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Civil War Letter Group of William H. Hodgkins, 36th Massachusetts Infantry, Co. B....
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Description
Civil War Letter Group of William H. Hodgkins, 36th Massachusetts Infantry, Co. B. Five letters dated December 30, 1863 to May 7, 1865, four penned on lined paper, 5 x 8 inches, and one measuring 8 ½ x 11 inches. Two letters are to his parents and three to his betrothed Augusta L. Haywood, whom he addresses as "Gussie." All letters are penned in black ink and accompanied by the original transmittal cover.The 36th Massachusetts left for Washington on September 2, 1863, and was immediately attached to the 9th Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. It participated in numerous major engagements throughout the war, including the Battles of Fredericksburg, Vicksburg and Petersburg, and is particularly remembered for its service in the Battle of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania.
Hodgkins heeded Lincoln's call to Massachusetts for 300,000 volunteers in mid-1862, mustering in as a Private in the Warren Phalanx, officially known as Company B on July 23, 1862. He mustered out as Brevet Colonel on June 8, 1865, the day before his 25th birthday, having served gallantly throughout the war. Garrison is also remembered for his significant contributions to the 1884 volume, History of The Thirty-Sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, 1862-1865. Hodgkins was made adjutant general of the Ninth Corps during its western tour, then transferred to the staff of disgraced General Edward Ferrero after his role in the disastrous Battle of the Crater. This assignment would not last long, for in December, 1864, he would be assigned to Major General (and future Governor) Edward Hartranft's Third Division, 9th Corps.
Hodgkins opens his correspondence on December 30, 1864, 11 days after his Corps concluded its pursuit of Longstreet, writing from "Bermuda Hundred, Va." just after having been attached to Hartranft's division. He proudly announces that promotion to his mother and father: "...Within a few days I have been over to Ninth Corps and remained 48 hours, staying with Henry Swords. I visited the regiment in Fort Rice, and was under hot shelling for an hour or so. Found the boys all well, and pleased to see me. Was offered the position of Mustering Officer for the new Third Division Commanded by Gen. Hartranft, a splendid man and a good friend to me. I accepted his kind offer, and am now, back with General Ferrero waiting orders to report, which I expect hourly. I am sorry to leave this Staff but it is impossible for me to remain, and I consider myself quite fortunate in obtaining my old situation in the gallant old Ninth Corps the best in the Army. General Wilcox was very kind to me, and I am proud to think that I have so many influential friends in the army. Gen'l Ferrero is very sorry to see me go..."
On January 23, 1865, Hodgkins - still star-struck from his promotion - writes from "Hd-Qrs 3rd Div. 9th A.C." to his parents that "I am at Gen'l Wilcox's Headquarters every afternoon, was there yesterday. [Captain] Henry Swords had not arrived yesterday and was three or four days behind time. I do not think he has yet arrived as the mail is delayed from Baltimore... I like my position here, very much. The general is very pleasant and I am in a good Mess but with very little to do with this Division. My house is very comfortable and Convenient. It is nicely papered and I have trimmed it with little springs of evergreen. Over my table hangs the Watch case that Mrs. Perkins made me...I have been over to the 1st Div. since I commenced this [letter], and attended to my forenoon work. Nothing has been heard from the Baltimore boat or from Henry Swords, but we hope he is safe...Very little occurs to mention...The Divisions on the line have some picket duty to perform, and once in a while the rebels open from the heavy guns in their forts. Everybody seems in fine spirits since the fall of Fort Fisher, and the rebel Deserters say the Rebellion is about to end. We all hope so for what a glorious day that will be when Peace comes to bless and heal our bleeding land..."
Hodgkins' enthusiasm continues, and just a month before the Battle of Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865, he writes, on February 21, 1865, an enraptured letter to his sweetheart and future wife "Gussie." Adorning his letterhead with a well-executed delicate calligraphic numeral "36" and flourishing his salutation "Dearest" with curlicues, Hodgkins thanks her for her "valentine" and comments "...The great Victories in the south are advancing the day of Peace. Would it not be glorious to have a peace adjusted this summer? I believe it is coming. This rebellion is losing strength. You know I prophesied that it would fall like an 'old shed.' Charleston has fallen [on February 17]. That nursery of Rebellion, that hot-bed of Secession, has been possessed by our gallant soldiers. From Victory to Victory we are marching, and soon the sound of Sherman's musketry will be heard in South [North] Carolina, and his 'Reveille' carry alarm around the state. With giant strides he is marching on, his tramp grows near. His invincible army with no enemy to oppose or retard him, is carving a name immortal in the annals of War. Ever since the tocsin sounded the Death Knell of Slavery we have been Victorious. The shackles have been broken, and wherever our banner goes the Angel of Freedom will perch upon it...I thank my God that in an humble manner I have been able to perform my duty in this National Crisis...The might efforts of our Generals cannot be long withstood... Deserters come in by squads. Everyday the number increase, and the salute fired today in honor of the Capture of Charleston will bring in more. Some line officers came in on General Wilcox's lines last night. They represent the cause as hopeless. On Friday a soldier of the 1st Division is 'to be hanged' near our Hd. Quarters for attempting to desert to the enemy. He is a young man, and has been from home but five weeks. He was clerk in the 'International Hotel,' Broadway, New York. He offered one man in his regiment a large bribe to assist him in Deserting, and the soldier arrested him as he was attempting to scale our picket pits. These are severe punishments but just ones, and had our Government enforced the death penalty three years ago, the[re] would be better discipline in our Armies. The old soldiers do not desert, but the new levies, the substitutes, 'bounty jumpers' &c., these are the transgressors..."
The 9th Corps, some 18,000 strong, would enter the final campaign of the war on March 25, 1865 with its brilliant attack in the storming of Petersburg. After the evacuation of Richmond on April 2 and collapse of the Confederacy, Hodgkins again writes to Gussie from Alexandria on April 25, 1865 a tender and loving expression of his love, adding "...my heart burns to see you, and to think only 24 hours journey separates us, it is a great torture. But patience is now required, where danger was once my fear..." The final letter in this group is dated May 7, 1864, with Hodgkins writing once more to Gussie from Alexandria. Opening with exalted and beautifully-written prose of his love for her, Hodgkins then looks towards his future and happiness: "...Today I was introduced to Andrew Curtin the noble honored Governor of Penn[sylvani]a, and he told me [underlined] that the troops who had but a few months more to serve would be mustered out immediately after the arrival of the Army at this Point. Meade's Army left Richmond last week, and Sherman's advance has reached Petersburg. So in that case, the entire Army will be here by the 20th and perhaps the 15th [of June]. A grand review will occur, and then - ah then, will the 36th come home?...I can hardly contain myself. It seems so strange to be away from musket crack, and cannon roar. Whenever, I hear an orderly's saber rattling on the ground in the night, I roll over, rub my eyes and wait, imagining the next call will be, 'Ready to move at daylight - four days' rations & 60 rounds of ammunition." But that day has passed...Just as I write a strain of music that draws my thoughts away - away - Home Sweet Home!...May my glad song soon be, 'Home Again'..." Hodgkins would muster out a full week before his prediction, on June 8. He would marry his beloved in November 1865.
Together with a printed sheet, 5 x 8 inches, being pages three and four taken from a roster of the Middle Department, and listing Hodgkins as a member of the 9th Corps.
Condition: Mailing folds, otherwise very clearly written in a fine hand and very good condition.
Auction Info
2024 April 5 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6285 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2024
5th
Friday
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