Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913 to Maria Damuth

GLC03523.14.09

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GLC#
GLC03523.14.09-View header record
Type
Letters
Date
January 20, 1863
Author/Creator
Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913
Title
to Maria Damuth
Place Written
St. Charles, Arkansas
Pagination
4 p. : Height: 12.5 cm, Width: 20.5 cm
Primary time period
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
Sub-Era
The American Civil War

Damuth's company is moving to Helena, Arkansas aboard a Union steamer called the Moderator. The 29th Wisconsin meets up with the 28th, and Damuth sends news of friends. Sitting on deck, he sees over thirty steam boats and two ironclads sailing for war. In St. Charles, the men find the remains of trenches and Damuth reflects that he and all the rest of his regiment probably would have been killed if the Rebels had not deserted the camp. Near Devil's Bluff, Arkansas, there is a brief fight with some fleeing Rebels, who have dragged their cannons to the railroad tracks in an escape attempt. Later that evening, "30 hard looking Specimens of the Southern army" are captured. Damuth and his fellow soldiers contemplate why the war has not yet ended, and Damuth suggests that "the head ones dont want to end it as long as they can get good pay and speculate in cotton."

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