|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
