Letter from Henry Semple in camp at Dog River Factory near Mobile, Alabama, to his wife, Emily.
During the Civil War, Semple served as a captain of an artillery battery organized in Montgomery (known as Semple's Battery). He was later appointed a major and transferred to Mobile. In the letter Semple describes conditions in his new camp, where the men are living in houses built for employe...
| Format: | Electronic |
|---|---|
| Published: |
Alabama Department of Archives and History
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/4002 |
| Summary: | During the Civil War, Semple served as a captain of an artillery battery organized in Montgomery (known as Semple's Battery). He was later appointed a major and transferred to Mobile. In the letter Semple describes conditions in his new camp, where the men are living in houses built for employees of the Dog River Factory ("The officers have the house which was occupied by the Supt."). He discusses illness among the soldiers and the small hospital he has set up ("I shall make it so much more comfortable than their own quarters, that the men will readily go into it, when sick; & I can then control their diet & treatment "); church services led by a local priest; and the soldiers' consumption of liquor: "The bar keeper was selling liquor to the men...I ordered him to close the bar & told him if he sold another drop to anyone on the boat, I would throw his liquor into the river"). A transcription is included. |
|---|