Moore, John (1826-1907) to Mary Moore Kelly
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04195.31 Author/Creator: Moore, John (1826-1907) Place Written: Raleigh, North Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 16 - 18 April 1865 Pagination: 5 p. ; 25 x 20.4 cm. Order a Copy
He describes the surrender of Raleigh and the request for protection from looters. "The men here with few exceptions are anxious to come back into the Union; but as usual the majority of the ladies are rebellious, of course." He is optimistic of Union triumph. He describes Sherman's meeting with Johnston, and Lincoln's assassination. A postscript announces Johnston's surrender and Davis's surrender of the entire Confederacy, while Sherman wants to ratify the sanction in Washington. "The telegram announcing the assassination of the President was recvd. …The soldiers of the Army were in groups yesterday talking over this sad event and often with tears running over their sun-burned faces. After hearing this news I think the Army would prefer that Johnston should not surrender. They would prefer another campaign. While their present feeling lasts it would be one not soon forgotten by the people of the Confederacy…. [Joe Johnston] agreed to surrender his army on terms similar to those granted to Gen Lee…What a pity the President did not live to see this glorious consummation of his Administration."
After serving in the Utah War, Moore returned east, assigned to the Marine Hospital in Cincinnati until August 1862. As a newly promoted major, he transferred to the Army of the Potomac, assigned as medical director of the Central Grand division, where he participated in the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and in Chancellorsville as medical director of the 5th Corps. In June 1863 Moore became the medical director of the Department of the Tennessee, assisting in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Sherman's march on Atlanta, where he acted as medical director of the armies of Georgia, Tennessee, and Sherman's army, and was given the rank of lieutenant colonel and then colonel. Moore saw the end of the war in Missouri in St. Louis and Vicksburg.
Following the war Moore served two years at Fort Wadsworth and Fort Columbus in New York Harbor then practiced as a surgeon in the New York City area. After short stints in Europe, Virginia, Texas, Washington, and California, he was named Surgeon General in 1886. He retired in 1890 and continued living an active life in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1907.
Kelly is Moore's sister.
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