From Jerome to Allie, July 12, 1863

From Jerome to Allie, July 12, 1863

Peirce, Jerome

Allie

Jackson, MS.

From Jerome to Allie

Jerome Peirce

Jerome Peirce Collection, National Park Service

HIST 428 (Spring 2020), University of Mary Washington

1863-07-12

NPS, Civil War Study Group, Bard Davidson (Transcriber)

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

4 X 6.4
6 X 8.75
11 X 9
6.15 X 9
Jpg

English

Text

Letter #140

Near Jackson, MS.

LETTER TRANSCRIPTION

Sunday Eve 12th July 1863
Ever dear Allie,
Here we are in the woods near the insane asylum, a fine building about two miles from the city of Jackson, which you know is the capital of Mississippi. I cannot relate in full the events of the past week. My last letter was written last Sunday just the other side of the Big Black River. We crossed on Tues[day] and advanced to this place suffering from the heat and marching but reached here on Fri[day] the P.M. of which we formed in line of battle and skirmished some two or three miles (in two divisions) forming a grand sight thru cornfields, woods, hills, etc. etc., quite surprised at not meeting the enemy before. Finally halted near the asylum for the night in a cornfield.
Saturday, yesterday morning early, we moved forward cautiously feeling the enemy toward the city and soon rested in a pleasant wood but we soon discovered we were near a
Reb battery, which thundered away at us with grape, solid shot and shell and killed two in the 27th Mich[igan] Regiment of our Brigade who rested below us but none of us were hurt here. But not so with the skirmishers [of] Co. F, mostly Milford men. [They] were the first to furnish victims, two from M. [Milford] were killed, Ellis and Hoyt, and some six wounded, mostly slightly.
So far the 36th [has] done splendidly and ‘twas something to lay under the fire of yesterday in the woods hugging the ground like moles and no batteries in position to cover us, and what a relief this morning when two of ours opened on them. Such a rout and screaming of shot and shell for a few moments!
Well thanks to [the] good giver, I am so far preserved from harm and feel hearty and well and trust in the same good Being to keep us to the end. The work is hardly yet begun and great events probably await us as the enemy are cornered and desperate, and several days will pass before it closes, but victory is sure in the end. The “Boys” are in fine spirits. Official news is received today of the fall of Port Hudson and defeat of General Lee in Pennsylvania. Trust all is true.
Of the future, I know not. We are constantly ready to move and so long letters and words are impossible. (Rainy and I must close as I am outdoors.)
Monday A. M. Still laying and safely waiting for “developments”. The batteries on our left, working a little. Went to the asylum grounds to see a few of the company who are ill from the effects of hard marching and heat, fatigue, lack of appetite, etc. All seem to think things are going well. Prisoners taken yesterday express the opinion that they cannot hold out long altho they mean to trouble us all they can. We seem to be feeling out their batteries and waiting to get [into] position. A large detail from “ours” last night working on fortifications nearby. Company H with the rest [have] not come in yet.
Cloudy and spits of rain this morning and we are resting nicely this morning.
Our mission seems to be to hold this position, to repel rather than attack. All talk and information seem to indicate a capture of the entire force here eventually and down goes the house with it!
Only one of the Orange Boys are ill, W. H. Goddard, but not seriously. All [of] us [are] comfortable under a shelter on the Common or “Park” in front of the asylum. A delightful spot.
Dear Allie, I have scratched off these few lines, not knowing when this will reach you, but you must possess your souls in patience and hope, for the work will surely close soon now and I am still sanguine that we shall meet again, and how much I shall have to relate that I cannot put on paper!
Love as ever to all. I enclose some myrtle leaves and blossom, gathered in the grounds and a house where our line advanced. Our chaplain “fell out” some four or five miles back so I don’t know who looks out for the mail. No mail since last Sabbath. Alonzo well. Near Jackson, Miss., but very busy.
As ever your loving
Jerome

Transcriber’s Note: The following note was written on the inside of the flap of the envelope:

Later reports this morning point to
a regular siege of the place. If so, we
may remain some time.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES (Josef Rokus)

NOTE 1: According to the Unit History, on July 5, 1863, the 36th Massachusetts moved towards Jackson, Mississippi, pursuing the retreating Confederates, with relatively few losses on both sides. After an eight-day siege of the city, it was abandoned by the Confederates on July 18. The regiment moved on until it reached Milldale, Mississippi, on July 23.

NOTE 2: The Big Black River is a river in Mississippi and a tributary of the Mississippi River. Its origin is in Webster County near the town of Eupora in the north central part of the state. From there it flows 330 miles in a generally southwest direction until it merges with the Mississippi River 25 miles south of the city of Vicksburg. The Battle of Big Black River Bridge, fought May 17, 1863, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign. Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton following the Battle of Champion Hill, in the final battle before the Siege of Vicksburg.

NOTE 3: The following information appears in the Unit History about the two men from Company F who were killed as mentioned in this letter. As always, this information agrees perfectly with what Jerome wrote.
George H. Ellis was 23 years old when he enlisted on August 4, 1862. He was killed in action on July 11, 1863, the day prior to the date of this letter.
Ames Hoyt was 20 years old when he enlisted on August 6, 1862. He was also killed in action on July 11, 1863.

NOTE 4: The Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana (May 22 – July 9, 1863), was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, General Nathaniel Banks was ordered to capture the Confederate stronghold of Port Hudson, in order to go to Grant's aid. When his assault failed, Banks settled into a 48-day siege, the longest in U.S. military history. A second attack also failed, and it was only after the fall of Vicksburg that the Confederate commander, General Franklin Gardner, surrendered the port. Consequently, the Union gained control of the Mississippi River and navigation from the Gulf of Mexico through the Deep South and to the river's upper reaches.

NOTE 5: In writing about the “defeat of General Lee in Pennsylvania,” he was referring to the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which resulted in a decisive Union victory on July 3, 1863.

NOTE 6: William H. Goodard enlisted from Orange at age 21 with Jerome on August 4, 1862. He died of disease on August 17, 1863, a little over a month after this letter was written, at Louisville, Kentucky,

NOTE 7: 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.

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