Friends - What about John Snyder?

I was doing a bit of research today, deciding that it would be better than watching another football game...or what seems to pass for football in Washington, DC.  I know I am laying myself out there for the Pennsylvanians who root for that not-to-be-named eastern Pennsylvania team...but what the heck!  As I was saying...I decided to do some research and did a Google search on a name contained in one of the later letters from JWD.  That name was, Emanuel Bolich, mentioned in a letter from May of 1864.  I came across the CivilWarTalk forum website  www.civilwartalk.com  and saw a posting from a couple of years ago talking/asking about information on an Emanuel Bolich from the 17th Pa. Regiment.  Interestingly, JWD's letter had Bolich contained within.  Additionally, the Bolich's being a prominent family in the Barry Township area of Schuylkill County, meant that many of the other documents I have in my possession have Bolich's contained within...e.g.  Mortgages, land sales, etc...  I decided to post to the forum in hopes that any information that I might have can help this family researcher in their quest.  I guess that is one of the reasons I am doing this blog...in hopes that names I have contained within the letters might help another person doing like research on their ancestors.  Hopefully, JWD was mentioned in some other soldier's letter and the favor can be returned.  Thus is the investigative nature of this kind of work.

Tonight, I did a little bit of research on John Snyder...mentioned in Letter #2 posted last month.  The reason I have very little is because I found very little.  Actually, during the research I found many John Snyders referenced in the ARIAS system (Pennsylvania State Archive database), but determined that only one could possibly be THE John Snyder that JWD referred to in his letter.

John H. Snyder was a private in the 96th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, company E.  Snyder enlisted in the 96th on March 14th, 1864 at the age of 23.   I have no information on what he was doing prior to his enlistment late in the war, but his occupation is identified as a "wheelwright".

Though he is mentioned only once in the letters, I found his story as interesting as any of the others I have researched.  What I do know is that John H. Snyder enlisted in the 96th PVI in March of 1864, just in time to fight in the bloody battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse,  during the Rapidan Campaign of May 1864.   According to Samuel Bates account in his book "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865", John H. Snyder was listed as missing in action (MIA) on May 10, 1864 at the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia.   This means that Snyder was active in his unit for less than 2 months before he went MIA during this vicious battle.   I have been unable to find any record of him resurfacing during or after the war, but he is not listed anywhere that I can find as a Killed in Action (KIA).

I was saddened by the thought that apparently he was never found, never identified.  He continues to be listed as MIA in the official records.  Since JWD fought at these battles, I wonder whether he saw him...talked to him...or fought with him during the time he went missing.  I guess this is just one of the sad stories and duties that returning soldiers such as JWD had to tell to anxious family members back home.  I can only imagine.

Pennsylvania State Archives ARIAS Record of John, H. Snyder

Samuel Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 (page 400)

Jim D.

Letter #2 - Fortress Monroe, Camp Hamilton - October 19th, 1861

The second letter written home by JWD indicates that his regiment moved from their initial mustering location of Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pa., to Fort Monroe, just outside Hampton, Virginia.  The movement by the 48th PVI was done via trains to Baltimore and then steamship to Fort Monroe, in preparation for future action as part of the Burnsides North Carolina expedition.

Letter #1, was written on September 3rd, so it had been over a month since his last letter home.  This long delay was due primarily to the transient nature of the 48th PVI at that time.  Letter #2 is slightly longer with JWD discussing friends that he has seen or who will be coming home.   This, undoubtedly, provided additional information to other families in the Deep Creek area of Pennsylvania as communities of that time shared news verbally and usually at common meeting places such as church.  I sometimes wonder, what lost information was conveyed by JWD's friends about him in their letters home and did it provide comfort or anguish to JWD's family.  I'll never know.

Letter #2 primarily discusses JWD's shipment of his non-Army clothing home.  Being a very poor farmer, he valued his clothes greatly and shows concern that they had not yet arrived at home.  As I mentioned in a previous posting, Francis Dengler provided a conduit for JWD and his fellow 48th PVI friends for shipping items home.  Additionally, this letter is one of few that actually discusses military information.  JWD indicates that Camp Hamilton added an additional 1,000 men with General Hooker requesting 25,000 more.

Another interesting part of Letter #2 is JWD's reference to "snitzing parties".   Being Pennsylvania Dutch (German) by heritage, he used that common colloquialism of the time.  Snitzing parties were community events whereby neighbors got together to peel, core, and boil apples in the preparation of apple butter...a Pennsylvania Dutch staple.   The time of year...Fall...makes this consistent of what he must have been writing about.   In addition to "snitzing" the apples, I imagine the parties...which lasted throughout the night...included significant socializing with friends and ladies.  Though modern day snitzing is commonly attributed to Mennonite or Amish traditions, it was more commonly practiced by the Pennsylvania Dutch of other denominations...Lutheran for JWD.

The letter also makes the first reference to a family member other than his parents.  He sends a message in the letter to his sister Elizabeth, encouraging her to write to him.  Being the oldest sibling, JWD was undoubtedly looked up-to by his brothers and sisters.

And now Letter #2....

                                                                                          Fort Monroe, Camp Hamilton,

                                                                                    Elizabeth County, State of Virginia

                                                                                    October the 19^th, 1861

My Dear Father,

            I take my pen in hand to write a few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present and I hope that these few lines will find you in the same state of health and I let you know that I received your letter in safety and I was very glad to hear from you again.  But you said you didn’t get my clothes yet.  I can’t see where they got to. But if Francis Dengler and John Snyder and Charles Bilman and John Rice went to Harrisburg,  if they come back, go to Dengler and see whether he didn’t find out anything of them.  They were all packed up in one bundle.  And I let you know what it was.  It was my coat and vest and cap, pants, shirt and boots.  We put mine and Franklin Hoch and George Artz and Solomon Eysters and a good many more together in one box and did send them to Pottsville to Franks Potts.  I wouldn’t care anything much about all my clothes, but about my boots.  They were quite new yet and further I let you know that I am very glad that you wrote to me that George Slotterback and Henry Snyder are in Harrisburg yet for we didn’t hear anything from them since we left Harrisburg.  It was set (?) wants that they would come after us but they didn’t come yet and since that we didn’t hear anything from them any more.   But I let you know that we go 1,000 men stronger again this week at Camp Hamilton.  And General Hooker wants to have about 25,000 more men there in a short time for we expect to have a battle every day and we are ready for them.  And I let you know that I wrote a letter to Josiah Fetterolf and didn’t get no answer yet.  Now tell him that he should write me a good deal of stories and something about the “snitzing” parties and if he wouldn’t write me now, I would never write to him no more.

            And my sister Elizabeth, I wrote a letter to her and she didn’t answer yet.  I want her to write.  Now I must come to a close for this sheet of paper is full and I haven’t go no other one to write on and I have no money to buy some more.  For I want you to answer me this letter.  Don’t let it be too much trouble to you for I have plenty of paper in my trunk and envelopes.  So just take some of them and write to me.  You must excuse my bad writing and all my mistakes.

                                                                        So much of your dear son

                                                                                    John W. Derr

Direct your letter to John W. Derr, Fort Monroe, Camp Hamilton, Va.  Co. D – 48^th Regt. Pa, in care of Capt. D. Nagle

Letter is constructed as follows:

                                                Page 4                                                         Page 1       

                                                    v                                                                   v        

                                                 Page 2                                                           Page 3

                                                     v                                                                    v

Enjoy

Jim D.