From Jerome to Allie, April 30-May 1, 1863

From Jerome to Allie, April 30-May 1, 1863

Peirce, Jerome

Allie

Stanford, KY.

From Jerome to Allie

Jerome Peirce

Jerome Peirce Collection, National Park Service

HIST 428 (Spring 2020), University of Mary Washington

1863-04-30
1863-05-01

NPS, Civil War Study Group, Paul and Louise Marahrens (Transcriber)

For educational purposes with no commercial use. Courtesy of National Park Service, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP, FRSP 16095-16102 (FRSP-00904).

5.5 X 8.25
5.5 X 8.25

English

Text

Letter #107

Stanford, KY.

LETTER TRANSCRIPTION


Stanford, Ky
Thurs Eve. 30th April ‘63
My dearest Allie,
Much to our surprise, we left Camp Dick R. [Robinson] this morning about 7 o’clk, 18 or 19 miles. Made a good march, and nearly all came in in good condition, myself among the same. Dust laid by last night’s rain.
We are moving to the front, Cumberland River, to reinforce, as far as we can learn. Expect to march two or three days more.
Several are going to write just a line, so I must be brief. Am very well. Am writing with a candle on the rail of a fence and tents spread near us.
Love to all and as ever yours wholly
Jerome

Will write when I can.


May [1st]
Have just read a letter from Alonzo rec’d last eve. Am quite refreshed. It is 5 o’clk and must make a fire and look out for some coffee. Our whole Camp “Dick [Robinson]” force is moving under General Welch.
Give my love and thanks to Alonzo and will answer when we halt. Wish you could see our Bedrooms! I send a weed from Camp “Dick [Robinson]”, looks pretty growing, but sadly faded now.
Jerome

P.S. We remain here today. Will write Alonzo.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES (Josef Rokus)

NOTE 1: Camp Dick Robinson was a large Union Army organizational and training center located near Lancaster in rural Garrard County, Kentucky. The camp was established on August 6, 1861, despite the protests of Governor Beriah Magoffin, a strong secessionist and Southern sympathizer. It was located about halfway between Cincinnati and the Cumberland Gap, and was about 30 miles from Lexington, Kentucky. It was constructed on the farm of Captain Dick Robinson, a strong pro-Union supporter. The post served as a rallying point for local loyalists, as well as for Unionists who had left their homes in eastern Tennessee in order to enlist in the Union army. In 1862, the Confederate Army seized the camp and renamed it "Camp Breckinridge," in honor of Confederate general and former U.S. Vice President John C. Breckinridge, a native Kentuckian. The advance of the Union army into the region forced the Rebels to abandon the camp, and Federal troops regained its possession for the remainder of the war. After hostilities ceased in 1865, the camp was phased out of existence.
NOTE 2: The “Alonzo” Jerome referred to in his letters was Seth Alonzo Ranlett. Ranlett enlisted in Co. B of the 36th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment as a Private on July 24, 1862, at age 22, and he was from Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was promoted to First Sergeant on August 27, 1862, and was commissioned as a First Lieutenant on December 1, 1862. On December 17, 1862, he was appointed Adjutant of the Regiment. He was mustered out “on account of physical disability from disease incurred in the service” on February 20, 1864.
Ranlett was born on March 18, 1840, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and he died May 21, 1905, in Newton, Massachusetts. Ranlett’s wife was Ellen Peirce Ranlett, with a date of birth of March 22, 1842, and a date of death of January 12, 1914. They were married on January 21, 1864. Ellen Peirce was one of the children of Foster Peirce and his wife Catherine Abby Beaman. Also, Foster Peirce was a brother of Jerome.
Therefore, the Ellen that Jerome mentions in his letters was one of Jerome’s nieces, and starting on January 21, 1864, Alonzo was the husband of one of his nieces.

Letter/Paper