Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Foglesong, John C., fl. 1861-1862 to cousin [Lydia A. Bishoff]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.40.03 Author/Creator: Foglesong, John C., fl. 1861-1862 Place Written: Oakland, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 July 1861 Pagination: 2 p. ; 20.8 x 13.4 cm. Order a Copy

Foglesong describes having to sleep on the floor with only his coat to lie on and his carpet sack as a pillow. He reports that there is plenty to eat and drink, but adds that there is only water and coffee - no whiskey. Foglesong does not know how long he will have to stay in Oakland, but he believes that he will be uniformed by next Friday. He tells Bishoff that he still "think[s] of the last night whe was To gether," and he asks her to tell Nelly to come see them, and to tell Kit that he will write to him in a few days. He mentions that he has been drilling for eight hours a day, which he describes as "hard Work indeed."

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources