Trimble, Isaac Ridgeway, 1802-1888 to Octavia Trimble
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00615 Author/Creator: Trimble, Isaac Ridgeway, 1802-1888 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 4, 1864 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, a Confederate prisoner of war held in Boston, writes a poetic letter to his wife, Octavia, about captivity and his longing for home. "You may think I am sincere if you reflect a moment that I am not free like you 'to wander at will among the woods, & hold sweet communion with nature's loveliness.' Oh no! lonely, lonely captivity is my lot, with but few glimpses of the sky & none of the earth, woods, flowers, birds or babbling brooks ... All under foot, above, around is granite; granite! ... Home is now almost a forgotten word, or its memory comes lone, fitful & sad ... " He asks Octavia to send pictures of herself and other family members. Isaac was a Confederate general who was wounded and captured at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was not exchanged until February 1865. Written at Fort Warren.
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