Letter #12 - New Berne, North Carolina -- May 2, 1862

By May of 1862, the battle for New Berne, North Carolina was over and the eastern coastal area of the state was under the control of Union forces commanded by General Burnsides.  The memory and excitement of the March, 1862 battle had given way to the mundane camp life as described in JWD's letters.  The 48th PVI would remain in North Carolina for another 2 months providing provost duties at encampments around the New Berne vicinity.  This part of the Civil War would be recorded as the highlight of General Burnsides' career with future command decisions at Fredericksburg and Petersburg being criticized and scrutinized for decades to come.  For now, however, the General was a happy man and a happy soldier living and bonding with his beloved men.

The letter of May 2, 1862 has nothing of historical note, except for the insight it provides to the dullness of life between major campaigns and battles.  This is not what we think of as "the Civil War"...the war we see in movies with non-stop action, battles, and drama.  As one soldier writes..."war is one big bore, interrupted by moments of terror".... sounds like a nightmare to me.

In the future I plan to highlight various notations on the envelopes used to mail the letters.  I found interesting information regarding franking of letters at the authority of various commanding officers of the 48th PVI.  I have, and will continue to, search for example and facsimiles of the signatures of various officers...e.g. Nagle, Siegfried, etc... as well as those of the chaplains, and doctors whose names are on the outside of these envelopes.  The writing is not that of JWD...for example...in the envelope below, the style of the letter "S" is different from the addressing provided by JWD for "Schuylkill" vs. the  "S" in the word "Soldier".  My question is this....could the notation have been made by Col. James Nagle of the 48th PVI...or was it one of his Adjutants.  More that likely it was the latter...however....it would be nice to check it out.


Also of note, is that this letter provides insight into JWD's immediate family.  His post-script notation to his brothers and sisters provides the names and a bit of sadness as he addresses them directly regarding his fears about his future.

                                                                                                May the 2^nd, 1862

My Dear Father and Mother,

                        I take my pen in h and to inform this few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and I hope that this few lines will find you in the same state of good health.  Further I let you know that I received your letter on the first of this month and I was very glad to hear from you and to hear that you are all well at present time.  Further I let you know about my money.  I only sent $18.50 the first time and did put ten 10.00 dollars in a letter and you hadn’t it yet when you wrote that other one.  I wish you would let me know in your next letter whether you got it or not.  But that is all that I did send home but if them ten dollars will come home then I must have $68.00 dollars at home in all and if you will draw 20.00 more on the 15^th of May then I must have $88.00 dollars at home but what you had to spend for my things.  And let me know whether you got them ten dollars or not and I wrote home for two shirts in the same letter where the money was.  Further I let you know that I will send a box of old soldiers clothes home in care of Francis Dengler.  So I have not much more to write to you this time.

                                                                                                Yours with respects,

                                                                                                John W. Derr

John W. Derr, John W. Derr, George Derr, Peter Derr, Daniel Derr, William Derr, Catharine Derr, Anna Derr, Elizabeth Derr, Solomy Derr.  Who knows whether we will see each other anymore or not but keep courage and think that this war may soon be over.  Your beloved and oldest brother John W. Derr as a private in the United States Army.

Jim D.

Letter #10 - New Berne, North Carolina -- April 7, 1862

Last year I jumped the gun a bit by discussing JWD's trip aboard the "George Peabody Boat"...aka...the SS George Peabody.  It was in reference to...well....this letter.  I finally get the opportunity to share this letter with you on the 150th anniversary of its creation.

Steamship George Peabody

Yesterday, I finished reading the book "The Crater", by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen.  I was drawn to the book by the novel aspects of the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia in July of 1864 and the direct involvement of the 48th PVI in the digging of the mine as well as the witnessing of the subsequent disaster.  As I have mentioned in prior posts, JWD was part of the digging crew for the mine and suffered the consequences of spending those weeks in the tunneling environment to his health during and after the war.  This is well documented by the post mortem pension application affidavits by fellow soldiers in support of his widow, Magdalena Derr.   Well...you ask..."what does this have to do with a letter written in April of 1862".....nothing really...except that references in the book to the Burnsides Expedition to New Berne in 1862 and the fame that it afforded the general.  The book illustrates how Burnsides was scape-goated for the post mine explosion battle.  It also shows that Burnsides had successes in his career as well as other failures....e.g. Fredericksburg.  It paints a very poor picture of General Meade.  All of this is very interesting, but what I found most heartening was how the authors portrayed the mutual affection Burnsides and his men had for each other.  As part of the Ninth Corps, the 48th was part of that unit and spent most of its time under the command of General Ambrose Burnsides.  The book also describes how Meade and Burnsides were deliberately separated from each other...both hating each other immensely...when the Ninth Corps was detached to the western theater (Kentucky and Tennessee) in 1863.  The Ninth Corps was eventually brought back east as a support unit attached...but not part of...the Army of the Potomac.  Lastly, the book describes the contributions of the 4th Division United States Colored Troops (USCT) and the 28th Indiana USCT.  All of this was true, and I find it interesting that my GGgrandfather witness all of it....the glory...and the horror.

Now...regarding the letter for today....

This letter was written in April of 1862.  During that period in the war, Burnsides planned and executed an assault on Confederate forces in New Berne, North Carolina as part of an effort to block shipping into and out of North Carolina, thus denying the south of an important import/export source to the outside world.  The 48th was part of that order of battle and proceeded via ship, to transit up the Neuse River to join the battle.  Unfortunately, the ships used by the Army to transport troops tended to be more intracoastal in nature and not equipped for ocean going service.  Overloaded and underpowered, the SS Peabody was slowed by the elements and nearly capsized...arriving late to the battle.  JWD describes how they arrived a few hours late to the battle and while missing the main action...they saw the results.

That said...the 48th was subsequently used to transport ammunition and supplies to the troops in the field...their support being so helpful that General Burnsides recommended that the battle be added to the regimental colors.

                                                                                                Camp near New Berne,

                                                                                                North Carolina   

                                                                                                April the 7^th, 1862

My Dear Father,

            I take my pen in hand to write this few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and hope that this few lines will find you in the same state of good health.  Further, I let you know that I had no time to write any sooner to you for we were moving all the time for a long time.  Further, I let you know that if my wife wrote a letter to me and she wants me to give my trunk to her to put her clothes in and I told her should go to you and ask you or tell you if you would have a place to keep my clothes so that they don’t get spoiled, she might have my trunk and let me know about it.  I wish you would let me know whether you drew my money or not, and let me know how much you got and when you got it.  Further, I let you know that we left Hatteras on March the 13^th, 1862 and went on board the “George Peabody” boat and went up the News (Neuse) River, and we were there to have a fight but till we were landed and came there we were about two hours too late for the battle.  We saw nothing of the battle but we saw the dead men and horses laying around there like old logs.  And it was night till we came there and we slept on the battle ground the first night under the bare heaven.  And the next day we marched down till this side of New Berne and there we camped a while.  But now we moved on the other side of New Berne and I think we will have another battle before we leave that place there.  But we want to go after them.  But General McClellan will come on their backs and make them run in our hands, and then we will mow them down like grass from the ground.  Let the Fetterolfs know that I am well at present time.  But now I must come to a close.  Don’t forget to write to me as soon as you get this from me.

                                                                                                Yours with respect,

                                                                                                John W. Derr

Direct your letter to John W. Derr, Co. “D”, 48^th Pa., Burnsides Expedition, North Carolina, in care of Col. James Nagle.

Battle of New Bern, NC April 1862

Jim D.

A Humbling Visit to Spotsylvania Courthouse and the Wilderness

Having the Thanksgiving week off from work and owing to a need for unadulterated "down time", I decided to take the short drive from Maryland to the Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park in Virginia. The drive took a little longer than expected, though I should know better, due to various traffic choke points on Interstate 95 south.  I arrived in Fredericksburg around noon on Monday and immediately started my investigation.   I was primarily interested in the Spotsylvania Court House (CH) and Wilderness battlefields, which are part of the larger Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park.  Included in that park are the aforementioned battlefields plus the Chancellorsville battlefield.  All of these battlefields are within 20-30 minutes of the main headquarters in Fredericksburg.  There is a visitor's center in Fredericksburg and at the Chancellorsville battlefield, but none at the Spotsylvania CH or Wilderness battlefields.  Instead, those sites have self guided tours with appropriate markers and maps to help the Civil War enthusiast in their researching and touring activities.   Fortunately for me, I stopped in Fredericksburg first and spent some time with the Park Ranger on duty, Steward Henderson, who provided invaluable information and insight into the battles and their impact on the war.  Additionally, he was able to help in locating exact positions of the 48th PVI during the timeline of battle which supported me in my research.  I highly recommend that if you ever visit these battlefields, you should spend some time with these knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic Rangers.  Without Ranger Henderson's help, I would never have been able to pinpoint exactly (within a few hundred yards), the location of JWD during the progression of the battles.  For that, I thank him.

As part of this research project, I have decided to try to visit each location from which the letters were written.  My first attempt in August to visit Fort Monroe and Forts Clarke and Hatteras, were thwarted by Hurricane Irene which made the trip south of the Oregon Inlet on Hatteras island impossible.  The trip to Fort Monroe, had to be delayed due to power outages, etc...  Fortunately, I have been close to Forts Clarke and Hatteras (not really accessible as the road ends a significant distance from where the forts were located and the shifting sands make finding them impossible), on previous trips and have some knowledge of their general locations.

So...even though the Spotsylvania CH and Wilderness battles did not happen until 1864 (with regard to the 48th PVI participation), I decided to make the trip anyway.  I am glad that I did.

The battle of Spotsylvania CH encompassed a 12 day period from May 7th, 1864 and the race to Spotsylvania CH by Union and Confederate forces to May 19th, 1864 with the battle at Harris Farm.  I'm not going to go into the details of the battle as there are many accounts available by better historian than I, but I will focus in on the role JWD played in the battle.

JWD was part of General Ambrose Burnsides IX Corp and his regiment was organized under Brigadier General Robert B. Potter.  The 48th PVI was part of the assault on Confederate General Ambrose Ewell's salient known a the "Muleshoe".  Images below give you a feel for why this bulge in the Confederate lines was called the "Muleshoe".  The 48th PVI was part of the attack on the eastern front of the salient and resulted in many unit casualties.  Grant's attack on Ewell began on May 10th and continued through the famous battle at the "Bloody Angle".  The 48th PVI was part of this assault and as I have said...many men were lost.



Below are maps of the battlefield progression:

So...below is the map I used (annotated by Ranger Henderson) to find the locations of JWD's regiment during the course of the battle.

Ranger Steward Henderson - Fredericksburg Battlefield Park

......more images from Spotsylvania CH Battlefield....

....looking out from Confederate trenches to the Union positions at the "Bloody Angle"......

 .....Union Trenches - Burnsides IX Corps......still visible today....

I haven't done justice to the Wilderness Battlefield visit today...but I will in the future.

Monday was a really special time for me to explore, research and LEARN.  To be able to stand in the location of your ancestor and imagine what it must have been like in those terrible days.  The day was overcast...the temperature was moderate....the park was virtually silent.   It gave me time to reflect and appreciate what was done here 147 years ago in another time and in another world.    It is quite humbling....and moving.

I know I am jumping the gun here with publishing this...but I will do it again in 3 years...so what the heck!


From JWD letter dated May 16th, 1864....

                                                                                                Spotsylvania Court House, Va.

                                                                                                May 16^th, 1864

My Dear Father and Mother,

             I take this present opportunity to inform this few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and I hope this few lines will find you in the same state of good health.  You must excuse me for not writing to you any sooner because we was busy this two last weeks after the rebels.  We had two pretty hard fights since.  We are out and are now laying on the battle field for the six last days firing at the rebels and are fighting with them every day.  But all the boys from around there are safe yet as much as I know.  But John Boyer got wounded today but it ain’t very bad.  It is only a flesh wound through the left leg above the knee.  And John D. Weikel is missing.  Nobody knows anything about him and I don’t know where he is or where he got to.  He got away from us in the morning that we went into the battle.  He was along when we advanced in line of battle.  Thank God that I am safe yet and I hope that I always may get through safe.  We have some hard nuts to bite.  But I hope we will be successful in taking Richmond for we are bound to have it or else all die.  This is the cry all through the Army.  I also seen some of the 17^th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  I seen Daniel Derr and Elias Derr and Isaac Yarnall and Emanuel Bolich and they are all well and look hearty.  So I must close this few lines for it is getting dark and I have no more to write for this time.  This few lines from your beloved son.

                                                                                                John W. Derr

Answer soon and direct your letter to John W. Derr, Co. D 48^th Regt. Pa, 1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division, 9^th Army Corps Washington, D.C.

Jim D.