclose the original of my report to the Engineer Bureau, upon the march across the country. It will describe it better than I could do it again, and taken in connection with your map, will clearly indicate our line of march, and the character of our operations. . . . . . . It seems like a very long time since I saw you. I have often thought how much we wasted the time when we were together, and then I think that such a thing will not occur again, that when we are again favored in that manner, we will know better the value of time. Your threat not to [let] me out of your sight does not frighten me, but simply enables me to feel as assured that my determination not to go out of your sight will probably be all the easier to carry into effect. Write me often, while the mails are going all right, for I fear that we will go on some other trip, where I will not hear from you for some weeks. You complain of your eyes. What’s the matter with them? And why don’t you do something for them? Give my kindest remembrances to all enquiring friends. With love to you all, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Tell Charly that as he is well now I will expect a letter from him. (222) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savh. Ga. Jany. 9th / 65 Dear Nelly, It rains outside, and I suppose snows with you. I am perfectly comfortable without fire, while you are hovering near that blessed stove of ours. I recd. your letters of the 24th & 20th Dec. and have to acknowledge that I made a mistake in Charly’s birthday and thank you for giving me something to remember it by. You could not have given me any circumstance more likely to never be forgotten than the storming of Fort McAllister. But I want you to bear in mind that I was present at the taking of that rebel Fort, but was absent when Charley was born. The former was an event of national importance, while the latter has but slight bearing upon the war— 3. According to a CPI inflation calculator, $300 in 1860 equates to $9,114 in 2018 when adjusted for inflation. See “U.S. Inflation Calculator: 1635–2020, Department of Labor Data,” http://www.in2013dollars.com/.

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and though uppermost in your mind, and perhaps in mine, yet is scarcely known beyond our hearthstone. My own dear wife, I scarcely know how to write you about my inability to come home. You know; or your heart doesn’t beat with mine, how sincerely I desire to come, but I must not—and therefore I cannot come home. My work is here.—I know I am doing good service; I know that I cannot be spared, and it would be criminal in me to leave my post of duty at such a time. I would feel so ashamed that I would not be able to look an honest man in the face. If I were sick, I would not hesitate, but I have been blessed with better health than ever before in my life. This is not vouchsafed me in order that I may spend my days of health & strength at home. I hope you understand and appreciate my feelings. Only this I can say—that nothing will prevent my carrying out my promise to you to ask to be sent out of the field, but the condition of my promise to Genl. Sherman of which I spoke in my last letter and in that you are as deeply interested as I am. Tell your mother to write to me so that I can talk to her about Winnie’s case. With love to you all and devotion to you and our boy, I am your husband, O. M. Poe Sherman’s remark to Poe indicating that he had recommended him for a promotion to brevet brigadier general prompted Poe to again write to Zachariah Chandler on January 13, seeking the influence of Michigan’s powerful US senator in making sure that his prior brevet promotions were all formally approved. Poe certainly did not want a repeat of the March 1863 congressional debacle. Chandler quickly replied in a letter dated January 25, “You will be confirmed all right, give yourself no uneasiness about it.” Michigan’s other US senator, Jacob Howard, also wrote to Poe. As with Chandler, Howard assured him that his brevet confirmations were not in doubt. In that same letter he urged Poe to go with Sherman to Charleston, South Carolina “and in the name of justice do not leave a brick or stone of it above the surface.” Meanwhile, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, along with other high-level cabinet and army dignitaries, visited Sherman at Savannah, ostensibly to offer congratulations in person, though the general suspected otherwise. Neither Sherman nor Stanton was a great admirer of the other, with the general surmising that the secretary’s real intent was to gauge his attitudes toward blacks in general and Lincoln’s policies regarding blacks specifically.4 4. Poe to Zachariah Chandler, Jan. 13, 1865, Zachariah Chandler Papers, LC; Jacob Howard to Poe, Jan. 21, 1865, Poe Papers, LC; Chandler to Poe, Jan. 25, 1865, Poe Papers, LC; Sherman, Memoirs, 2:244–47.

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(223) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savannah, Ga. Jany. 13th 1865 My dear wife, I have recd. your letter of the 29th enclosing one from your mother. I sat down and laughed heartily over yours, for I could fairly see you in all your wrath. See you storm around, and gesticulate to the infinite terror of that blessed boy. I do think that you and your mother are not fit persons to judge of the amount of justice done me. We have all the dignitaries here now. Mr. Stanton, Genl. Meigs, Dr. Barnes, Genl. Townsend, etc.5 Mr. Stanton is very kindly disposed towards me, or at least I judge so from his manner. About the first word he spoke to me, when he saw me was to inquire about you. I was strongly tempted to read him that section of your letter, in which you threaten the scratching treatment for some of your Washington friends. I enclose you a note he sent me yesterday, which you may preserve for the sake of the autograph. Since writing the foregoing I have just received my measure of reward. You may judge of it as you please. For my part I have nothing to say, further than this. I am a very proud man. The service I did at Knoxville has been recognized in the Brevet of Major, to date from that time. A Brevet of Lieut. Col. to date from Sept. 1st 1864 is given me for Atlanta, and the battle of Jonesboro, and I am a Brevet Colonel, to date from Dec. 21st 1864, the day we entered Savannah. Knoxville—Atlanta, and Savannah make a record of which any soldier might well feel proud. And these are appointments in the regular army, where they will last. I am the only officer in this army that received three brevets, another distinction which I prize greatly. I have applied to be assigned to duty according to my brevet rank. I have received your letter of Jany. 2nd, and your remarks begin to frighten me. I had supposed that imprudence was all that could be charged, but the mysterious way in which you talk leads me to believe that there may be something worse. I want to know all, and you can write to me, being careful not to use any names. I will write to your mother to-day, and will tell her that you have given me some very mysterious hints, and demanding 5. The others named with Stanton were Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, US Army quartermaster general; Dr. and Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Barnes, US Army surgeon general; and Brig. Gen. Edward D. Townsend, the US Army’s assistant adjutant general. Warner, Generals in Blue, 21, 318–19; Hunt and Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 622.

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that I be informed upon the matter, and that she direct W[innie] to tell me all about the affair. I will not be satisfied with hints etc. but will require that things be called by their right names. My wife—I cannot help reverting to the early days of our engagement and of the conversations which then took place with your mother. I told you then that I was not making any mistake as to persons, and I told your mother so. Have I not more reason than ever to believe that I was then right[?] But I will curb myself for I know very well that if I get fairly started I will be sure to run off the track. I will only say that I am very glad that you are not in Detroit. I told you long ago that I thought it a bad place to be. The atmosphere was not the most desirable. I will be very uneasy until I can have a long talk with you. We will start on a new campaign within a week and I sincerely hope and trust that it will put the finishing stroke to the war. You are not more anxious than I am, to be in our own home, and quiet, for a while. You are right in directing your letters via New York. With love to you all and devotion to you and Charly, I am your husband O. M. Poe (224) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Savannah Jany. 19th / 65 My darling, I have just recd. yours of the 3rd inst. which came in some mysterious manner, as no mail has arrived that I know anything about for several days. I have no doubt but you will receive, or have received, a good many letters since the date of your last, and know how I am getting along. I don’t know how you will take my promotion, it is not the Major Genlcy that you wanted, but it is something of a special recognition of services. As you may well imagine, I have been extremely busy, working steadily every day from 9 in the morning, until dark, and frequently later than that. And now we are just commencing another campaign, which bids fair to be a harder one than any of its predecessors. But the hope, as well as belief, that the war is drawing towards a close makes me fairly eager to go on. Everything indicates an early disruption of the armies of the Confederacy. My own wife—when that time comes, there will be great rejoicing throughout the whole land, and no small share of the happiness will surely fall to a lot of you & I, for we have very quietly done our duty, and have nothing to reproach ourselves with. Neither of us will regret our long separation. Indeed I do not

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Stereoscopic view of Fort McAllister, from the southeastern bastion, looking across the Ogeechee, December 1864, as mentioned in Poe’s letter of January 19, 1865. (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

know but it is well enough for we will all the better understand, and know how to enjoy the blessings of Peace. Build your air castles Nelly dear, for I feel that their building will not all be in vain. . . . I send north, by the first steamer, a box of books, &c., in charge of Maj. Remington, who will express them from New York City, expenses unpaid. Be sure to write me upon their receipt. You need have no hesitancy about using them. They are legitimately mine. Most of them were given me by persons who left Atlanta and had no means of taking them along. I sent you my Commission of Capt. of Engineers, from Atlanta, just before we started on this march. You do not speak of receiving it, and I fear that it is lost. Let me know if you have it. I also sent by mail, a few days ago, a dozen stereoscopes of Fort McAllister. If you receive them don’t fail to inform me. I shall anxiously wait to hear from you by the mail which is due tomorrow. While we are on the next campaign you may not hear from me very regularly, and you must not grow impatient in consequence of it. Remember the experience of the last few months. With love for you all and devotion to you, and our boy, (whose pranks as related by you, are intently interesting to me) I am your husband, O. M. Poe

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Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign commenced on January 21, 1865, when the general and his headquarters departed Savannah for Beaufort, South Carolina. He had repeatedly leaked false intelligence that the army was headed for Charleston rather than Columbia.6 (225) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Savh. Ga. Jany. 22nd / 65 My own darling, I recd. two letters from you to-day. I can’t tell you how much I thank you for them, but can only promise that I will not forget your thoughtfulness. With reference to your going to Detroit, you know what I think, but my dear wife, you also know that you are at perfect liberty to go if you think proper, and your heart will tell you, (or it will belie its truth) that I will love you none the less. I can’t, & wouldn’t write if I could, all my reasons for thinking Detroit a bad place for you. But after all, it is a mere opinion, and may be, probably is, all worry. Do as you please then, and be assured that I will not scold you, be the event what it may. Now don’t misunderstand me, and go to thinking that I could possibly fear your conduct. I only fear your surroundings when you are there, and results have taught me this fear. If I could only talk with you for a few minutes, I could express much better what I mean, or at least if I found myself misunderstood I could explain. I have just come downstairs from a short visit to Mrs. Cheves.7 I showed her “Billy Morley’s Song,” and while she thought it excellent, she objected to the terms “rebel,” “traitor,” &c. It seems strange that those who steal should object to be called “thief.” Mrs. Cheves claimed a photograph of me, and I gave her the whole lot remaining of those profiles I had taken in Nashville. She thought, with me, that they were excellent. She is going to send half a dozen of them to her South Carolina friends, and I expect to find the likeness of your dear husband posted up in all the “rogues’ galleries” of South Carolina. We are having the most terrible weather I ever saw—nothing but rain all the time, which makes me wish I did not have to go on the next campaign. The rivers are full to overflowing, and the roads are beyond expression. We certainly can’t make rapid progress. But in spite of all this, Genl. Sherman

6. Sherman, Memoirs, 2:253. 7. Poe and Capt. Lewis M. Dayton were residing at the home of Charlotte L. Cheves, widow of Confederate captain Langdon Cheves, at the corner of Jones and Bull Streets in Savannah. Also see chapter 8, note 39.

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started yesterday, and we are to start to-morrow to overtake him. We expect to see him again at Beaufort So. Ca. You must not stop writing for we expect to get mails regularly every day. Of course we will be occasionally disappointed, but generally we will be successful. . . . Won’t it be a grand thing to teach Charly that his Papa made the wonderful march—aye that he was Brevetted for it? Are you sorry Nelly darling, that I was away from you long enough to be at Knoxville, at Atlanta, and at Savannah? I want you to make a nice little flag (make it yourself ) and have printed upon the stripes, the names of the battles I have been in, and hang it up in our room.8 But it is late at night, and we march early in the morning. Address me as usual. Give my love to all, and with kisses to my wife & child, I am darling, your affc. husband, O. M. Poe (226) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Savannah Ga. Jany. 24th 1865 My darling, I did to-day what grieved me more than anything else I have done in a long while. I threw into the fire, and burned to ashes all the letters which I have received from you for nearly three months. It cost me a great sting, but I thought it was dangerous to keep them, inasmuch as many things are said in them, which affect more than ourselves. All the letters which you have enclosed me in the same time, as well as all of Winnie’s were treated likewise. I have not got a single line now, from anyone who is close to me, or in whom I feel any special interest. As the fires found its way, around amongst those precious pages, many of which have given me comfort, I almost cried. But then I remembered too, my dear wife, that they would probably be replaced by others. Still it was a great trial, for words of love & honor, are not so plenty in the world that no one can afford to make ashes of them. And now that the ice is broken, I want you to burn, and that too at once, every one of my letters to you, and every one of yours to me, except that in which I proposed to you, and that wherein you accepted. 8. Such flags were common during the war. Regiments on both sides took great pride in stenciling the names of the battles in which the unit fought upon their regimental colors.

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I know you will think this is a queer freak. . . . [Remainder missing.] (227) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Pocotaligo South Carolina Jany. 29th 1865 My dear wife, I reached here yesterday evening where Head Quarters had been for several days. I was on the road from Savannah here, four long & very wearisome days, during which the weather would have been no disgrace to Michigan even. Water froze in a tin cup almost instantly & it was very imprudent to

“The Carolinas Campaign, February–April 1865”

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put water on the hair when washing for it froze before one was aware of it. This we think is doing tolerably well for the “Sunny South.” And inasmuch as we march without tents, Genl. Sherman as usual living under a fly,9 you may well imagine that there are circumstances under which campaigning would be more pleasant. Even our short, but extremely eventful stay at Newport News [Virginia] was more agreeable. Our new campaign has fairly begun, but thus far, has been prosecuted amidst all sorts of difficulties of wind & rain, &c. If it had not been for the “freeze,” I don’t know how we could possibly have gotten along. The ground froze hard enough to bear our wagons & artillery, and enabled us to make some little headway. You know that many attempts were made to occupy this place, before we came, but they were always unsuccessful. Quite extensive works were found here, which were evacuated under the pressure of the 17th Corps, the enemy leaving three guns behind him.10 It is situated on the Charleston and Savannah Rail Road, which is completely in our possession from here to Savannah, and as is usual with such Southern roads as fall into our hands, is now sadly out of repair. In fact, a week’s stay of our troops upon any Rail Road is sufficient to annihilate it. I’m living under a tent fly, with four young gentlemen of the Coast Survey, none. . . . [Remainder missing] For the next six weeks, Sherman’s four army corps headed northward through South Carolina, meeting little resistance. Poe’s engineers, usually in the lead, efficiently rebuilt the bridges that the retreating Confederates burned or otherwise destroyed. On February 17 Poe was witness to the burning of Columbia.11 On the Confederate side, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was recalled to duty on February 25. His orders were to gather together several smaller commands, including the remnants of the once-proud Army of Tennessee, in a last-ditch attempt to stop Sherman’s advance.

9. A fly tent was essentially a piece of canvas stretched between trees and the ground— i.e., a tent without walls. 10. Pocotaligo is about forty-eight miles north of Savannah. It was an important junction on the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Union forces first attacked the town on May 29, 1862, and then again on October 22–23, 1862. Both attacks were repulsed. Long, Civil War Day by Day, 218, 281. 11. Regarding the burning of Columbia and Poe’s thoughts, see Taylor, Orlando M. Poe, 210–12.

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(228) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fayetteville North Ca. March 12th 1865 My own dear wife, For the first time since we left Pocotaligo, I have an opportunity to write to you. The time has seemed very long, though filled with exciting incidents of our wonderful march through South Carolina. I have kept a diary of events, from which to make up my reports, the original of which I will send you as usual. We have been shut off from the outer world, neither hearing from our friends nor being able to give them intelligence of our whereabouts, though this space was probably filled by the enemy’s newspapers. We have had a hard march of three hundred & fifty miles, but have met with very little opposition. Our losses have been slight. Our route of march was through Orangeburg, Columbia (capital of the state of S.C.), Winnsboro, Chesterfield, Cheraw, to Fayetteville. When we reached here I remembered your request to see that Mrs. McMillan was protected and enquired for her as soon as we got here, but she was dead, having died about the time we left Savannah. Her son, Mrs. Kingsbury’s brother Charles ran away so that I did not see him. I am engaged to-day in destroying Fayetteville Arsenal and by the time that I finish, there will be positively nothing left of it. It was a beautiful place and evidently was the life of the town, which must henceforward sink into comparative insignificance.12 Thousands of things have occurred that I would like to talk to you about, but I see nothing like hope for a leave of absence ahead, and they must remain unsaid for the present. I have thought constantly of you and Charly, and my own Nell, I have had doubts about my course concerning you going to Detroit. Still I said to you all that I could honestly say, and I know that you would not (or rather I will not insult you by supposing for one single moment that you would) have me say anything else. I would like to send you some money, but our communications with the coast are not yet secure enough to warrant me in risking it yet. I will send it as soon as it becomes safe. An officer has just come in with a rumor that a very large mail (15 tons) is near at hand. I hope it is true, in which case I will hear from you in all probability. 12. The US government began construction of the multiacre arsenal complex in 1838. After the Confederacy took over the complex in 1861, it became an important small-arms maker for the rebel armies. Belton, “History of the Fayetteville Arsenal and Armory,” i–ii.

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Sketch of the Fayetteville Arsenal in 1855 (Author’s Collection)

Please excuse the disjointed style of this, as I have been interrupted every moment, and the clang of hammers & axes, wielded by more than a thousand men, is almost enough to drive one crazy. I will write again to-night if I can. I am very well and have been through the whole campaign. With love to you all, I am, as ever your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Send me a picture of Charly taken recently as possible. (229) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Fayetteville N.C. March 14th / 65 My dear wife, I have only time to scratch a line, as I have this moment been notified that a mail will leave in a few minutes. I have been very hard at work all day “destroying utterly” the Fayetteville Arsenal, and it is now amongst the things that were. Even its dearest friends would not recognize it. We have crossed Cape Fear River, and will move hence to some point to the North Eastward, in order to form a junction with Schofield. I do not anticipate very much fighting for a week or ten days to come, but after that time we ought to have plenty of it, and probably will have sufficient to satisfy the most belligerent. I’m seated on the ground, and writing on my knee, a position which you know I despise. I enclose herein some violets which I plucked in the Arsenal yard at

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Fayetteville and a small pale blue flower, which I gathered on Lynche’s Creek, between Winnsboro & Cheraw. It was the first that I saw growing wild this season. Nelly dear, I will expect a long gossiping letter from you, when you first hear from me. We were sadly disappointed about a mail. Someone reported positively that there was one here for us, but the event proving that the report was false. If you could only see your darling husband. He is becoming a second edition of the rag-man. Do you remember the coat we bought in Washington on Christmas 1862? The garment is now my most reliable one, albeit the lining of the shirts is all torn out, and the binding flutters in the wind like the streamers of an admiral’s flagship. When you write, give me Winnie’s address, for I want to write to her. I have along with me, a great many relics of our campaign, such as a bit of Hanging Rock, & other little specimens of a like fantastic nature. I have not heard yet whether or not I was confirmed but hope I have been—more particularly since I have seen some of the lists of those who have been. I don’t know but one is happier when he is so far removed from cities that he never sees the newspapers. I did not have a single heartburning during the whole of our march, and would have been perfectly happy if I could only have heard from you regularly. But no sooner do I see what is going on in the north, but I get mad. Give my love to all. Tell Charly that I was 33 years old a few days since. Believe me ever your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Direct to me at Hd. Qtrs. Maj. Genl. Sherman New York & New Bern (or Wilmington) Well into North Carolina now, Poe’s prediction in the prior letter of an upcoming battle was again on the mark. He mentioned the Battle of Averasboro, which took place on March 16, and then the campaign’s largest engagement, the Battle of Bentonville, which occurred on March 19–21.

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(230) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Near Bentonville N.C. 22 miles west of Goldsboro March 21st 1865 Nelly dear, It is now more than two months since I heard from you, and of course I am correspondingly anxious, though I hope & trust that you are well, and as contented as possible. We had camped with our Hd. Qtrs. at Falling Creek, on [the] night before last, but were there informed that the enemy had attacked Genl. Slocum’s command near the intersection of the road from Fayetteville to Smithfield, with that from Averysdale [sic; Averysborough or Averasboro] to Goldsboro, and that assistance was necessary. Genl. Sherman at once moved the Army of the Tenn. from Falling Creek, via Cox’s Bridge, to near Bentonville where we formed a junction with Slocum, and where the armies of Johnston & Sherman once more confront each other. The battle of day before yesterday, in which only Slocum & Kilpatrick were engaged on our side, was a severe one. In the first onslaught we lost two guns, but we afterwards punished the enemy very severely. Only two days before, we captured three pieces of artillery from the enemy and routed Rhett’s Brigade of Charleston troops, capturing Colonel Rhett himself,13 so that the account still stands in our favor. The firing in front this morning is only heavy picket firing, but the two armies are face to face, and there is no telling when it may be much more. We are not going back, unless driven back, and there will be a great many men hurt before that is accomplished. I never before was so ignorant about what is going on in the world. I have not seen a newspaper for two months, nor have I received a letter even on business. We have been utterly shut off from everything of the kind. When you write to me, direct via New York, and Newberne N.C. I have heard nothing definitely about my confirmation but am told that I have been confirmed in all my Brevet appointments.14 I hope it is so. Genl. Sherman has endorsed my application to be assigned to duty according to my Brevet rank of colonel, so that I stand some slight chance of getting an increase of pay which I so sadly need. 13. Col. Alfred M. Rhett commanded the Confederate artillery at the Battle of Averasboro. He was captured during that engagement and spent several months as a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware. See “Alfred M. Rhett,” US National Park Service, last updated Nov. 10, 2018, https://www.nps.gov/fosu/learn/historyculture/alfred-m-rhett.htm. 14. Poe’s three brevet promotions were confirmed by the Senate.

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There are very few in this army with whom you are acquainted. Genl. A S. Williams is all right and has done some hard fighting. I am very well, but very ragged, but hope to get some new clothes some of these days. With love to you all, and kisses to you my dear wife, I am your affectionate husband, O. M. Poe I haven’t mentioned Charly—but of course he is included an all loving thoughts & aspirations. General Joe Johnston’s ragged legions, now outnumbered three to one, retreated across the bridge at Bentonville toward Raleigh, the state capital. As a consequence, Johnston was forced to advise Gen. Robert E. Lee: “Sherman’s course cannot be hindered by the small force I have. I can do no more than annoy him.” Meanwhile, Sherman paused to regroup his armies at Goldsboro.15 (231) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Goldsboro N.C. March 23rd 1865 My own Nelly dear, To-day I was gladdened by the receipt of all your letters, written since the latter part of January up to the 17th Feby. It will be impossible for me to answer them in detail for I have not the time. The complete history you give me of our boy, is particularly gratifying and you can well imagine the comfort it affords me to know that he is so much company for you. I recd. . . . Now that I am a Col. more is expected of me than ever, and our army is large, and the demands constant. Another thing which particularly pleases me is that you went up to Massillon to that party. It pleases me because you enjoyed it, and because it evinces a little more disposition to mingle with those around you, and to make friends for us both. I recd. the Birth-day present of the cravat, and will not give it away. God bless you my own darling for your kind remembrance. I notice that you will still twit me about my mistake concerning the day of Charly’s birth, and keep saying that it was on the same day that Ft. McAllister was stormed & carried. Let me correct you now, so that you need not 15. Johnston to Lee, Mar. 23, 1865, O.R., 47(2):1454.

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make mistakes while scolding me for mine. Ft. McA. was taken on the 13th and not on the 14th Dec., and so far as mankind is concerned, was a much greater event then even Charly’s advent into this world. . . . I send you a little scrap which I cut from a Detroit paper sent me by Col. Dillman. Terry was simply dismissed [from] the service, instead of being “mustered out,” and the government never took the trouble to even assign a reason.16 “Water will find its level.” I also return your scrap, in accordance with your request, and also I send with it, the information as gratifying to you as it is to me that I have been assigned to duty, “with the pay & emoluments of my Brevet rank.” I have the official order of the War Department to that fact, in my pocket, so that we are once more drawing the pay of a full Col. We (Head Quarters) reached Goldsboro to-day. I rode through from Bentonville with dispatches, yesterday I was the first officer of Genl. Sherman’s staff to open communication with Genl. Schofield. We had a hard fight at Bentonville of which I wrote you a day or two ago. In the first day’s fight we were checked, but not whipped, although we only had four divisions in the fight. The balance of the army of reached the Battlefield on the next morning, when we whipped the rebel army very badly. They ran away, leaving their killed & wounded in our hands, also losing a great many prisoners. The rebels will claim a victory, as usual, but don’t be deceived by their lies. Genl. Sherman’s official report will give the true condition of things. Our lines reached within 50 yards of Jo Johnston’s Head Quarters, and within 150 yards of his bridge, and he thought it time to go, consequently he went, as rapidly as legs could carry him.17 If you see any of Ricks’ folks soon, tell them I saw Gus, and that he was looking very well. I will send you a map, right away, so that you will be able to see where we are. I enclose two or three little scraps for you to keep, and a precious letter from Sergt. Shakespeare, who you will recollect was shot through both hips at Jackson Miss.18 I want it kept.

16. Brig. Gen. Henry D. Terry, the initial colonel of the 5th Michigan Infantry, was assigned to command the Johnson’s Island prison camp in January 1864. After an inspection report in May noted that Terry was “an intelligent, clever gentleman” but also “as fond of a social glass of whiskey as of attending to his duties,” he was relieved. He resigned his commission on February 7, 1865. Warner, Generals in Blue, 498–99; Pickenpaugh, Captives in Gray, 123. Also see chapter 2, note 28, and chapter 5, note 60. 17. For a book-length account of this two-day battle, see Hughes, Bentonville. 18. Sgt. William Shakespeare, Company K, 2nd Michigan Infantry, enlisted April 12, 1861, at the age of seventeen. He was shot through both thighs on July 11, 1863, at Jackson,

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With much love to you all, and devotion to yourself I am your husband, O. M. Poe In Virginia Union forces overwhelmed the Confederate right flank during the April 1 battle at Five Forks, just southwest of Richmond, and took some 4,500 prisoners. The next day the Confederate government evacuated Richmond along with the remnants of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Union soldiers occupied Petersburg and Richmond on April 3.19 (232) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Goldsboro N.C. April 2nd 1865 Dear Nell, I have just received your letter of the 13th. It frightens me. What is coming over your eyes? Have you seen a doctor? Perhaps it is cataract. Go to see Dr. Matz at once, or some other doctor of established reputation. This I urge upon you. It seems strange that you have neglected it so long. Are you anxious to go blind? We will begin a new campaign in about a week, and communication will again be closed for a short time. I have written to Tom and Winnie, and have told them that I hope to be at home (I fear it is a delusion hope) so that we may all be together when Tom graduates, but if I cannot come, that you will meet them at Detroit. I have had given me, a Cincinnati Gazette, which contains the best account of our march, as far as Fayetteville that I have yet seen. I send it to you, believing it to be perfectly truthful. Indeed I know it to be so. I am over head & ears in work, trying to get off my papers, and to get my Report made out. And I have to get ready a half mile of Ponton bridge, and sufficient entrenching tools to supply a hundred thousand men, which is no small task in itself. Genl. Sherman has been up to see Genl. Grant, and everything is moving even with more vigor than usual.20 I wish you could see the bay horse I got in Louisville when we were there. He is as fat as he can be, and has grown proportionately lazy. I see Gus Ricks Mississippi. Though the wound was deemed mortal, the young man survived. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:156. 19. See Lankford, Richmond Burning. 20. On March 27–28 Sherman, Grant, Adm. David Porter, and President Lincoln met aboard the River Queen at City Point, Virginia, to discuss strategy regarding the war’s inevitable end. Sherman, Memoirs, 2:324–27.

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almost every day, and it makes me feel homesick. He is very kind, indeed everybody is. Don’t you remember Lieut. Freeman of the old “Second”?21 He was on Berry’s staff, and distinguished himself by his attention paid to Miss Upton, when we were at Upton’s hill. He is here, and is now serving on Genl. Howard’s staff. We had a long talk about Miss U[pton], yesterday, and while my lips framed Upton, my thoughts were of yourself. I do think that Mrs. Reeve ought to be locked up somewhere, and kept there. To behave as she did, is simply disgusting. She was too late in applying a remedy, if that was her object. What would not have been objectionable a few months earlier, became, at that late day a crime. I am in splendid health, never was better in all my life. Give my love to all the rest, and believe me your devoted husband, O. M. Poe I hope to get my eyes on a paymaster shortly, when I will send you some money. I have three months’ pay now due me. [Continued as part of same letter—noted by Poe as page five.] The weather is growing quite warm, and springtime is evidently upon us. No man knows what will happen before another comes. I see only blood & carnage & death. There will be a perfect carnival of war & misery. The heart fairly sickens in contemplation of it, and the question will rise, must these things be. I have looked at the matter from every side, and I can see no other way out of our troubles to a lasting peace. The enemy is more desperate than ever, and we are stronger, and more firm in our resolution that he shall yield to those laws which he himself helped to make. If the Southern soil must still run with blood, so be it. That shed by us I believe to be in God’s cause, and therefore for the benefit of man. Laws were put upon us all, which we may not contravene. Our quiet camps, now that we are lying still, are filled with rumors of all kinds. I attach very little importance to any of them. Soldiers are prone to talk, and they are only kept from it by keeping them on the march. I suppose Maria’s event has transpired before this. I can’t help thinking, after reading her statement that her husband might have been in better business just at that time than attending euchre parties. I wonder if he would have ridden four hundred miles through snow, ice, & guerrillas, over mountains & rivers[?] Nelly—if we live to see that happy time when we have a house of our own, we will experience a millennium. All the euchre parties shall be at our 21. Lt. George W. Freeman. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers, 2:69–70.

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house, or if there is one anywhere else, I will not be there as you go along. Won’t you send me a kiss for that promise? I am going to write to Winnie now that I know where she is. I have not neglected her, but how could I write? On the march, and before it commenced, she was vibrating in a sort of uncertain condition between Detroit and Pittsburgh. A chap—newspaper—has besieged me for a photograph, and a short history of my life, as “he’s takin’ notes on’ faith he’ll prent ’em.” But I have no desire to have a big $20.00 book sent me to pay for, and therefore I think I will not oblige him. I’m very glad the box of books from Savannah safely reached you. I knew you would all laugh at that picture of a Dutch baby, but if you laughed at it half as hard as I did when I first saw it, then your sides ached for hours afterward. You could do nothing to please me more, than to get together as rapidly as possible the wherewithal to go to housekeeping, or at least those things which would not suffer from non-use for a short time. I feel as though we would have our own house before many years, and I fairly long for it. My heart fairly aches for those home comforts, & pleasures a man can never enjoy but in his own house. I am in the very best health; never was more robust in my life, and that is saying a good deal. With love to you all I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe I hope you have got my letter written at Fayetteville, before this and know that I haven’t forgotten you. (233) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress [Edited for Clarity] Goldsboro N.C. April 3rd 1865 Nelly dear, I certainly hoped that I would to-day receive a letter from you, acknowledging the receipt of the one I wrote you from Fayetteville; but up to this late hour, I have been disappointed. I don’t know how you would feel when you would get that letter, but I know how I felt when I got yours, after a silence of two months. We are about to start on another campaign, but we hope to get our mails more regularly, or rather, more frequently than once in two months. Of course I can’t tell how long we will be without communication but I don’t expect it to

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be more than two or three weeks. I sent you a map a few days ago, and I hope you will attentively follow our next campaign, so that you will be able to criticize it when we are so fortunate as to see each other again. Godspeed that day! It is growing decidedly hot down here, but we expect to make our way towards the Northward soon, and I have plenty of ventilating holes in my clothing, so that I do not expect to suffer from heat. I’ve got a great secret to tell you; and I’m ashamed to write it, but someone else might tell you, and I would then feel still worse. I have smoked a pipe & a cigar, but I’m not going to make a habit of it. Of course I have a great many excuses framed for this fall from my high estate, but I will reserve them until a future time. I’ll promise this, however, that when I come home, there shall be no smell of tobacco smoke about my person. . . . . . . With love to you all, and kisses to you and Charly I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe Direct your letters to me via New York City, and Newbern N. C. (234) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Goldsboro N.C. April 7th 1865 Nelly dear, I’m almost frantic. When we were in South Carolina, of course I did not expect to hear from you, but now that I have every reason to hope for that felicity, it seems as though no letters were coming. Each mail that fails to bring me news of you, only makes me more eager for the next one. We are rejoicing now over the news from Richmond. The much-abused, Army of the Potomac has gone into Richmond, and I’m sincerely glad of it; not only for the sake of the country, but for the sake of the noble men, who have done their duty in front of that rebel stronghold for so many weary months, aye years. I’ve been enquiring for one J. B. Palmer, who came from Michigan to North Carolina, and became a “Chivalric Southerner.” I want to get eyes upon him, & if that desire is gratified, to give him a piece of my mind. I can’t hear of him. Do you know what county he came to, or how I can find him? Do let me know. I think our plan of campaign is somewhat changed by our success at Richmond, and that we will hold this place, instead of cutting loose from it, as we intended. In this new condition of things of course communication with the North will be kept up, and you can send on your letters.

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Mr. McClymonds, late adjt of the 104th Ohio, but now my clerk,22 will start for New York, and Washington to-morrow. He will have charge, as far as New York, of some things which I am sending home. The freight charges on them will be pretty heavy, but I hope you have money enough to pay the bills. If you have not, you will have to borrow for a few days, and when you receive the check for $300.00 which I have already sent you, you can repay it. Not hearing from anybody for so long, makes me feel very lonesome, and I am sorry to say, homesick too. But I will try to curb my desire to go home, until we have ended this war which I think will be in a short time now. We may even not fight another battle. The rebel cause is becoming so hopeless, that it seems like mere murder to kill any more men in further fighting. With Grant’s army in pursuit of Lee, and Sherman marching out upon him, with this large and splendid army, there seems to be no chance at all for the enemy. God send the happy day when Peace will once more prevail upon a united country. With love to you all and many kisses to you and our boy, I am your devoted husband. O. M. Poe The ragged remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia fled west from Richmond, with the hope of reaching supplies at Amelia Court House. When the Confederates arrived on April 4, they discovered the supplies were not there. Meanwhile, Grant’s well-fed and well-equipped infantry and cavalry followed in hot pursuit. On the sixth General Lee’s exhausted and depleted army was decimated at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, near Farmville, Virginia. More than 7,700 men and six generals were captured. Lee is said to have remarked, “a few more Sailor’s Creeks and it will all be over.” Three days later, on April 9, Lee surrendered his army to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. The war in the East was over. Poe, obviously, was as yet unaware of this momentous event when he wrote this next letter. (235) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Goldsboro N.C. April 9th 1865 Nelly—my wife, I have just recd. yours of the 27th March, acknowledging the receipt of my letter from Fayetteville, at last. I have waited so patiently, so longingly for the knowledge that you had heard from me. Everybody else had letters from home, and I had none, until my heart fairly grew sick. And then came, and 22. James Walter McClymonds (1842–1912) was a wealthy Massillon philanthropist in later life. See National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 264.

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comes the word that you can hardly see. I have, my own darling wife, one great comfort in my letters from you. What would I be without them? I am praying fervently, with no scoffer’s prayer, that their lines of gold may not be lost to me. You can never know, my darling, the terrible thoughts, which dashing against each other, torment me from morning until night. Whether my duty lies in work here, or idleness at home. For God’s sake do not tempt me. It is a record of which I am proud, that from the first grain in this rebellion until now, I have done my duty at the front; that I have been in the field all the time. You don’t, can’t want that record to change now. For your sake, for our boy’s sake, for my sake, neither tempt me nor urge me anymore. If I am worth anything to my country; now is certainly not the time to lag behind. We march to-morrow morning, and I am glad of it. The glorious news from Virginia makes me fairly impatient to mingle once more in the fray, where none but men are found. I only ask that I may be spared to see the end of this infernal rebellion, with no stain upon me. And the end is not far off. Then my own, my darling, we will be the happier, that one has done his duty to his God & his country, and that the other has submitted to the small, the petty trials which resulted therefrom. With the Campaign of the Carolinas, stalking side by side with the news of the fall of the enemy’s capital, until the great events loom up on your vision, can you honestly say that you would have had me anywhere else[?] In comparison with the satisfaction arising from a knowledge of duty done, how pitifully appear the comforts of home, the soft couch, and the groaning table. I thank God for the health & strength which enable me to be here this hour, and to march with our loyal hosts to-morrow. With the full love of a strong man, I am my own dear wife your loyal husband, O. M. P Address me at Genl. Sherman’s Hd. Qtrs. via Fortress Monroe. We march direct upon Raleigh. See your maps. In a brief follow-up note also dated April 9, Poe informed Nell that the heavy packages he was sending home via J. W. McClymonds, referred to in the prior letter, were rare books retrieved from the Fayetteville Arsenal as it was burning. Along with the books given to him by some of Atlanta’s residents as they were forced to leave the city back in September 1864, it appears that Poe was building quite an admirable personal library.23 Meanwhile, the colonel and his men were ready to march from Goldsboro toward Raleigh. 23. On the moral necessity and symbolic importance of books in a Victorian home, see Stevenson, Victorian Homefront, 22–25.

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(236) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 13th / 65 My dear wife, We reached this city this morning after a march of 15 miles through the mud. No resistance was offered, and amongst the greatest enthusiasm the old flag was unfurled from the top of the state house, making the third state capital so honored by us, within the last few months. We know of Lee’s surrender, and we propose to push Johnston as hard as we can, hoping to bring him to bay somewhere, and believing that certain victory will result. Everything looks so bright for us, that I don’t see how peace can be deferred for more than a few months. Raleigh is a beautiful city, the private residences displaying much more taste in their architecture, than is usual in southern towns. All of them have beautiful yards with the spring flowers all in full bloom, and in nearly every one of them, handsome and smiling women, ready and willing to present us with flowers, and kind looks accompanying them with pleasant words. There is some Union sentiment in the town, much of which has been developed since our Virginia successes, and not a little due to the presence of our large and powerful army, which is now as generous as can be, sparing the property & feelings of the people. I never knew an army to behave itself with more consideration than ours does now. Bold in battle, patient under hardships, and merciful in success. Sherman’s “raiders” deserve the admiration of the world. With love to you all, I am, my dear wife, your affc. & devoted husband, O. M. Poe (237) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 14th Dear Nell, We start to-morrow morning for the country to the westward and in which it is supposed that the army of Johnston may possibly be found. I hope it may, because, as far as human foresight can go, it appears that we could certainly defeat, and possibly destroy his army. But what would be still better, and more to my liking would be a peace proposition upon the part of the enemy. Of course I cannot say in a letter just what direction our army will take, but if you will look at your map, noticing where this city, Greensboro, Salisbury, and Charlotte, are situated, you may be able to judge where our forces will be thrown. I may not be able to get many letters to you, for I think

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we will again leave our line of communication. Hence you must be as patient under my silence, as I have been under yours. Your letter of the 27th March was the last I received, while Gus Ricks had one from his sister, dated April 3rd. But what is the use of complaining? I can only say that I will quit writing unless you write to me; not that I suppose such a course would at all punish you, but because, it would at least give me the satisfaction due to revenge. With much love to all, I am my dear Nell, your affc. and devoted husband, O. M. Poe Pres. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14 while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. The North went into mourning, while a sense of rage overtook the men of Sherman’s army. (238) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 17th / 65 My dear Nell, My heart is heavy to-night, and I hardly know how to write. We have just had news of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, and there is a weight upon us all, which is not removed by the possibility of Johnston’s surrender to us tomorrow. Strong men stared up and cry like children, and vows of vengeance are heard, terrible as the mutterings of the cyclone. If Johnston does not surrender to-morrow, and this army marches on, scenes will be enacted which will make the very blood stand still. Neither age nor sex will be respected. It will cease to be the destruction of mere property, and will result in the extermination of the Southern people. “Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad,” and it seems as though the madness were now upon our enemies. Genl. Sherman, and Genl. Jos. E. Johnston (comdg. the rebel army) had a meeting to-day. I accompanied Genl. Sherman. No terms of capitulation were agreed upon, but they are to meet again to-morrow to confer further, and I am not without hope that the parties may agree. It was an interesting scene to witness; that meeting by the roadside, between two great men, who are filling pages of the world’s history, and it will be long before I forget it. I brought away with me, some slight mementos which I will send you provided the negotiations to-morrow, result in the surrender of Johnston’s army, for they will then have value. I am indeed tempted not to write any more, for I have had no letter from you of a later date than March 21st—now nearly a month ago. Everybody

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Scene of the negotiations between Sherman and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, April 18, 1865 (Mottelay and Campbell-Copeland, Soldier in Our Civil War, 2:364)

else has had letters, but I’ve had none. I am almost doubtful whether I have a wife. God grant Nelly dear that I hear from you soon, for I fairly crave a sight of your handwriting. My heart is too full to write much, and I can only add my messages of love to you all, and assurances of devotion to yourself, and our boy. Your affectionate husband, O.M. Poe (239) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 19th 1865 My darling wife, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace & goodwill to men.” I have had the honor of being present at the unconditional submission of the insurgent authorities to the government we have been fighting so hard to maintain.24 24. Generals Sherman and Johnston, accompanied by a few select staff members (including Poe), met at the James Bennett farmhouse in Durham Station, North Carolina, on April 17–18 to discuss the formal surrender of Johnston’s Confederate army. The negotiations resulted in the surrender of all Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia,

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“There’s peace in the air and there’s pride in the heart. And our flag has a fame that no tongue can be telling.” The newspapers will be full of the results of the great conference between Gen. Sherman, Genl. Johnston, and Mr. Breckenridge, the rebel Secy. of War,25 and I will therefore refrain from giving any of the details. Suffice it to say, that they (the rebels) have surrendered everything from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, and our country is again at peace.26 A short time will serve to arrange all the stipulations, which I will add, are all on our part, the rebels claiming nothing. Would to God we had now the guiding hand of the murdered Lincoln, to direct us in the path of mercy. As it is, we can only pray that wisdom from on High, may be given our rulers to comprehend the great emergency. Through four years of bloody war, our country has marched to a conclusion honorable to us as a people, and if there is now, throughout the length & breadth of our land, a single heart which does not swell with patriotic ardor I pity the man who possesses it. I have some relics of the place of conference which is now rendered famous, but I am afraid to send them for fear of loss, but I now hope to bring them myself to you, within a few weeks. If the stipulations entered into are ratified at Washington, I will be north, I still think, in time to meet Tom. My own darling, can you realize that the war is over?—I cannot. Let your “castles” be built and your heart be happy, for I feel that there is much in store for us—many days of sunshine and joy. Now that the mad bells are ringing out their peans of joy, are you sorry for the lonesome months you have passed while your husband has been doing his duty in the very front of battle? If I thought you were I would disown you. And when we are again together I hope to see your smiles chase away every tear from your eyes. I saw Gus Ricks this morning. He has had letters from home, as late as the 5th of April, and from him I learn that you had been up [to] Massillon

and Florida, or some 89,000 troops, the largest capitulation of the war. For a book-length examination of the war’s end in North Carolina, see Bradley, This Astounding Close. 25. John C. Breckenridge (1821–75) was a Democrat and vice president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. After a failed candidacy in the 1860 presidential election, the then US senator was expelled from the Senate after joining the Confederate army as a brigadier general in November 1861. Serving as a general in the western theater for most of the war, Breckenridge was appointed by President Davis as the last Confederate secretary of war in February 1865. Warner, Generals in Gray, 34–35. 26. With the surrender of Lee’s and Johnston’s armies, only a few scattered commands located in the Trans-Mississippi theater remained at war with the United States.

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celebrating the fall of Richmond. I knew you would do it. Make yourself as prominent in the rejoicing as you can. With love to you all and devotion to you and Charly I am your husband, O. M. Poe Like many if not most nineteenth-century parents, Poe believed in the “spare the rod and spoil the child” philosophy of childrearing. On the war front, he was devastated by the news that Sherman’s surrender terms to Johnston had been rejected by Washington; in this he was joined by all of Sherman’s soldiers. The initial orders informed the men that a state of war again existed and to be ready to march. (240) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 25th 1865 Dear Nell, I have this moment recd. your letter of the 11th inst. What in the world is the reason you permit herself to be such a slave to our boy[?] You are doing both him and yourself a great deal of harm. It is very bad to teach Charly such imperious ways, and is not very flattering to me, that by his mere humors he can prevent you from reading my letters for several hours. A good spanking would do him more good than any number of kisses, and I see plainly that you are laying the foundation for a great deal of trouble for him in the future. Remember whose blood he has in his veins, and you know how easy it would be to spoil him. In sad contrast with your rejoicings, and the expressions of hope that I will soon be at home comes the order to march in the morning of to-morrow. We had indulged in dreams of peace, until we almost believed ourselves on the way home, and therefore the disappointment is all the more bitter. Yesterday was the gloomiest day this army has seen for a great while. All had built airy castles; and the structures all fell to dust. The soldiers are not sufficiently versed in the great questions of state policy to understand why we cannot have peace when all you are so anxious for it. The punishment of traitors is sincerely desired by them, but they think the best way of accomplishing that object, is to declare peace,—bring the offenders before the civil courts, and allow them to sit on the juries. All the traitors who would then escape, would not be sufficient in number to do much harm. Genl. Grant is now here, and I’ve no doubt that a clear course of conduct has been marked out for Genl. Sherman.27 27. Unlike Grant’s terms to Lee at Appomattox, Sherman’s initial surrender agreement with Johnston of April 17–18 was rejected by Washington officials as it did not strictly address military surrender only, touching also upon civil issues, which was the domain of the

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The army of Johnston, is now at or near Graham Station, west of the Haw River. We have a pontoon bridge across the Cape Fear River at Avens Ford, just below the mouth of Deep River, on the direct road to Charlotte and Salisbury. I suppose you have arrived at Detroit before this; at least I will address my letters to you there. I sent five boxes home which you ought to have been there to receive, but I guess it will be all right. I also sent you a check for $300.00 on New York, and I am getting anxious to hear from that. I am very well, and if we were marching out to receive Johnston’s surrender, would feel in good spirits but I can only wait & do as I have always done, my duty. With love to you all, and many kisses to your own sweet self and our boy, I am your devoted husband, O. M. Poe (241) poe to eleanor poe—poe papers, library of congress Raleigh N.C. April 26th 1865 My darling Nell, Again our hopes of peace have risen high. Instead of marching this morning as I informed you in my letter of yesterday, that we were ordered, another conference between Gens. Sherman and Johnston was agreed upon, and although Genl. Sherman has not yet returned, it is understood that Genl. Johnston has surrendered his entire command, including all troops from the Virginia State line, (southern) and the line between the states of Georgia and Alabama, and that this surrender is not trammeled by any conditions with reference to the civil authorities. The terms granted Johnston, are the same as those under which Lee surrendered. I write this without definite information, but have faith that it is true. In case it is, I will do my best to come home shortly, and if I fail, it will be because I can’t help myself. Still I don’t allow my hopes to rise too high, as they were so bitterly disappointed on [the] day before yesterday, and I am not willing to indulge another such. It seems almost too good for belief that the army we have been confronting for a year now surrenders to us. It is a fitting end to the rebel armies; that Lee’s should surrender to the Army of the Potomac, and Johnston to this army. politicians. Grant arrived in Raleigh on April 24 to confer with Sherman regarding reconvening with Johnston. Bradley, This Astounding Close, 206–18.

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The mission of the insurgent armies upon the earth was an eminently bad one, but such as it was, it is ended, and the benignant effect of peace, will soon be felt all over the country. The passions of men have burned so fiercely for the past four years that there is nothing further left to be consumed, and order will soon be restored. Just now Genl. Sherman returned, and it is confirmed that the terms of surrender have been signed. My darling, will you give thanks to God as earnestly to-night as I will? One’s breathing almost waits, in view of the complete dissolution of the armed forces of the enemy. “A little bird whispers to me,” that this army will be marched via Richmond to Alexandria, and there disbanded, but of this you must say nothing. Give my love to all and believe me your affectionate and devoted husband, O. M. Poe Poe’s “little bird” information was correct. He was able to visit Nell at home for a few days in early May before returning to Washington for the Grand Review of the Union’s victorious armies. The two-day military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, with the returning soldiers marching twenty-six abreast, took place on May 24–25. The Civil War was over.

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Postscript

O

rlando M. Poe continued to serve in the US Army for the rest of his life. In early June 1865 he was rewarded for his final wartime accomplishments with the brevet rank of brigadier general, following Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s formal recommendation. As the years went by, Poe also rose to the official rank of colonel within the army. In the decades after the Civil War, his engineering work was civil in nature, such as improving waterways and designing lighthouses strategically located throughout the Great Lakes region. Much of his work and designs still serve mariners to this day. Poe and his beloved Nelly lived in Detroit, Michigan, for most of their remaining years. They had a total of four children. Sadly, all but one, including Charly, predeceased their parents. Poe died at the age of sixty-three in his Detroit home on October 2, 1895. The cause of death was an erysipelas infection, a complication of an on-thejob accidental injury suffered one week earlier at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Eleanor never remarried. She donated her husband’s personal papers and letters to the Library of Congress between 1910 and 1915. Eleanor died in Coburg, Ontario, on February 16, 1922, at the age of seventy-eight.

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bibliography

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unpublished manuscript and archival sources Chandler, Zachariah. Papers. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Jackson, William Hicks. Papers. Tennessee State Library & Archives, Nashville. Lyster Family Papers and Photographs. Julie May Personal Collection, West Chester, PA. Miller, Elizabeth, comp. “Brent Family Letters.” Editor’s Collection. Bound typescript. Poe, Orlando M. “Minutes of a Reconnaissance Made by Lt. O. M. Poe, U.S. Topographical Engrs. between May 2nd and 12th, 1861.” Filson Historical Society, Louisville, KY. ———. Papers. Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan Univ., Mt. Pleasant. ———. Papers. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Records of the Adjutant General’s Office. Record Group 94. National Archives, Washington, DC. Tidball, John C. Papers. U.S. Military Academy Library, West Point, NY. newspapers Cincinnati Daily Commercial Detroit Free Press Detroit Tribune New York Tribune government publications Ohio State Legislature. Acts of the State of Ohio. Vol. 58. Columbus: Richard Nevins, 1861. Secretary of the Interior. Statistics of the United States in 1860; Compiled from the Original Returns and Being the Final Exhibit of the Eighth Census. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866. 322

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Secretary of War. Official Army Register for 1864. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864. U.S. Lake Survey. The United States Lake Survey. Detroit, MI: U.S. Lake Survey, Army Corps of Engineers, 1939. US War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1881–1902. published primary sources Barnard, George N. Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign. 1866. Reprint, New York: Dover, 1977. Bayard, Samuel J. The Life of George Dashiell Bayard. New York: G. P. Putnam’s, 1874. Billings, John D. Hardtack and Coffee. Boston, MA: George M. Smith, 1887. Bosbyshell, Oliver C. The 48th in the War: Being a Narrative of the Campaigns of the 48th Regiment. Philadelphia: Avil Printing, 1895. Chernow, Ron, ed. My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife. New York: Library of America, 2018. Cox, Jacob D. Military Reminiscences of the Civil War. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1900. Curtis, O. B. History of the Twenty-Fourth Michigan of the Iron Brigade, Known as the Detroit and Wayne County Regiment. Detroit: Winn & Hammond, 1891. Dana, Charles A. Recollections of the Civil War. New York: D. Appleton, 1909. Gallagher, Gary, ed. Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1989. Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. 2 vols. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. Hodge, Robert, ed. The Civil War Letters of Perry Mayo. East Lansing: Michigan State Univ. Press, 1967. Howe, M. A. DeWolfe, ed. Marching with Sherman: Passages from the Letters and Campaign Diaries of Henry Hitchcock. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 1927. Johnson, Robert U., and Clarence C. Buel, eds. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. 4 vols. New York: Century, 1887–88. Lemon, Mark, ed. Feed Them the Steel!: Being, the Wartime Recollections of Capt. James Lile Lemon, Co A, 18th Georgia Infantry. CSA. Acworth, GA: Self-published, 2016. Leslie, Frank. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War. New York: Mrs. Frank Leslie, 1896. Longstreet, James. From Manassas to Appomattox. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1896. Malles, Ed, ed. Bridge Building in Wartime: Colonel Wesley Brainerd’s Memoir of the 50th New York Volunteers. Knoxville: Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1997. McClellan, George B. Report on the Organization and Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac: To Which Is Added an Account of the Campaign in Western Virginia. New York: Sheldon, 1864. Moore, Frank, ed. The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events. 12 vols. New York: G. P. Putnam, 1861–65.

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Index

Page references in italics refer to illustrations. Ackworth, GA, 230; Poe’s description of, 228 Alexander, Edward Porter, 174 Alexandria, VA, 56, 87, 92 Allatoona Pass, Battle of, 271–72 Anderson, Robert, 32 antebellum era: courtship, 6; racial attitudes, 11 Armistead, Lewis, 88 Army of Tennessee (Confederate), 212, 244, 245, 256, 259, 270, 289, 301; surrender of (1865), 316–17 Army of the Cumberland, 154–55, 158, 166, 172, 210, 212, 239; at Kennesaw Mountain, 235 Army of the Ohio, 159, 162, 212, 215, 239, 248 Army of the Potomac, 9, 75, 81, 83, 86, 88, 89, 105, 108, 152, 154, 165; begins 1864 Overland Campaign, 210–11, 213, 215, 217; casualties at Fredericksburg, 112; at Hanover Station 1864, 224; occupies Richmond, 311; Poe’s identification with, 185, 197 Army of the Tennessee, 195, 206, 212, 216, 240, 246, 305 Army of Virginia, 89; lack of discipline of, 88 Atkinson, John M. P., 49 Atlanta, Battle of, 246, 247–48 Atlanta, GA, 220, 225, 229, 239, 240, 249, 260; capture of, 256–57, 262; destruction within, 260; Poe’s description of, 260, 265; Poe’s fortifications of, 262, 271, 273; Poe’s orders to destroy, 282, 284

Atlanta Campaign, 212, 214, 235; Poe’s opinion on the purpose of, 245, 250 Averasboro, Battle of, 304–5 Averell, William, 106 Babcock, Orville E., 121, 146, 147, 149, 160, 187, 284–85 Baird, Absalom, 213 Baltimore, MD, 20, 55, 62, 63, 83 Barboursville, VA, 168 Barlow, John W., 239 Barnes, Dr. Joseph K., 295 Barry, William F., 207, 268, 269 Bayard, George, 4, 70, 76, 90, 108, 111, 165 Beach, Samuel E., 72 Beckwith, Col., 268, 269 Beckham, Robert, 34, 88, 244, 263–64, 273 Beebe, Charles, 152 Bell, Peter, 243 Bentonville, Battle of, 304–7 Berry, Hiram, 75, 76, 78, 86, 94–95, 101, 105 Beverly, VA, 48 Big Sandy River, 26 Birney, David, 87, 92, 93, 98 Blenker, Louis, 95 Bliss, Dr. Willard, 78 Blue Mountain, AL, 275 Blue Springs, Battle of, 148, 150, 151, 154, 156 Bonine, Dr. Evan, 78, 96, 97, 143–44, 146, 151, 191 Boston steamer, 26

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index

Bowen, Nicolas, 121, 122, 126, 146, 154, 160, 187 Boyd, Susan, 162, 201 Bragg, Braxton, 132, 139, 142, 172–73, 212 Breckenridge, John C., 317 Brent, Jane Wilkins (Eleanor’s mother), 4, 94, 101, 142, 267–68; Poe’s challenges with, 126, 161, 166, 194, 207–8, 267–68, 296, 298 Brent, Mary “Tousie,” 79, 84 Brent, Thomas Lee (Eleanor’s father), 4 Brent, Tom (Eleanor’s brother), 17, 57, 117, 244, 263, 272–73, 308 Brent, William, Jr., 7 Brent, Winifred Lee, 22, 33, 83, 102, 149, 165, 194, 206, 225–26; desire to work in hospitals, 99, 188–89; Poe’s comments on her loneliness, 273 brevet promotion: definition of, 186; Poe receives, 295, 305 Brice’s Cross Roads, Battle of, 232 Bristol, TN, skirmish at, 143 Brownlow, James P., 242 Brownlow, William G. “Parson,” 152, 153, 155 Buchanan, Pres. James, Jr., 242 Bull Run, First Battle of, 52 Bull Run, Second Battle of, 89, 93, 97 Bull’s Gap, TN, 148 Burns, William W., 106, 107 Burnside, Ambrose, 10, 107, 120, 124, 126, 129, 138, 140, 171, 179; confidence in Poe, 156; evacuation of Loudon, TN, 158; on using a cipher, 164 Busch, John G., 249 Butler, Benjamin, 291 Butterfield, Daniel, 220 Buzzard’s Roost, GA, 214, 215, 216 Byington, Cornelius, 170, 174, 181 Cameron, Simon, 20, 69 Campbell, John, 27–28 Campbell’s Station, TN, 170 Camp Nelson, 123, 160, 184 Camp Taylor, 21 Canton, OH, 83, 134 Cape Fear River, 303, 319 Carlile, John, 37 Carlisle, J. Howard, 68 Carolinas Campaign, 298–316, 300; Poe prepares for, 291, 296 Carrington, Henry B., 30 Carter, Samuel P., 132 Cartersville, GA, 221 cartes de visite, 116, 229 Casey, Silas, 79 Catoosa Springs, GA, 213

Centreville, VA, 89 Chandler, Zachariah, 16, 18, 35, 114, 294 Chantilly, Battle of, 89, 206 Chapin, Thomas, 170 Charleston, SC, 138, 294, 298 Charleston & Savannah Railroad, 301 Chase, Salmon P., 238 Chattahoochee River, 230, 240, 244, 245, 257 Chattanooga, TN, 132, 139, 156 206, 240, 270; as important railroad hub, 220; Poe’s description of, 198 Cheat Mountain Pass, 49 Cheraw, SC, 302, 304 Cheves, Langdon, 286, 298 Chickamauga, Battle of, 140–42, 145, 172 Church, Dr. William H., 132 Cincinnati, OH, 20, 22, 110, 196 Cincinnati Commercial, 127, 178 Cincinnati Daily Gazette, 127, 308 cipher, 164, 169, 204, 206, 237 Clarington, OH, 29 Clay, Henry, 211 Cleveland, OH, 21 Colburn, Albert V. “Sandy,” 53, 67, 83 Coldwater Artillery, 37, 45 Columbia, SC, 298, 302; burning of, 301 Columbus, OH, 20, 21, 30 Commissary General of Prisoners, 228 Comstock, Loren M., 170 Cooper, Samuel, 94 Copperheads, 152, 242 Cornevin, Paul, 134 Corps, Union Army: III, 64, 86, 94; IV, 239, 245; IX, 107, 114, 116–17, 120–21, 143, 146, 147, 148, 151, 155, 157, 199; XIV, 239, 245; XVII, 301; XX, 222, 239, 246, 257, 270; XXIII, 120–21, 124, 143, 169, 241, 248 Corse, John M., 271–72 Couch, Darius, 79 Cox, Jacob, 2–3, 54 Cumberland Gap, 136, 137, 138, 148, 156, 163 Cumberland Landing, VA, 76 Cutting, William, 159, 171 Cuyler, John M., 61, 83 Dallas, GA, skirmishing at, 224, 225 Dallas, George Mifflin, 165 Dalton, GA, 212, 213, 250, 272 Dana, Charles, 168 daughter of the regiment, 97 Davis, Jefferson, 3, 245 Davis, Jefferson C. (Union officer), 271 Dayton, Lewis M., 268, 269, 286, 298 De Hart, Henry V., 115

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index De Lagnel, Julius A., 52 Democratic National Convention, 1864, 260–61 Dennison, William, 18, 32 deserters, Confederate, 129 de Trobriand, Regis, 103 Detroit, MI, 55, 99, 198, 210, 321; Belle Isle, 50; Brent family home, 4; Christ Church, 35, 268; cost of living in, 247; Eleanor’s visits to, 76, 94, 142, 187, 201–2, 298, 302, 319; as Great Lakes Survey station, 3, 12, 18; Jefferson Avenue, 31, 109, 237; Poe’s premarital visits to, 17, 21, 28–29 Detroit Advertiser & Tribune, 120, 287 Detroit Daily Tribune, 34 Detroit Free Press, 9, 15, 70, 287 Dillman, Louis, 73, 144, 206, 307 Dix, John A., 118 draft, 86, 134, 160, 275–76 Drake, George B., 123, 129, 155, 166 Duncan, Maria, 16, 32, 59, 92, 103, 123, 145 Eastern Tennessee, 127, 128 East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad, 130 East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad, 132, 143, 148, 150 Ellis, J. M., 168 Emancipation Proclamation, preliminary, 90 engineers, 9–10, 201–2 Etheridge, Lorinda Anna, 97 Etowah River, 220, 221 Fairmont, VA, 36 Fair Oaks, Battle of, 111. See also Seven Pines, Battle of Fayetteville, NC, 302, 308, 310 Fayetteville Arsenal, 303; Poe’s destruction of, 302–3 Ferguson, Samuel Wragg, 226, 236, 264 First Wheeling (VA) Union Convention, 31 flank movement, 228 Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 232 Forsyth, James W., 122, 201 Fort Delaware, 229 Fort Gaines, AL, 252 Fort Lyon, 56, 89 Fort McAllister, 285, 290, 297, 306–7; Battle of, 284, 293 Fort McHenry, 51 Fort Monroe, 60, 83, 114, 115, 117, 202 Fort Sanders, 171, 173; Battle of, 171–74, 228 Fort Sumter, SC, 20 Foster, John G., 169, 182 Franklin, William B., 69, 111

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Frederick, MD, 96 Fredericksburg, VA, 107, 108; Battle of, 111–13 Freeman, George W., 309 French, William, 202 Fugitive Slave Act, 2 Galena (US warship), 117 Galpin, Charles R., 170 Garnett, Robert S., 39, 48, 49, 51 Gay, Ebenezer, 229, 233; Poe’s disrespect of, 231, 237 Gentry, William T., 115 Getty, George W., 217 glycerine, 236 Goldsboro, NC, 306, 307, 313 Goulding, Charles N., 168, 180, 181 Gowen, George W., 186 Grand Haven, MI, 12–13, 28 Grant, Julia Dent, 195 Grant, Ulysses S., 172, 186, 189, 196, 200, 224, 245, 274, 284; his Atlanta Campaign orders to Sherman, 212; meets face-to-face with Sherman, 308, 318; in pursuit of Lee (1865), 312 Greenbacks, 119 Griffin, Charles, 65 Guyandotte, VA, 26–27 Gwin, William M., 54 Halleck, Henry, 87, 105 Hamilton, Gail (pseud.), 192 Hampton Roads, naval Battle of, 60, 74 Hancock, Winfield Scott, 74 Hanover Court House, VA, 224 Hardee, William, 257, 285, 286 Harker, Charles G., 218, 235 Harpers Ferry, VA, surrender of, 96 Harper’s Weekly, 278 Harrisburg, PA, 55 Harrison’s Landing, VA, 81 Hartsuff, George L., 120, 121, 138, 146, 147, 166, 168, 169, 181 Hascall, Milo S., 130, 160, 266 Haw River, 319 Haydon, Charles B., 144 Hayman, Samuel B., 159 Heck, Jonathan, 51 Heintzelman, Samuel P., 59, 69, 73, 74, 76 Hoffman, William, 228 holiday soldier, 105 Hood, John Bell, 245, 256, 259, 272, 289 Hooker, Joseph, 84, 86, 94, 98, 222, 239, 246 Howard, Jacob M., 118, 294 Howard, Oliver O., 79, 239, 245, 246

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334

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Humphrey, William, 209 Hunter, David, 185 Illinois regiment (Union), 127th Infantry, 218, 222 Ingelow, Jean, 185 Invalid Corps (aka Veteran Reserve Corps), 143 Ironton, OH, 26, 28 Iverson, Alfred, 281 Jackson, Thomas J. “Stonewall,” 86, 90, 96 Jarvis, Dwight, 181 Jefferson Avenue, 31, 109, 237. See also Detroit, MI Jenney, William, 281 Johnson, Andrew, 150 Johnson, Richard W., 232 Johnston, Joseph E., 212, 219, 220, 222; at Bentonville, 305–6; recalled to duty (1865), 301; relieved of command by Jefferson Davis, 245; surrenders to Sherman, 315– 17, 316, 319; withdrawal from Kennesaw Mountain, 239 Jonesboro, GA, 257 Battle of, 256–57 Kautz, August V., 135, 185 Kearney, James, 12 Kearny, Philip, 19, 72, 73, 74, 76, 85, 87, 89, 92, 94 Kennesaw Mountain, GA, 228–29; Battle of, 235–37, 236, 244 Key, Thomas, 44 Kilpatrick, Judson, 305 King, John H., 192, 219, 220, 224, 232, 271 Kingsbury, Charles P., 66, 69, 70, 83 Kingston, TN, 155 Kittoe, Dr. Edward D., 251, 268, 269 Knoxville, TN, 155, 198; desolation of, 187; Poe’s description of, 131, 134, 162; siege of, 169–77, 179 Lander, Frederick, 44 “Land o’ the Leal, The” (song), 29, 148 Larned, Sylvester, 197 Lee, Fitzhugh, 70, 98 Lee, Robert E., 81, 90, 174, 306, 312 Leesburg, VA, 102 Lemon, James L., 228–29 Lenoir Station, TN, 166 Letcher, John, 49, 51 letter writing, 8 Lewinsville, VA, 56 Lexington, KY, 120, 121, 122, 126, 138, 143, 160, 161, 166, 184

Lincoln, Abraham, 20, 90, 114, 172, 253, 261, 280; assassination of, 315 Little Tennessee River, 166 Longstreet, James, 142, 162, 170, 171, 172, 177, 179, 195, 217 Lookout Mountain, TN, 207 Lost Mountain, GA, 228–29 Loudon, TN, 130, 131, 147, 155, 157–58, 159 Loudoun Heights, VA, 102 Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 122 Lovejoy’s Station, GA, 257, 258, 259 loyalty oath, 288–89 Luce, Constant, 143–44, 160 Lyster, Henry, 92, 100, 101, 159, 234 Lyster, William J. “Will,” 38, 100, 192, 201, 207, 210, 213, 225, 233, 237; Poe reports on his safety, 219–20, 224, 229, 231, 238; visits Eleanor, 262 Macfeely, Robert, 42 Mack, Oscar A., 42 mail wagon, 8 Manassas Gap, VA, 106 manliness, 4, 267; Poe’s perspective on, 43, 65 Manson, Mahlon, 160, 218 March to the Sea Campaign, 278, 283, 283– 84; Poe prepares for, 275, 277 Marietta, GA, 228, 230; Poe’s description of, 240–41 Marysville, TN, 166 Masons (fraternal order), 62, 88 Massillon, OH, 20, 27, 61, 62, 67, 122, 125, 133, 140, 147, 182, 241 Maynard, Horace, 152, 155 May Queen (steamer), 55 McAlester, Miles D., 152 McClellan, George, 10, 18, 19, 23, 24, 33–34, 35, 37, 40, 46, 54, 58, 74, 81, 83; on civilized warfare, 254; at Hanover Court House, 224; as presidential candidate (1864), 226, 260, 280; relieved of command, 107; resumes command, 89; at South Mountain and Antietam, 98 McClymonds, James W., 312, 313 McCook, Alexander M., 145 McCook, Dan, 235 McCook, Robert L., 45 McCreery, William B., 72 McCroskry, Samuel Allen, 232 McMillan, James, 152 McPherson, James B., 206, 216, 224, 231, 240; death of, 246 Meade, George, 10, 28, 106, 202 Meigs, Montgomery, 295

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index Mellon, Ross, 126, 137 Merchant, Clarke, 115 Michigan regiments (Union): 5th Infantry, 59, 72; 8th Infantry, 151; 9th Cavalry, 134; 17th Infantry, 107; 20th Infantry, 107; 24th Infantry, 92 Missionary Ridge, TN, Battle of, 208 Mizner, Henry R., 252 Mobile, AL, 196, 252, 274 Monitor (US warship), 60 Morris, Thomas A., 48 Morse, William R., 72, 143 Nashville, TN, 198, 207, 249, 265, 281; Poe’s description of, 186; recalcitrance of its women, 288 National Union Party, 228 Navarre, OH, 62, 66, 185, 204; Eleanor residing at, 248, 250; home of Susanna Poe, 63; O. M. Poe’s birthplace, 1 New Hope Church, GA, 224; Battle of, 222–23 New Merrimac (CS warship), 117 Newport News, VA, 189, 205 New York regiments (Union): 37th Infantry, 72, 73 102, 159; 55th Infantry, 103; 79th Infantry, 107, 151, 173 New York Tribune, 178 Noble, William, 103, 170, 179 Norris, Charles E., 84 Norvell, Alfred C., 125, 162–63 oath of allegiance, Union, 139 Ogeechee River, 284 Ohio regiments (Union): 1st Light Artillery, 154; 4th Infantry, 45–46, 49; 9th Infantry, 45, 49; 13th Infantry, 181; 100th Infantry, 136; 104th Infantry, 125, 137, 140, 226, 312 Olustee, FL, Battle of, 195 Oostanaula River, 220 Orangeburg, SC, 302 Order of American Knights, 253 Overland Campaign, as vindication of McClellan, 227 Pace’s Ferry, GA, 245 Palmer, John L., 239 Pamunkey River, 76 Parke, John G., 182 Parkersburgh, VA, 36, 39 parole, concept of, 51 Patterson’s Creek, skirmish at, 40 Peach Tree Creek, Battle of, 246 Pegram, John, 47, 49, 50, 51, 145–46

335

Peninsula Campaign, 64 Pennsylvania regiment (Union), 99th Infantry, 86–88 Pensacola (US warship), 59 Phenix, Dawson, 117 Philadelphia, TN, skirmish at, 156 Phillip’s Ferry, GA, 241 photography, 190, 276; Poe’s fascination with, 190, 204, 251, 277 picket duty, 36, 95; Poe’s disdain of, 68 Pickett’s Mill, Battle of, 224 Pillow, Gideon, 270 Pittman, Samuel E., 220, 223, 241, 247, 271 Pittsburgh, PA, 61, 310 Pleasants, Henry, 138, 181 Pleasonton, Alfred, 108, 202 Pocotaligo, SC, 301 Poe, Andrew, 2 Poe, Andrew Adam, 125, 137, 141, 154, 243; death of, 233–34 Poe, Andrew Warner, 193 Poe, Charles, 1 Poe, Charles Carrol “Charly,” 182, 194, 201, 223, 234, 247, 264, 268, 282, 321; christening of, 202; O. M. Poe’s belief in discipline for, 208–9, 261, 318 Poe, Daniel, 125 Poe, Eleanor Carroll Brent: birth of, 4, 5; death of, 321; desire for O. M. Poe to return home, 158, 171, 248, 294; on her interest in military matters, 197; O. M. Poe’s love for, 177, 196, 279; pregnancy, 149, 158, 160–61, 174, 176 Poe, Orlando M., xv, 268; appointments to brigadier general, 114, 321; on concept of duty, 161, 171, 172, 176; on concept of “home,” 149, 192, 309–10; concerns over promotion and recognition, 91, 93, 116, 186, 200, 272; death of, 321; disdain for non-enlisters, 104, 275–276; elitism of, 10; flirtations with Eleanor, 201, 293; frustration with McClellan, 74–76; at Johnston’s surrender, 315–17; marital “authority” of, 275; May 1861 Ohio reconnaissance, 25; on nearly getting shot, 219; on paper money vs. gold, 263; on political issues, xv, 241–43, 253, 260–61, 280; professional pride of, 127, 176, 178, 209–10, 266, 287; racial attitude, 134–35; religious beliefs, xv, 10–11, 15, 136, 291; seeks to leave the army, 238; seeks return to Army of the Potomac, 190, 197, 200; suffers from mental stress, 111–12; takes command of 2nd Michigan Infantry, 56; war should not be against civilians, 226–27, 230, 254–56

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336

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Poe, Stephen W., 40 Poe, Susanna Warner (O. M. Poe’s mother), 1; Poe’s description of her and her home, 63 Poe, William Charles, 151 Pohick Church, 57 Polk, Leonidas, 232 pontoon boat, 158, 160 pontoon bridge, 157, 157–58, 163, 186, 245 Poolesville, MD, 103 Pope, John, 86, 87, 88 Powers Ferry, GA, 241, 245 Prince de Joinville, 69 Princess of Wales, 189 Proctorville, OH, 26 provost marshals, 103 Raff, Enos, 62, 283 railroads, destruction of, 255, 255–56 Raleigh, NC, 313; Poe’s description of, 314 “Rally ’Round the Flag” (song), 148 Rappahannock River, 108, 109 Rappahannock Station, VA, 108 Raynolds, William F., 76 Red Oak, GA, 254, 255 Reese, Chauncey B., 278 Regiments, Confederate: Alabama, 40th Infantry, 231; Virginia, 20th Infantry, 49, 51 Regiments, Union: 2nd US Artillery, 68; 3rd US Infantry, 53; 4th US Light Artillery, 42. See also Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry; and specific state regiments Reilly, James W., 248 Resaca, GA, 216; Battle of, 218–20; Poe’s description of, 220 Rheatown, TN, skirmish at, 150 Rhett, Alfred M., 305 Richardson, Israel B., 56, 58 Richmond, VA, 76, 107, 108 Richmond, VA, Confederate troops abandon, 308 Rich Mountain: battle of, 45–50, 47, 154; campaign of, 41 Ricketts, Frances, 118 Ricks, Augustus “Gus,” 125, 133, 170, 270, 271, 317 Ringgold, GA, 210 Robinson, John C., 84 Rogersville, Battle of, 165 Rome, GA, 221 Romeyn, James W., 99, 105 Rosecrans, William S., 45–47, 139, 140, 142, 145, 154 Roswell Factory, GA, 241 Rough and Ready, GA, 261, 264

Salem, VA, 106 Sanders, William P. “Doc,” 84, 85, 98, 126, 132, 144, 146, 148, 155, 160; death of, 170; promotion to brigadier general, 155; skirmish near Marysville, TN, 166–67; skirmish at Rheatown, TN, 150 Savannah (CS warship), 286 Savannah, GA, 284, 285, 310; cost of living in, 292–93; subjugation of its citizens, 288, 291 Sawtelle, Charles G., 60 Saxton, Rufus, 42 Schofield, John M., 215–16, 243, 303, 307 Scott, Winfield, 33, 189 Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, 93–94, 95, 107, 120, 123, 124, 155, 197, 243, 249; at Blue Springs, 151; formation of, 56; at Fredericksburg, 112; at Knoxville, 170, 178, 179; Poe’s affection for, 100, 144, 147, 166–67, 179, 181, 205; reenlistment of, 166– 67, 188, 191, 209; at Seven Pines, 76–79; at Williamsburg, 72–73 Sedgwick, John, 79, 84, 217 Seven Days battles, 81, 227 Seven Pines, Battle of, 76–79, 212. See also Fair Oaks, Battle of Shakespeare, William, 307 Sheridan, Philip H., 201, 274 Sherman, William T., 10, 195, 202, 208, 237, 264, 268, 289; on capture of Atlanta, 256; complimentary toward Poe, 265–67; demands surrender of Savannah, 285–86; on insisting Poe remain assigned to him, 203, 205, 291–92; meets face-to-face with Grant, 308, 318; in North Carolina, 305; orders citizens to evacuate Atlanta, 259, 261, 265; receives Johnston’s surrender, 315–17, 316 Sickles, Dan, 202 Simpson, James H., 125, 129, 142 Slocum, Henry, 305 Smith, Lucretia S., 287 Smith, William F. “Baldy,” 94, 117, 183, 184, 186, 189; death of infant son, 193–94; on returning to Army of the Potomac, 190, 196–97, 200, 202 Smith, William Proctor, 174, 264 Snake Creek Gap, GA, 216, 217 snuff, 265 Somerset, KY, 139 Southern civilians: preconceptions of Union soldiers by, 241; recalcitrance of, 288, 291; suffering of, 127, 140, 159, 222, 227, 256 South Mountain, MD, 97

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index Stafford, OH, 29 Stanford, KY, 124 Stanley, David, 213 Stanton, Edwin, 69, 176; on meeting Sherman and Poe in Savannah, 294–95 Staunton, VA, 50 stereoscopic images, 276. See also photography Sterling, James T., 236, 243 Stevens, Isaac, 89 Stoneman, George, 96, 98, 102, 103 Stuart, J. E. B., 106 Sturgis, Samuel, 232 Sullivan, Thomas C., 37–38, 116 Sumner, Edwin, 90, 108, 110 Sweitzer, Jacob, 111 Swift, Frederick, 143 Taylor, Archibald, 47–48 Taylor, John, 118 Telford (aka Limestone Station), skirmish at, 136 Tennessee regiments (Union): 1st Cavalry, 241–42; 2nd Mounted Infantry, 165 Terry, Henry D., 70, 74, 83, 159; dismissed from service, 307 Terry, Miss Julia, 21, 264 Thomas, George H., 154, 207, 225, 254 Thoroughfare Gap, VA, 106 Thurlby, Alfred, 181 Tibbles, Ned, 206 torpedoes (land mines), 71–72 Townsend, Edward D., 295 Trowbridge, Charles Frederick, 213, 221, 233 Tunnel Hill, GA, 210, 213 Turnbull, Charles, 91 Turner’s Ferry, GA, 247 Tyler, Nathaniel, 51 Union Leagues, 238 US Colored Troops (USCT), 123 U.S. Great Lakes Survey, 3 US Sanitary Commission, 192 Utoy Creek, GA, skirmishing at, 248

337

Wagner, Orlando G., 70 Walker, Thomas Woodruff, 32 Walker, William “Fighting Billy,” 226 Warner, William (O. M. Poe’s cousin), 218, 219, 222 Warrenton, VA, 88 Washington, DC, 52, 55, 162 Watkins, Louis D., 269, 270 Webb, Alexander, 217 Western & Atlantic Railroad, 220, 270 West Point Military Academy, 2–3, 10; condescension of graduates toward volunteers, 20–21, 32, 53 Wheeler, Joseph, 250, 251 Whig Party, 1–2 Whiting, DeGarmo, 66, 83, 243 Wide Awakes, 16 Wilkins, Elizabeth, 88, 98, 105, 185 Wilkins, Judge Ross, 4, 15, 92, 147, 206 Willard’s Hotel, 52, 54 Willcox, Orlando B., 34, 106, 107, 116, 118, 123, 147, 151 Williams, Adolphus W., 144 Williams, Alpheus, S., 220, 223, 271, 278, 306 Williams, Lawrence A., 39 Williams, Seth, 37, 106 Williams, William Orton, 270 Williamsburg, Battle of, 72–73 Winegar, William, 160 Winnsboro, SC, 302, 304 women (Civil War era): on courtship etiquette, 5, 147; on living alone in hotels, 187–88; on traveling alone, 55; Union soldiers’ attraction to Southern women, 133; on working in hospitals, 99, 188 Wood, Thomas J., 180, 181, 189, 216, 223, 224, 245, 263; suffers serious wound, 258, 259–60 Wool, John E., 23 Yorktown, VA, 71; siege of, 65–71 Young, John L. 249 Zeilly, George, 62

Vallandigham, Clement, 153 Virginia (CS warship), 74

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