Kappes, Charles (fl. 1864) to Sim Van Winkel
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04635 Author/Creator: Kappes, Charles (fl. 1864) Place Written: Annapolis, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 16 September 1864 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 20.4 x 25 cm. Order a Copy
Kappes, a Union soldier waiting for his discharge in the Annapolis United States General Hospital, relates the events of his capture to friends in New Jersey. Reports that while engaged in battle near Richmond, Virginia, his corps was surrounded by Confederate soldiers and forced to surrender, after which he was taken as a prisoner. Complains of poor conditions prisoners were exposed to while on Belle Island, near Richmond, stating "I was almost starved and then such rations as they do give why the farmers of the north would not be guilty of giving it to his hogs if he did the old Pig would turn up her snout ..." Written on United States Sanitary Commission stationery and accompanied by a Commission envelope labeled "Soldiers Letter."
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