A Civil War Letter

Dear father.... we seen the elephant...1863

civil war
 

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(LETTER TRANSCRIBED BELOW)


 

Troop Movement Map
Battle of Arkansas Post
Forenoon, January 11, 1863

Troop Movement Map
Battle of Arkansas Post
5 p.m., January 11, 1863

BATTLEFIELD  MAPS  AND PHOTOGRAPHS
BATTLE MAP

LOOK FOR THE IOWA-34 BOX FOR            SLUTTS PROBABLE  POSITION.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS: THE COMMANDERS

 
Click here and zoom in on the Post. The yellow dot marks the approx. spot now under water. Zoom in on a satellite image of the Arkansas Post. (keep clicking on each picture)


"...saw the elephant?" also known as meeting the enemy in combat.


Gen. McClernard, of Illinois, who commanded the Union army, rode up in front of our company in our line near enough for us to get a good look at him.  He seemed very kind and was dignified, making quite a military appearance.  He looked up and down our line, and asked our captain: “Is this all the men you have?  When told it was, the General said: “You have killed as many of our men as we have captured of yours.

THE BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST    by L. J. Caraway, Granbury Texas Confederate Veteran – March 1906

Abraham Lincoln meeting with Allan Pinkerton and Maj. Gen. McClernard



January the 18th 1863

Dear father I take this
oppertunity to in form you
that am yet a lived I
am not very well at present
but I think i will soon be
well. We left Heelena the
21th of last month and
have been on the river ever
since prety nare we went down
to Vixburg they was about
69 thousand in the fleat
we seen the elephant there
we was down there several
days and dun some prety
hard fighting and come back
up to Arkansas river and
went up it about 39 miles
to a fort up there and we

had a fight there
and we took 5 thousand
of prisnors there and alot
of there cannons and alot
of mules and alot of am-
unition our loss was not
many and the Rebel loss
was right smart we
got one man killed in our
company an one wounded
Milton Fisher was the man
that got killed we didn't
make mutch off the rebels
at Vicksburg our regiment
we are guarding the prisnors
we are taken them upto Santlouis
we are up as fur as memhpis
now I seen ~~Van(vast or fleet)at
memphis yesterday and he
was well and harty.


I ke Heaner at memphis
is but I didn't git
to see him ge was well
I will tell you that I
havent hurd from home
fur about 2 months I
would like to here frome
home. Wyatt has had along
sick spell but he is
beter Heanson is sick
the small pocks is
going through out
regiment i gess we
will go back as soon as
we git up there to
St Louis I tell you
we see ahard time
I have wrote you sevrel
letters but didn't git
any answer
-
-

you write to me when
you git this letter if
you pleas tell epraim
I wrote him two letters
and he did not anser
them and i dont intend
to write to him till
he writes to me.
tell Harris to write to me
I havent drawed any
money yet.
I must git this
time some more at
port sent but remen
ber Hearvey O Slutts
to Noah Slutts
Derect to St Louis Mos-
uri
-
-
-

A letter from Hearvey Slutts to his father Noah Slutts written after The Battle of Arkansas Post, near memphis enroute to St Louis Mo. with approx five thousand confederate prisoners. Click and find out how close the letter matchs the historical account.  Thirty-fourth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

Slutts, Harvey J., age 20, nativity Ohio, enlisted Aug. 14, 1862. (Company C)

Fisher, Milton, age 20, nativity Virginia, enlisted Aug. 12, 1862, killed in action Jan. 11, 1863, Arkansas Post, AK.
Van(vast or fleet)
I ke Heaner
Wyatt, Sacker, age 42, nativity Indiana, enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, discharged for disability May 12, 1863, Chicago, IL.
Hanson (Heanson in the above letter), James, age 36, nativity Ohio, enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, died of disease Jan. 25, 1863 on steamer "Sam Gaty" near St. Louis, MO
Early Van Buren Co IA Marriages  Noah Slutts married Meek, Shirley  on 7-5-1865
 
Noah Slutts on Ancestry.com

ARKANSAS POST LINKS

THE BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST

CivilWarAlbum.com

Arkansas Post National Memorial (Fort Hindman) site photos

Vicksburg Campaign Photo Album - Arkansas Post National Memorial

Arkansas Post Fort Hindman Arkansas

CIVIL WAR PAGES

34th Iowa Infantry Regimental History

34th Iowa Infantry at Vicksburg

HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH IOWA

FOURTH GENERATION

Battle Of Arkansas Post poem

Samuel Clemens' Steamboat Career (SOME Prisoners FROM THE BATTLE OF aRKANSAS POST WERE TRANSPORTED on the John J. Roe.)

Maps of National Historic & Military Parks, Memorials, and Battlefields

Historical Maps of the United States

Maps of the United States

Oddens's Bookmarks The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping 


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