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Letter of Union soldier to his parents


Typical of the correspondence between soldiers and their loved ones back home is this letter Private Thomas W. Callahan of the 9th New York Volunteer Cavalry wrote to his father and mother in Chautauqua, New York, on June 2, [1862]. Callahan was in Washington, D.C., anxiously hoping soon to be mustered out of the service. He was about twenty years old and had worked as a mechanic before enlisting in October 1861. Callahan informed his parents that he was in good health and that he was enclosing a likeness of himself, probably a daguerreotype. His letter was never mailed, but apparently hand carried to its destination by Callahan’s company captain, as requested by Callahan.


National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution

 

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