Jones, Joseph (fl. 1862-1865) to Nancy Ellen Jones
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02739.067 Author/Creator: Jones, Joseph (fl. 1862-1865) Place Written: Stevenson, Alabama Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 31 August 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : docket ; envelope ; 17.5 x 23.6 cm. Order a Copy
Jones, a Civil War soldier, replies to a letter from his wife. Expresses joy that Nancy spends time with Brother Millis, possibly a pastor. Traveled the previous day from Bellefont to Stevenson, Alabama. States that divisions led by Generals [Jefferson C.] Davis and [Philip] Sheridan crossed the Tennessee River the previous day. Informs Nancy that corps led by Generals Alexander M. McCook and Thomas L. Crittenden will cross, or have already crossed the Tennessee between Stevenson and Chattanooga, Tennessee. States "the rebs is stil retreating and falling back to atlanta gorga ... " Predicts that General [Ulysses S.] Grant will move to Mobile, Alabama, and that General [Quincy] Gillmore will soon capture Charleston, South Carolina. Reports that Gillmore has control of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and Fort Gregg, Virginia. Declares that Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, "has issued a proclimation to the arming 500,000 negros to fight for the southern confederacy, and offrs them their freedom and 60 acors of land at the end of the war. what a good thing it is. that will prove to the coperheads that it was not the north that caused the war." The docket, written in pencil on the envelope, labels the letter as a copy and states "who is Cornelius that calls Nancy Ellen sister?"
Jones was possibly a member of the 79th Illinois Volunteers. Written three weeks before the Battle of Chickamauga.
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