Civil War Soldier's Letter with Anti-Emancipation Content by Charles A. Wood of the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. ...

Description

Civil War Soldier's Letter with Anti-Emancipation Content by Charles A. Wood of the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Six pages of a bifolium and an additional sheet, 5.25" x 8.5"; Hilton Head, S.C.; July 26, 1862. While waiting for orders to march North, Wood writes to his future wife, Maria Dean, about his opposition to the emancipation of slaves. He writes: "...I would really like to know & so would thousands of others, if we are fighting to free the slaves or are we fighting to Preserve the Union. If we are at War to maintain & sustain & preserve this Union, I say let us rally round the Old Stars & Stripes and fight till the last. Who will up his freedom and allow the Southern Traitors to Domineer over him no one that has the first principle of a man about him. Let me die on the Battle field rather than see the North submit to the Traitors of the South. Maria, I am a Union man to the bottom of my heart & would rather die than to see this Government destroyed. But I am not an Abolitionist. I am not in favor of freeing the Slaves unless the People of a State note to do so with there own free will. Let Gen. [David] Hunter & his n*** Brigade and the Abolitionists of the North be Whiped out first. Then let the Union Army turn round and Whip the Traitors of the Southern States. If we are fighting to free the Slaves, may God permit me to return to my peaceful home. If we are fighting to preserve this Union I am willing to remain in the Army for 20 years if it is necessary. I am very willing to stance as a breastwork between our Friends at home and the Traitors of the South and not allow a man to pass without halting him and obliging him to give the Union Counties sign before he can enter our peaceful homes. I am unwilling to fight for the purpose of freeing the Slaves of the South by force. I told you when I first went to War that I didn't go for the purpose of freeing the Slaves. I have seen so much of the Slaves doing since I have been South that I am less in favor of freeing them than I was one year ago. I wish you could see Gen Hunter's N*** Brigade as it is called. I know you would condemn them on your own and as soldiers it is an outrage and the Union Army to enlist them as Soldiers. It makes me provoked sometimes to see them as Guards walking there beat with a Gun & Equipment an they feel as Bid as Gen Hunters ever dare too. One of the Black Monkeys halted me the other day as I was crossing his beat. Says I, you Black - don't you dare to halt a White man if you do I will nock you down. He said, I hab des orders from de Gen Hunter. What an outrage don't you think so Maria. I think if there is not White men enough in the Country to fight our Battles we had better stop right where we are and go home..." The letter, written in pencil, is accompanied by the original transmittal cover.

General David Hunter was strongly in favor of enlisting Black soldiers for the Union Army. After the success of Black soldiers at the Battle of Fort Pulaski, Hunter began recruiting Blacks in South Carolina. The First Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers (a Black regiment) paraded at Hilton Head in June 1862. Wood likely witnessed the review. Hunter had also declared slaves free in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina with General Order No. 11 on May 9, 1862, but Lincoln quickly rescinded the order.

Condition: The sheet containing the last two pages of the letter has a ragged margin, where it was separated from an integral page. Pages are toned with stray foxing. Page four of the letter has light soiling. Transmittal cover has soiling and has been torn open along the left.

More Information: Charles A. Wood was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and later moved to Willimantic, Connecticut, where he worked as a clerk before the Civil War. He enlisted in the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment on September 5, 1861 in New Haven as a first sergeant. He reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant. On May 28, 1863, Wood married Maria Dean of Willimantic, Connecticut. Wood died on May 15, 1864 from his wound received at Drewry's Bluff on May 14.

The 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was organized at New Haven, Connecticut, on September 13, 1861. In October and November 1863, the regiment's status changed. It was equipped as a "boat infantry" for the specific purpose of leading an amphibious night assault on Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Although the 7th trained at Folly Island, South Carolina, the project was ultimately ended because it was deemed impractical. The regiment participated in several engagements, including the Battle of Olustee, the Siege of Fort Pulaski, the Battle of James Island, the capture of Fort Wagner, Drewry's Bluff, and the Siege of Petersburg. It mustered out on July 20, 1865, and discharged at New Haven, Connecticut, on August 11, 1865.