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Letter from James Jackson from the Chickahominy battlefield in Virginia, to his wife, parents, and sisters.

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@ Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130

Description

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.]
Type:
Text
Format:
600 Ppi Tiff
Created Date:
1862 July 6 1862 07 06
Rights:
This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.
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From Collection

Alabama Textual Materials Collection

Record Contributed By

Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130

Keywords

  1. African Americans
  2. Alabama
  3. Campaigns
  4. Casualties
  5. Civil War
  6. Civil War, 1861 1865
  7. Confederate States Of America
  8. Economic Aspects
  9. Health Aspects
  10. History
  11. Jackson, James W., 1832 1865
  12. Jackson, Jennie F
  13. Military Life
  14. Military Personnel
  15. Slaver
  16. Slavery
  17. Social Aspects
  18. Soldiers
  19. United States

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