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I went to the Dock this morning to see what time the boat would leave

Joseph Culver Letter, February 15, 1865, Page 1

Home Insurance Company
Office No. 135 Broadway.
New York, Feby. 15th 1865
My Dear Wife

I went to the Dock this morning to see what time the boat would leave. We may possibly not get away to-day on account of the ice. I met Capt. Horton, Co. “F”, on the boat & went with him up to the Lovejoy Hotel to see Capt. Coolidge, Brigade Quarter Master, and Capt. Endsley, 70th Ind.1 I will have plenty of good company & feel much happier this morning than yesterday. I was a little blue yesterday when I thought of making the trip with strangers, perhaps sea-sick most of the way. God has been very kind and good to me, & I feel very happy in His love.

Capt. Horton & myself went down Wall Street to the Ferry this morning to see the sights. The gold market had not opened yet, so we will go again about noon. On our way back, we called in here at the Home Ins. Co.2 They greeted me very kindly and offer[ed] to do anything in their power to make my stay in New York pleasant. I am writing in a very neatly furnished little office for private uses. Am all alone. There is an arm chair just to my right, & I have been trying to imagine Howard and you in it, while I talk with you. “Oh, how I wish you were here.”

There will be a vessel in from Fortress Monroe [Va.] at 12 o’clock with the latest news. You will receive them by the Chicago papers to-morrow.

I am extremely fortunate in meeting Capt. Horton, as I will have barely sufficient funds to pay my living to Savannah. I have tried to be very economical but everything is so enormously high. I wished to send you some nice book from here, but you must “take the will for the deed” this time.

I see by the telegraph news this morning that it is snowing in Chicago, and probably in Pontiac also. The snow in Western New York is reported 4 feet deep. All the roads running West are blocked up, so that I cannot expect another letter before I leave.

Capt. Horton left the Regt. on the 10th January at Savannah & has been home on leave of Absence. He gave me quite a history of the Campaign through Georgia. The boys were all well. The news of the capture of Branchville and evacuation of Charleston are repeated this morning. It will either be confirmed or denied by the news on the noon Steamer.

The boat that we go down on (“Constitution”) is not a very fine one but looks strong and good. Horton says all were sea-sick coming up, so you can imagine what my condition will be two days hence. We will be Six days going to Savannah unless we have better luck than common. The sea is very rough. The weather this morning was very clear and pleasant, but it is quite cloudy now & looks as if we might have rain.

Horton went around to the Lovejoy Hotel to see what time the other Officers intended to go on the Boat. I expect him back every moment when we will return to the Sweeny Hotel for my baggage.

If I have opportunity, I will write on the boat on the way down. It will be all new to me as I was never on the water. I would like very much to hear from Howard and you this morning. I presume you are at Maggie’s, & I hope well and happy. If it be true that we have presentiments of good or evil of those we love, you are indeed happy. I had very sweet communion with Our Father last night before retiring and feel this morning as if I can freely trust in all things. May he bless you always with health and happiness. The clock is striking 12, so I must again say Good Bye. Kiss Howard for Papa and accept a sweet one for yourself. May Our Father bless you.

Your affectionate Husband
J. F. Culver

  1. George W. Horton, a 25-year-old carpenter, was mustered into service on Sept. 8, 1862, as lieutenant in Company F, 129th Illinois Infantry. He was commissioned captain of his company on June 11, 1863. When the regiment left Nashville in February 1864, Captain Horton remained behind in the hospital but rejoined the company in time for the Atlanta Campaign. On January 11, 1865, he received a leave at Hardeeville and rejoined the regiment on April 4. Captain Horton was mustered out near Washington on June 8, 1865. Benjamin F. Coolidge was mustered into service on Aug. 23, 1862, at Camp Piqua, Ohio, as lieutenant and quartermaster of the 99th Ohio Infantry. In November 1862 he was assigned to General Ward’s staff as brigade quartermaster. Lieutenant Coolidge in January 1865 had been ordered to proceed to Nashville on official business. On rejoining the XX Corps at Goldsboro, he was given a temporary assignment as division quartermaster. Henry M. Endsley of Shelby County was mustered into service on Aug. 1, 1862, at Indianapolis, Indiana, as captain of Company F, 70th Indiana Infantry. Captain Endsley, having received a leave, left his unit on Oct. 20, 1864, and rejoined it in late March 1865. Compiled Service Records of Union Soldiers, NA.
  2. Before entering service, J.F.C. had been the Livingston County agent for the Home Insurance Company of 135 Broadway, New York City, New York.