Letter #32 -- Annapolis, MD -- March 22, 1864

After a long 15 month wait...the return of the Civil War Letters of John W. Derr...thank you for your patience....


John's letter home on this Tuesday in March of 1864 is the modern day equivalent of the "safe arrival call".  John is providing his parents an update to his travels after a nearly 3 month furlough of the 48th PVI back in Pennsylvania.  The 48th, spent the better part of 1863 on provost duty in Kentucky and Tennessee, concluding with a re-enlistment of the regiment at Blain's Crossroads, Tennessee on December 31, 1863.  A well deserved 3 month furlough for the 48th was a welcome respite and reward for a job well done.   However...by March of 1864 it was time to return to the field and the eastern theater of the war.  John departed his Deep Creek valley home en route to Pottsville in order to embark on the train that would carry the 48th to Harrisburg and eventually to Annapolis, MD...a mustering site during the war.  It was the second trip to Annapolis by John, with the first being after his capture at Second Bull Run.  Annapolis was used as a parole station and that was where John was exchanged in September of 1862.


The letter is typical of John...a little bit of update...a little bit of health update.  He complains about the cold weather and a toothache that he is suffering.  Given the condition of his leg after the wounding at Second Bull Run, John was relegated to "driving teams".  We know that this was a mule team, based on on subsequent letters he wrote about them.  He is indicating to his parents that he does not yet have a team to drive.  It would appear that the main activity of the 48th during this period was drilling and training...ostensibly to "knock the rust off" of the men after a 3 month break.

1864 will be a significant year for the 48th with difficult engagements through out the year.  John writes about these events during the course of 1864 and I look forward to sharing them with you.

                                                                                                Camp near Annapolis, MD

                                                                                                March 22, 1864

My Dear Father,

                        I take my pen in hand to inform you 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.  I let you know that we had to leave Pottsville that same day and went to Harrisburg and laid there for three days.  Then we went on to Annapolis, Md, and here we are in camp now and our whole corps is coming here and here we will lay until our new men are drilled, but how long that will be I don’t know.  I let you know that it is very cold here now.  We are near freezing in our tents and I have toothache near all the time that we are here.  But I have good times just now for I have no team to drive and I won’t drill any only go in dress parade in the evening.  That is all I am doing at present time and that is too much for me.  So dear Father and Mother I have not much to write for this time because it is too cold to write.  I will write soon again.  Give my best respects to my sisters and brothers and to all inquiring friends.  So I will bring my letter to a close for this time.  This few lines from your respective son.

                                                                                                John W. Derr

Answer soon and direct you letter to J.W. Derr, Co. D, 48^th Regt. Pa, 1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division., 9^th Army Corps, Annapolis, MD.

Jim D.

Letter #1 -- Camp Curtin - September 3rd 1861

This is the beginning of the letter trail.  This first letter written by John W. Derr to his family on September 3rd, 1861 after his arrival at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.   Below, you will find a copy of the original letter with the corresponding envelope.  Family lore says that John had but the equivalent of a 3rd grade education.  John's limited education, along with his "Pennsylvania German (Dutch)" heritage gave me a challenge in translating the words and their meaning.  The letters display spelling errors, grammatical errors as well as local colloquialisms which I will try to put into context for the period, locality and the man.

                   

                                                                                                            September 3, 1861

 

My Dear Father,

            I take my pencil in hand to write a few lines to you to let you know that I made up my mind to go and fight for our country and I let you know that I am in Harrisburg now and I like it very good.  And I wish you wouldn’t think hard of me that I left Deep Creek for I was tired of it long ago and I let you know that we made our home in Camp Curtin.

                                                                        For the Union, now and forever,

                                                                                    John W. Derr                                                     

Camp Curtin, named for Governor Andrew Curtin, was one of  the Union’s “boot camps” during the Civil War.  From 1861 to 1865, more than 300,000 Union soldiers were processed and trained for the Civil War at this camp in Harrisburg which is now bordered by the current landmarks of Fifth Street, the railroad tracks next to the Farm Show Building, Maclay Street, and Reeds Lane (from a speech by Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed, November 11, 1990).

My interpretation of this letter is that JWD, a 22 year old man with few prospects living at home with his parents and siblings, decided to enlist in the army to participate in an adventure of a lifetime.  By reading the letters, pension affidavits and other documents, I believe he was one of many friends who did the same thing.   This letter is part information as well as an apology to his parents, who were probably worried about him.   At first, I thought that this "stunt" of his was a particularly cruel and thoughtless act, given the worry it must have caused his parents.  Now I think that maybe his parents knew where he was and what he was doing.  Since many of his friends joined the Union army at the same time, that area of the Deep Creek, must have been abuzz with talk about...."where did all the boys go"?  


JWD made his way to Pottsville, Pennsylvania in August of 1861 in order to enlist in the Army and to be transported to a mustering area....Camp Curtin in Harrisburg.  Camp Curtin is where the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was formed and from where JWD's Civil War adventure began.  I often wonder what he thought of his journey....the new experiences he had.  For example....this was probably the furthest he had ever been from home (Pottsville)....this was probably the first train he rode....this was probably the largest grouping of people he had ever seen.  Pretty gutsy for a dirt farmer in the heart of Pennsylvania.


I hope you enjoy this first letter.....




Jim D.