Coming Soon...Resumption of "The Letters"!

I have been receiving plenty of correspondence regarding the resumption of "The Letters"...so here is the plan...

As I wrote about in December of 2012, there is a gap in The Civil War Letters of John W. Derr that spans the timeframe from December 22, 1862 to March 22, 1864.  When I received the letters from my father as a 12 year old boy, I noticed immediately that the year 1863 was conspicuously absent.  At that point, my father and I queried all the family members we could think of regarding the location of the this missing lot.  Unfortunately, we were unable to determine the location, or that matter, whether they ever existed.  Given the frequency of John's writing in 1861-1862 and 1864 to the end of the war, it is likely that he wrote during 1863 and the letters were just lost.  There is no way to prove this, but it seems like a likely scenario.

During 2013, I spent time filling in my blog entries with other information...and frankly...ran out of ideas that had anything to do with anything.  My last entry was regarding the WWII baseball bat that I donated to the Mighty 8th Air Force museum in Pooler, Georgia (more on that in the future...there is an update), but then I realized that I was just babbling in blog form....so I stopped.   With the 15 month gap in letters coming to a close in 5 days, I decided to send a note out reminding people that are interested that the blogging will resume soon with dozens of remaining letters.   I look forward to reengaging the blog and my readers who have been faithful and patient.  Thank you.








As I wrote about last year...the 48th PVI was sent to the Kentucky/Tennessee theater in 1863 to provide provost duty in support of General Burnsides who was relieved of his Virginia theater command after Fredericksburg.   For the most part, the 48th enjoyed a relaxed 9 months in Lexington, KY as well as in some level of engagement in Tennessee, culminating in the reenlistment of the 48th PVI at Blain's Crossroads in the Tennessee.  After John's reenlistment on December 31, 1863, he was furloughed along with the 48th until March of 1864.  That is where the letters resume.

In 5 days, I will post the first letter since December 2012.  I look forward to your continued support and dedication to this blog.  Please feel free to comment or email me with comments, suggestions and corrections.

Best wishes,

Jim D.

John W. Derr..."When ya' comin' back?"

As previously mentioned in prior posts, there is a 15 month gap in the letters of John W. Derr spanning January 1863 and March of 1864.  During this period of time, there was a bit of a lull in the action for the 48th PVI after the tragic battle of Fredericksburg.  Fortunately for John...and myself by extension...he was still convalescing in the hospital in Philadelphia from his wounding at the Second Battle of Bull Run.  The battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 was where John H. Derr...mentioned previously in other posts...was wounded.  John H. Derr would die a month later in January of 1863 of these wounds and was buried at the  National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

http://www.jwdletters.com/2012/01/visit-to-distant-relative.html

Subsequent counter offensives were ordered by General Burnsides in early January, which were later rebuffed by President Lincoln, after significant protests from subordinate officers.  Later in January, General Burnsides would be replace by General Joseph Hooker via General Order 20, after Burnsides request to the president to relieve Hooker and other generals, was rejected.

January and February of 1863 saw little action for the 48th PVI and in fact paved the way for their eventual transition to provost duty in Lexington, Kentucky.  It was around this time that John W. Derr returned to duty with the 48th PVI.   Below are JWD's muster records for the period, which initially proved confusing, but later became clearer.

Muster rolls for November/December 1862, January/February 1863, and March/April show JWD as present for duty.  So, I was a bit confused by this since his letters shows him transferring to the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital in Philadelphia in mid-December of 1862.   Later I was able to obtain ancillary muster roll cards from the the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital, which showed him present there.  I suspect that the standard unit muster rolls were augmented after the fact to ensure he was paid out of the appropriate regimental pay bucket.  It would also appear that included in John W. Derr's  muster roll cards was John H. Derr, previously mentioned.  The writing looks similar to a "W." but is actually an "H." and is consistent with the fact that John H. Derr was wounded at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862.  One other interesting note on the John W. Derr muster card from November/December of 1862 is that he deserted.  In actuality, he transferred from the Georgetown College Hospital on December 13, 1862 to the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital in Philadelphia.  I guess one part of the army did not coordinate with the other and his record shows him as deserted...when they could not find him in Washington DC during roll call on December 31, 1862.

48th PVI Co. D muster rolls (Nov 1862 - April 1863):

Then I found these which seem to confirm that he was still in the hospital until later January 1863:

I am confident...based on family oral history...that he spent time in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Additionally, his re-enlistment in December 1863 at Blains Crossroads in Tennessee, confirms this.

Additionally, I was able to find an official record of JWD's capture and parole that he describes in his letter in September 1862 after the Second Battle of Bull Run....

Jim D.