Letter from James Jackson from the Chickahominy battlefield in Virginia, to his wife, parents, and sisters.
At the time this letter was written, Jackson was serving in the 47th Alabama Infantry. In it he describes the recent Confederate victory at the Battle of Gaines' Mill (also known as the Battle of Chickahominy River): "This is one of the greatest battle ever fought in modern times; it has...
| Format: | Electronic |
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| Published: |
Alabama Department of Archives and History
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/2761 |
| Summary: | At the time this letter was written, Jackson was serving in the 47th Alabama Infantry. In it he describes the recent Confederate victory at the Battle of Gaines' Mill (also known as the Battle of Chickahominy River): "This is one of the greatest battle ever fought in modern times; it has raged for ten days without intermission. Our forces engaged amounted to eighty thousand & that of the enemy to one hundred & thirty thousand...We have captured killed & wounded of the enemy not less than fifty thousand men our loss in killed & wounded about fifteen thousand. McClelan with the remnant of his army have made their escape to their gun boats & turned tail to the Chesapeeke. The great grand army of invasion has been compleetly routed & cut to pieces." Jackson also mentions his slave, whom he plans to send home soon ("Moses makes rather a sorry cook I think he is very anxious to get back"), and he discusses the horses and "two millions worth of property" taken from the Union troops after battle. A transcript of the letter is included. [Original spelling retained.] |
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