Blanchard, Ira (b. 1835) to Mary (Wright) Kellogg
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.31.20 Author/Creator: Blanchard, Ira (b. 1835) Place Written: Memphis,Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 January 1863 Pagination: 4 p. ; 22.7 x 17.9 cm. Order a Copy
Blanchard writes to Mary Wright from a camp in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee. Reports on the lovely weather. Expresses pleasure she is attending school. States Union General Ulysses S. Grant is amassing troops outside Vicksburg, Mississippi and his regiment expects to go there soon. Describes in detail his visit to Elmwood Cemetery, where thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers are buried. Complains the monument of Andrew Jackson in the cemetery had been vandalized at the start of the rebellion. Expresses disgust at Illinois Democrats and their law to "..whip and sell niggers...they might as well declare it a slave state at once."
Blanchard enlisted 13 June 1861 in Illinois as a Sargeant. He mustered into "H" Co., Illinois, Infantry.
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