Soldier's Letter 3d Maine Volunteer Infantry Envelope

    Was there free mail for the Civil War soldier to write home?  The simple answer is "no".  I remember thinking how sad that was for the soldiers back then not to have that simple privilege extended to them as they faced life and death fighting for their cause & country.  Letter writing was an important part of the typical soldier's life.  Far from home, letters were the only way to stay connected with family & friends.  They would never get enough letters from home.  They stayed connected with home through the letters they sent back.  

    I recently picked up the Union Soldier's Letter Cover shown here.  I admit its not an impressive envelope and there was no letter inside to give additional details about the soldier who sent it.  It does have the basic notation in the upper right corner of "Soldier's letter" along with the unit designation (3d Maine Regiment Volunteers, possibly company H in the third line down).  The cover is stamped with an Alexandria VA cancellation.  The 3d Maine fought at first Bull Run July 1861, the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 and through the rest of the war.   As beat up as the cover is, I bought it because its an interesting reminder of an unknown soldier's attempt to stay connected to "normal" in the midst of "uncertainty".

Civil War "Soldier's Letter" Envelope
3d Maine Reg. Vols.
Addressed to Mrs Mr J Greenleaf? Bath, Maine

  The designation "Soldier's letter" recognized the reality that often the active duty soldier might not have access to a 3 cent stamp or have the money on hand to buy one even if stamps were available.  Though the letter would be delivered to the addressee, they would have to pay the 3 cents postage due to get the letter.  If the soldier did not tag the envelope with "Soldier's letter" along with his unit designation, then the family would have to pay 3 cents for the letter and 3 cents additional penalty for a total of 6 cents to redeem the letter.  This particular envelope is not stamped "DUE 3" but the Alexandria VA cancellation mark shows it went via the postal system, so maybe the postal clerk knew the family member who picked it up in Bath, Maine?  Don't know.  Like I said its not a perfect example with all the "expected" details of a Union "Soldier's letter".  This envelope's conformity with deviations shows we need to be careful in making broad statements of "this is how they did it. . ." 

    Harry K. Charles, Jr. wrote an informative paper on "American Civil War Postage Due:  North and South" for the Postal History Symposium, Nov. 2012 which has a good section on Soldier's letters.  Both Union and Confederate soldiers could send letters home, postage due (the family needed to pay to redeem them).  Charles says the proper designation needed to be "Soldier's letter" with his rank and unit designation, and possibly unit commander's signature.  The above cover does not have the soldier's name and rank listed; only his unit designation.  As with all things, there was some flex in how things were designated.  The Confederate soldier's letter would have "Due 5" or "Due 10" depending on what the rate was at that time in the war.

    Since letters to home were so important to the soldiers, they came up with various ways outside of the postal system to send letters back to their family.  Anyone going back on furlough was given letters and notes to take with them.  United States Christian Commission delegates would collect letters and carry them back home whenever they could.  The USCC handed out free envelopes and stationery because they realized the importance of keeping the soldiers connected with family.

    So how might knowing some of these details help us do better living history?  Those representing civilians at home could have covers showing an envelope marked "Soldier's letter" with the details of your soldier on it as part of your living history display.  Again, you could mark it PAID 3/ or PAID 5 or 10 to help you explain to spectators what you have to do to keep in touch with your soldier.  For a soldier impression, you could have a letter written up with the envelope labeled correctly that you are "planning on mailing out as soon as possible" to explain to spectators the details and the importance of keeping connected with your family.  You can use patriotic or plain covers.  You can use a USCC or USSC cover which has "Soldier's Letter" printed on it.  Just remember that you as a soldier would not have a Soldier's letter mailed to you from the folks back home.
    At the tent I hand out  to the reenactors who visit us a gift of a USCC or a Plain cover stationery set.  If you are a reenactor, and if you place a regular order just tell me what you portray (US or CS and unit type) and I'll include with your order a gift of  a stationery Mail Kit that you can use for your impression.

Minooka, Illinois Reenactment Report Oct 2013

    Our last reenactment of the 2013 season was an enjoyable opportunity to spend time with our reenactor friends while educating the spectators about the U.S. Christian Commission.  The 17th Illinois Medical Unit saved us a choice spot for setup right across from their tents.  Joshua helped Vicki bake before hand, as well as serving at the tent throughout the day.  Shelia, Heidi, and Hanna Phillips also diligently helped at the tent throughout the day.  This year the Confederates were downhill encamped near us, but we still had a good flow of Union troops coming down from the hill to stop in for a bite to eat.

    Saturday was a cool fall day.  When the sun occasionally came out it even got "warm" . . . almost.  We actually did much better on passing out the "ice cold" lemonade, mint tea and sarsaparilla tea than I thought we would.  Of coarse the goodies Vicki baked went well too.  Vicki was in a "pumpkin mood" for this event.  She tried out a pumpkin pan pie -- basically pumpkin pie baked in one of our cookie sheets, a bit thinner than a regular pie but with all the flavor.  It went well.  She also did a pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips.  And for the biscuits she did pumpkin butter, which had really good flavor.  Of coarse these supplemented the usual items like the molasses cookies, snicker doodles, brownies, mixed nuts squares etc.

Tom George found enough to eat at our tent
and we still had some left for others who came after him.

    I want to share one incident that illustrates the kindness of the reenactors toward us.  During the day we put out biscuits with the pumpkin butter and honey in jars for topping options.  One young woman reenctor was helping herself to the biscuits, adding a dab of honey and part of the biscuit crumbled off and fell into the honey jar.  She was apologetic and told me about it.  I assured her that it was not a big deal, and forgot about it.  Later in the day Heidi said a woman reenactor had stopped by and brought us jar of honey she had bought from the gift shop on site to replace the one she had dropped the biscuit in earlier in the day. Heidi assured her it was no problem, but she insisted on sharing it with us to help out.  My point?  Yes, we give away what we bring -- "God's love is free, so is this food, come on in".  But we get 'thank you's along the way which remind us encouragement goes both ways.

    The gift table was classed up for this event.  Vicki had bought a new collapsible table that would be a bit bigger and higher in order to better display the Civil War pattern quilt made for us years ago.  The better display seems to have worked because a few quilters stopped by to investigate  the quilt and educate me about its details I only know in general.  I always enjoy interacting with the reenactors who come to look through what we've put out as gifts on the table, from the matches & mail kits to the cough medicine boxes and salt & sugar packs.  One lady said the cough medicine box (a match box covered with a 1800s medicine label) would be helpful for her to hide the aspirin she needs to keep with her.  She gave me the gift of satisfaction that my time and energy were well spent.  The mail kits went well as usual.  I did get some feedback about how the guys use them. Typically either for living history display or to write a note to some who is not at the reenactment with them. This year Vicki had sewn some pocket handkerchiefs.  The reaction to the challenge note to pass along the encouragement was positive (cf. August 2013 post for details about the challenge note).  Vicki and I will never see the way each person says 'thank you' for the pocket handkerchief, but God will see and be pleased, and isn't that what the USCC is really all about?
    So another season ends, and we say "so long" to friends til next year. . . Lord willing and the creeks don't rise.

Civil War Letter Writing Reenacting

     Why not explore history through Civil War letter writing? We reenact Civil War history for a variety of reasons.  But whatever our personal motivation, when its no longer "fun" we lose heart.  One helpful way to keep it fun is to constantly be putting ourselves back into "their time".  By wearing brogans we realize the valor of a long march.  By wearing wool we discover the reality of being too hot . . . then enjoy the warmth as the day cools down.  Discovering for ourselves -- putting ourselves back into their time in practical ways creates the "fun" of discovering history.  And its this discovery which takes us beyond 'camping out' into 'reenacting'.

     During the Civil War letter writing blossomed.  Never before had so many people been uprooted from home, experiencing the mixture of the excitement of travel and the pain of homesickness.  Their letters were their way of sharing the wonder of discovery, the grief of being apart, the laughter over the craziness of their situation.  Letter writing was their way to stay connected with loved ones so far away. 

    And for us today letter writing is an excellent way of making their history become "real".  Experimenting in letter writing is sitting beside the fire wondering "what would I say?"  One woman shared with me how writing a letter to her son on her home state stationery as she waited for the various groups to come through at the living history event really helped her 'become' the person she was portraying.  "I imagined proudly using the stationery to write home" she said.  "I was both writing back then, yet writing to my son now, sharing what is happening."  Another reenactor at the 150th anniversary of Fort Sumter shared how writing letters while being there made the event come alive for himself and for the spectators who talked to him about what he was doing.

     I have known several reenactors who enjoy using letter writing to share the experience with family and friends who can't be present.  Others use letter writing to enhance the experience for fellow reenactors at the event.  Such letters are an enjoyable mixture of reality and imagination.  And its imagination which enables us to better explore for ourselves and explain to spectators the history we are trying to honor.

     In your letter writing, give yourself the freedom to mix what's going on with the broader landscape of history.  For example grumbling about the food and the offices can be both historic fun and present day therapy.  I have friends who think I'm a little crazy to send them one of my letters from the front, but they enjoy getting the note and sometimes even learn a little history in spite of themselves.

     Yes, we should use good envelopes and stationery to make accurate living history props for people to see.  But why shouldn't we also use letters to help us explore the fun of reenacting?

Gun Control Laws In Historical Perspective

Will Gun Control Laws Make for a Free and Safe America?  Consider the following historical examples:

     "In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control.  From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     In 1911, Turkey established gun control.  From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     Germany established gun control in 1938.  From 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews and other undesirables, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     China established gun control in 1935.  From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     Guatemala established gun control in 1964.  from 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     Uganda established gun control in 1970.  From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     Cambodia established gun control in 1956.  From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
     People rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control:  approx 56,000,000.
     Gun owners in Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their government.  It cost Australian taxpayers over $500 million dollars.  The first year country-wide, homicides were up 3.2 percent, assaults up 8.6 percent, armed robberies up 44 percent.  In the Australian state of Victoria, homicides with firearms were up 300 percent.  Law-abiding citizens turned guns in, criminals did not.  For the previous 25 years there had been a steady decrease in armed robberies.  This turned upward in the first year of gun control.  There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults on the elderly.  Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety had decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns.
     Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property.  Gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.  With guns, we are 'citizens', without them, we are 'subjects' and may become slaves!!!  During WWII the Japanese decided NOT to invade continental America because they knew most Americans were armed.  Why don't you see this data in the U.S. media, or hear politicians telling you the facts?  The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.  Spread the word.  Our forefathers and mothers fought to be free.  Why can't we???"

     The above information is from a handout I received from a fellow reenactor.  I do not know where he got it;  there was no tag-line of authorship or publisher.  I did not do independent research into all the historical examples cited or differing opinions as to exactly how many people died.  I have read about some of the examples cited above in my study of history, so I think it's fair to cite them as illustrations of the weakening of civil liberty & safety that government gun control brings.  Yes, I worded it that way on purpose:  the government controls the guns.
     "But our founding fathers didn't envision machine guns."  True, but they had experienced government control of the ability to enslaved and exterminate dissidents.  The Founding Fathers wanted us as citizens to be able to resist the political elitists who naturally rise to power through wealth & corruption and then presume they can choose who lives and who dies.  When the population is deceived into thinking that ALL protection comes ONLY from the government, then they are indeed enslaved.
     "But we don't want to live in the wild west".  Well just go to the south side of Chicago and see how well gun control is working.  If that's not "the wild west" repeated I don't know what is . . . AND Chicago is a bastion of progressive political control.  Most gun owners are law abiding citizens who want the right of self-protection should it be needed as a last resort in an imperfect world.  Progressive elites want us unarmed, while they have their professional body guards to accompany them as they work the system to benefit themselves and their political allies at the cost of the general population.
     When I was growing up in the 1950s/60s I learned about how in the USSR system the people were the slaves of the politically powerful.  I could not imagine that I would live to see that same approach to social control coming to America.  Call it socialism, communism, progressivism, whatever -- its the control of the population through regulation, intimidation and a militarized police force.  Our Founding Fathers understood the realities of being too weak to defend against a centralized government run for the benefit of the few powerful insiders.  But then who studies history anymore . . . is there even an App for that?
   

Pocket Handkerchief Challenge From the United States Christian Commission

Challenging others to pass along encouragement.

     Vicki got into a sewing mood this spring.  She bought an assortment of cloth and began making what we call "Pocket Handkerchiefs", when sewn the squares of cloth measure about 12" x 12" or a little bigger. Over the years I've always found it helpful to have one in my pocket especially on hot days to wipe away the sweat.  From time to time she would invest the material & time in making up some that we would give away.  Sometimes we'd hand them out to a particular unit we knew, or we'd put them out at the tent on the gift table we always set up.

     In the early years I'd always carry one or two in my haversack when we'd go on the march or into battle and give them away at random.  I still smile at one time I offered the gift to a soldier.  It was a hot July day at a Gettysburg reenactment.  Our brigade was in reserve and we were soaking in the sun, sweat pouring off us, waiting to go in.  As I walked the line, I saw one gray haired soldier wiping the sweat from his brow as it literally ran off his face.  I reached into my haversack and pulled out a pocket handkerchief and said "Here soldier, use this, it's yours to keep."  He looked at me with a suspicious frown and mumbled "don't want it".  Before I could say something to assure him it really was an honest offer, one of the guys from my unit spoke up and said "It's OK.  He's the Christian Commission and they give stuff away for free.  Really, he does stuff like this all the time."  With that endorsement, the soldier accepted the gift with a smile and found some relief from the heat.

     Every time Vicki starts sewing the pocket handkerchiefs to give away, I think back to that suspicious soldier and his smile as he found relief from the heat.  Truly Vicki's work of searching for affordable deals on cloth, on cutting and sewing the gifts has blessed many a hot tired heart long after they walked away from our tent.

     This year I've decided to make a challenge to the troops as they pickup the handkerchiefs on the gift table.  I've pinned to each handkerchief a small note which says:  If this pocket handkerchief blesses you, then remember our Lord's words and pass along a blessing of your own to a fellow soldier who needs encouragement:  "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  Matt.25:40  The U.S. Christian Commission

     What each man or woman chooses to do in response to the challenge is up to them.  But I just want them to pause and think about how they could in turn pass along a blessing of encouragement to someone they know.  That would be a true "thank you" to Vicki for her labor of kindness.

     Handkerchief size?  We've been told various sizes.  One person insisted that the accurate size was 20"x20" or 24"x24" for bandanna types.  Ours are not based on an actual example we have.  To be honest, the size varies a bit depending on how many Vicki can best cut out of the width of the cloth and not waste material.  She also folds over the edges a couple of times and sews them, so a little width is lost there.  She mainly came up with the 12x12/ 14x14 finished size; small enough to fit in a pocket, economical enough to have enough to give away to as many soldiers as we can.  Somehow I don't think a Civil War soldier back in the 1860s would have said "hey, this isn't the right size ya'know" if someone was handing how the type Vicki makes at a hospital or encampment.
     Cloth resource suggestion:  This year, Vicki has been visiting the Good Will/ Salvation Army stores near us and looking for cloth to use for handkerchiefs, comfort bags, aprons etc.  She has found some good quality sheets made of cotton, both regular and a few fleece-type that are usable for the handkerchiefs.  So in the spirit of the USCC, she buys them, washes them and cuts them up to be used in her sewing projects to supplement the cloth she buys at the fabric store.

Honoring a Kindness

    Sometimes when you least expect it, a stranger shows you a kindness that brings you great joy and reminds you of the power we all have to encourage each other.

    It was last year (July 2012) when just Vicki & I were at a reenactment in Lombard, IL. doing our Christian Commission thing.  The tent was set up and the food was out.  The lemonade was mixed.  It was a nice sized event for the two of us to handle, with a steady flow of reenactors coming and going under the tent.  We had a couple of additional volunteers helping out throughout the morning;  gracious young ladies that know us and our children, offering their help as they had time.

    All morning Vicki had been dealing with her snood letting her hair straggle down out of the holes that had been worn in it over the years of use.  Yes, she needed to get a new one, but just hadn't had time to try and find one.  I remember picking on her about her looking a bit bedraggled.  And she would joke back about it, stuff her hair back in, and a little bit later, it would be dangling back out of the holes that had gotten too big in her favorite black snood. 

    I was busy toward the front of the tent fly, talking to spectators and inviting the soldiers to "come on in and help yourself", explaining the variety of tasty delights that Vicki had prepared.  She was busy working to replenish the food trays.  As she was moving around, she stumbled and fell.  As she got back up, we all realized that she was holding a large knife that hadn't hurt her.  One woman watching all this unfold said "you must have an angle watching over you."  Vicki brushed off the straw, got back to work filling the food trays.

    The fall was quickly forgotten, and we returned to serving the troops.  The day went well, we packed up and went home.  "Yep, someday" Vicki said she'd get around to "looking for a new snood".

    A few weeks later, Vicki got a phone call from a woman caller wanting to confirm she had reached the people who do the US Christian Commission.  The woman explained she was under the tent and saw Vicki fall and not get hurt by the knife.  She had also noticed Vicki's struggle with the hair snood.  She had bought a handmade snood and was mailing it as an encouragement and thank you to Vicki.

    We reenact the US Christian Commission to be an encouragement to others.  But over the years, the Lord has brought along others to encourage us with an unexpected surprising acts of kindness.  Helping our ladies carry the water pots back to the tent.  Help setting up or taking down the tent.  Helping us locate in a high traffic area so we can reach the most troops at the event.  The gift of the quilt we use on the gift table.  A few of the enamel pots we use for lemonade and tea have been donated to us by individuals who saw us using the ones we had to encourage the troops and wanted to add to our tools.  To all those unnamed and often unknown fellow travelers "May God see your kindness and bless you too".

US Christian Commission Station Duties June 1862

What did the US Christian Commission Delegates do?  Anything and everything they could for the soldiers. 
    This summary from John Patterson gives us an excellent description of the many activities the Delegates engaged in to encourage the troops.  He was involved with the White House Christian Commission Station during June 1862, just before the retreat of the Eastern Army from the Peninsula:

    We had two tents and a cook-shed;  one tent for sleeping in, the other for storage.  We were three Delegates of the Commission, assisted by a young convalescent soldier, and cooked for by a negro boy and woman, whose hoe-cakes were our great solace three times a day.  We worked in pairs;  two at the hospital, two at the store-tent, and two at the cook-shed.  We tolerated no drones in our bee-hive.  When the negro boy was not employed in chopping wood and carrying water for Dinah, he was regaling himself and a circle of select admirers with a genuine Virginia "breakdown;"  and when Dinah had fixed up all the odds and ends about the tents, she began manufacturing corn-starch, in huge cauldrons-full, five or six times a day.  The two store-keepers were kept busy from morning to night by a hungry-looking crowd, which we called the "staff brigade," who begged for themselves, and their comrades incapable of locomotion.  Supplies were here dispensed in the shape of shirts, drawers, handkerchiefs, books, papers, combs, soap, pickles, sugar, tea, bread, and nearly everything eatable, wearable and usable to be found in a regular "Yankee-notion" country store.

    But the two itinerants had the most exacting and delicate duties.  It was theirs to visit the sick and dying, to bear them little comforts; to cheer the despondent;  to soothe the agony of some, the last moments of others;  to play, as occasion required, the parts of nurse, physician and clergyman.  Evening brought no rest.  The semi-secular employments of the day gave place to the religious labors of the night, and so pleasant and blessed were these, that we longed for the evening, when we could meet the eager congregations.

    We began early, and ended late -- so that more than once we paid the penalty of our protracted devotion, in arrest by the night guards, whose duty required them to stop all stragglers.  But the young Delegates were well known and easily recognized, and no authority would cage them.  Such meetings, too, as we enjoyed, would repay one for an occasional arrest, and for the dark and muddy walks by which they were reached.

    After a short sermon, studied between our tent and the church, came a prayer and inquiry meeting.  This was open to all.  One after another would lead in prayer, testify to a newly-found faith, or make an exhortation to his comrades.  Some were hoary-headed sinners;  others mere boys.  Some would flounder painfully as they tried to express their feelings, frequently bursting into tears;  while other would charm with the simplicity and power of their native eloquence.  From such men we had no difficulty in securing an effective corps of tract distributors.  Every morning a number of bronzed faces would look in at our tent door, and then, supplied with loads of tracts, papers, hymn books, &c., the men betook themselves to the different houses and tents, and to the camp of the "Lost Children."
    One day, the quiet was disturbed by the thunder of distant cannon.  Soon after stragglers from the front came in;  than a battery of field artillery which had desolated the path of the advancing enemy.  Then came the order to break up the hospital as soon as possible, which was interpreted to us to mean twelve hours.  That evening, all who could walk or hobble to our tents were there.  We distributed our entire remaining stock.  Farewell addresses, delivered by two of us, were answered by the hearty cheers of our audience, and the whole was concluded with a hymn.

[Incidents of the U.S. Christian Commission  1869 p.32-34]

    Such benevolence was repeated over and over in different locations and situations by the Delegates who volunteered their lives to minister to the soldiers far from home.  It is important to note how they blended spiritual help in with the practical help generously given.  They provided for the physical needs of the soldiers.  They engaged the soldiers personally and in group settings.  They pointed them to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  These Delegates took seriously Jesus' words that the righteous show their faith through compassion, even to the least of the brethren (Matt.25:31-46).
    The Christian Commission understood that our soldiers needed more than weapons and uniforms.  They needed compassionate encouragement to face the trials of war.  And they needed the eternal truth of the Gospel.