A Means of Conveyance

One of the things that has changed drastically in recent times is the decrease of hand-written letters. Obviously, as an online blogger, I'm extremely grateful for the ease and venue with which I'm presenting this, but there is a certain charm and timelessness of seeing the actual letters and also, the envelopes which transported them from various battlefields to Roby in New York.  I thought for today, before I launch into the next year of letters (1863) I would post a few envelopes for you to see.  Two are from January, one from March and one from April, all in 1865.  Be sure to note the date on the April 1865 one!

This first one was sent from Petersburg, VA on January 7, 1865:

I'm not sure who's handwriting is on the side, but each one is marked by the event/time of letter being written, this one noting that it was his first letter written "after return to Regt".

The second one is from January 25th, also from Petersburg:

This one states that it "refers to Commission"... and note--it was sent postage due .03 cents!

The third one is from March 31, also Petersburg.

And the final one I thought you might like--one from the Surrender of Lee:

Letter written April 10, 1865, hand cancelled on April 16th.  Clearly marked with "Surrender of Lee". 

As I approach the next phase of my project, 1863, I will be working from the actual letters themselves.  (Prior to this, I was able to work off typed copy of the letters thanks to the hard work of my brother and step-mother who typed them up several years ago).  I will be posting a copy of his daily letter on each entry.  Enjoy your weekend!

Hope to see you then!