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Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913 to Maria Damuth

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.14.37 Author/Creator: Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913 Place Written: Louisiana Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 October 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 12.5 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

The men have moved to a new camp. They pass through Franklin, Louisiana, and marched a total of fifty-five miles to their new campground. The men are eating well and Damuth believes they will "all come out fat." They are marching for the Gulf of Mexico and will not have mail until they get there. On their march, the soldiers met the 19th Army Corps, who share stories of their fights with rebels in the vicinity. The next stopping place will be Opelousas, Louisiana, and Damuth urges his family to look at a map and trace the soldiers' route. Thanks his sister for sending him a list of men drafted in their hometown and hopes that, if his brother John is drafted, "he will come right along like a man it is no disgrace to be drafted and I would treat a Conscript in our own Co as well as I do the rest."

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