John Booker, [n.p.], letter to cousin, Chloe Unity Blair, 1864

Extent:

2 p.

Scope and content:

John Booker describes the attempt by Virginia Governor William "Extra Billy" Smith and Colonel [Joseph Robert] Cabell to make the men of the 38th Regiment re-enlist. He deplores the strategies they used: calling the men to stand before the "Colors," declaring that any man who wanted to be a slave to the enemy should not re-enlist. John fears that his leaders want to continue to fight at all costs, rather than press for peace; and as long as men re-enlist the war will go on. John also expresses his dissatisfaction with the administration of the Regiment: only the men who re-enlist are granted furloughs, and John has still not received the furlough owed to him in 1862. He mentions that the two new recrutes to Company D are receiving their furloughs ahead of him. Changing the subject, John writes of nearby Union activity and says that they have been expecting a raid. Finally, he writes of Memory Inman's court martial and Captain John Herndon's marriage. He closes the letter by apologizing for its angry tone, writing, "I have bin mad all day."

Physical description:

ALS

Access and use