Newberry Library - Letter, Colby, Carlos to sister, on transport steamboat Robert Campbell Jr. (boats, war, countryside, food, Christmas), Carlos W. Colby Carlos Colby, Dec. 1862

Letter, Colby, Carlos to sister, on transport steamboat Robert Campbell Jr. (boats, war, countryside, food, Christmas), Carlos W. Colby Carlos Colby, Dec. 1862

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Open book Carlos Colby letter to sister, on transport steamboat Robert Campbell Jr. (boats, war, countryside, food, Christmas), Dec. 1862

Title Letter, Colby, Carlos to sister, on transport steamboat Robert Campbell Jr. (boats, war, countryside, food, Christmas), Carlos W. Colby Carlos Colby, Dec. 1862

Creator Colby, Carlos W., 1837-1922

Date Dec. 1862

Place Alabama--Fort Blakely, Illinois, Illinois--Camp Butler, Mississippi--Jackson, Missouri

Language English

Subjects United States, Military hospitals, Soldiers, Transportation, Military, Jackson, Battle of, Jackson, Miss., 1863, Brothers and sisters, Parent and adult child, Racism, Soldiers' writings, American

Description Primarily correspondence (129 letters) of Illinois farmer and Civil War soldier Carlos W. Colby, written between 1862 and 1865, to his sisters, brother, brother-in-law, and niece, plus a dozen Civil War letters written by Colby’s future brother-in-law James Rowe. Also includes Colby’s reminiscences of his boyhood and his service in the 97th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, some family correspondence, genealogical material and a few photos.

User-Contributed Transcription Dear Sister, For want of any better subject will give you a sort of diara of our ship. The first warning we had of starting was Sunday 2 O clock P. M., when the Des Arc sailed out and fired a salute for all hands to start, She being the flag ship with Gen. Sherman and Staff on board. Our portion of the fleet consists of fifteen transports and two Gun Boats. Boats have been starting every few minutes since Sundown last night and there are many more to come. Some are loaded with Q. M. stores, some with Canon and Amunition, others with Soldiers. I see a great many familiar boats among others the City of Alton, Past Bay, J. C. Swam, and many others that I used to see on the upper Mississippi. It is surely an exciting scene to see so many boats together with the decks crowded with men, like bees on a hive in swarming time. Two miles out from Memphis we passed the wreck of the Rebel. Ram. Beaurigard the upper deck are nearly all washed away

Transcription Status Needs review

Transcription Note This document was transcribed by volunteers as part of the Newberry Transcribe crowdsourcing initiative.

Archival Collection Title Carlos W. Colby papers

Link to Catalog View finding aid | View record

Call Number Midwest MS Colby Box 1 Folder 29

BibID 991758318805867

Rights Status No Copyright - United States

Contributing Institution Newberry Library

Newberry Open Access Policy The Newberry makes its collections available for any lawful purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without licensing or permission fees to the library, subject to these terms and conditions.

IIIF Resource Type Canvas

Size 4833px × 7305px 101.03 MB

File Created 02/21/2025

Filename 991758318805867_midwest_ms_colby_box_001_fl_0029_001-0.tif

Unique Identifier NL12OED9

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