Private Melvin Thomas (Nelson Tang)
(Some words are intentionally misspelled due to my character’s poor education)
Blog 1:
April 22, 1861
Dear Mavis,
Though it’s only bin a cuple of weeks, I feel as if we’ve been separated for a year, and miss your warmth greatly in Dover. I may not be the wealthiest nor the smartest, as I'm still 19, but I am rooted by a sense of determenation to see this rebellion crushed and the Union preserved. It is in important to me that I follow our President’s call for 75,000 troops, though I fear many think this will be a short struggle. We have only enlisted for 90 days, and I worry it will not be enough to fix this broken nation.
The mood here is tense, perticularly after the unfortunate altercation in Baltimore just three days ago, where our boys from Massachusetts were attacked while trying to reach Washington. Also, they had to burn the train bridges over in Maryland just to keep more of our troops from getting up here, which makes me think the rebels are everywhere.
Over at my regiment, desurtion is rampant and enlistment is low. I am greatly disapointed in the divided loyalties within the border states. Slavery is rooted in deep injustice, and I cannot rest knowing our people, many of which are my relatives, are treated less than human. God has chosen us to rise up to the ocassion, and remember, he will allways be watching.
Also, please wish my brothers George, Frank, Charles, Joseph, and my sisters Mary and Elizabeth well, as well as my father Samuel. I hope your time as a hair-dresser is well, and I'll write back soon.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas
Blog 2:
November 9, 1861
Dear Mavis,
Please forgive my long silense, as over a year has passed since I last held a pin to write to you. I am deeply sorry for the delay. The past months have been heavily discouraging, as the Union has suffered greatly from a lack of succes on the battlefeild. As you likely know, we faced a daunting loss back in July at Bull Run, right on the doorstep of our dearest capital. That defeat shattered any hope that this would be a short and decisive war.
I have been informed that a new income tax system is being impossed on the Union to pay for this mess. Mavis, I know this news may exasperate you and our fellow citizens, but we must reconize it as a necesary price we must pay to support our nation. This war is expensive, and this is just a tiny burden upon the citizens to preserve our nation.
However, the Union has entered a new chapter, as George McClellan has officially replaced Winfield Scott as General in Chief. There is a greater sense of hope here that "Littel Mac" will have the tools to glue this fractured country back together. I sincerely hope to return to your side within the next year.
Our regiment has recently received better rashuns, which has increased our spirits significantly. I also heard that they are requiring us to take a "loyalty othe" to ensure no one is spying for the South.
I promise to write more frequently. Please tell my father and siblings that I hope they are well, and remember that God is always watching over us.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas
*Destiny Dice
Blog 3:
September 5, 1862
Dear Mavis,
I hope this finds you well in Dover. I am still here, though I feel a hundred years older than when I last saw you. 1862 has bin a long and bloody year, and my hart is heavy with the news from both far and near.
Back in March, we heard news of a strang site off the coast of Virginia wher two iron giants, the Monitor and the Virginia, clashed for hours. They say neither could sink the other, and it was a draw. It’s a new kind of war, Mavis, where naval power will start to become more prevalent.
The news from the West in April nearly broke my spirit. General Grant won a "victory" at a place called Shiloh, but they say the ground was carpeted in blue and gray. Over 23,000 boys dead or hurt. It was a blood bath, and it seems the price of saving this Union is going up every day.
Things here in Virginia ain't bin much better. That rebel Stonewall Jackson has bin running circles around our generals in the Shenandoah Valley, makig folks in Washington shake with fear. Then, Littel Mac, our new General McClellan, tried to take Richmond in June. We fought for seven long days, but General Lee pushed us back to the river. I’m sad to say Little Mac’s star has faded, and the men are losing faith in his ways.
Most painful of all was just a few days ago. We went back to that same cursed ground at Bull Run where it all started. It was a second round of misery, and we lost again. Lee and Jackson moved like lightning, and our General Pope was sent retreating.
The march back was a weary one, and our bellies were as empty as our spirits. Last night, one of the fellow soldiers managed to forage a bit of cornmeal, and we set to making Johnny cakes* over a small fire. We mixed the meal with a splash of water and salt, frying them in a bit of bacon fat we’d saved. They were hard as a plank and tasted mostly of woodsmoke, but I tell you, Mavis, that warm bit of corn was the first thing that made me feel human in a week. I saved a piece in my haversack, and sent it to you alongside this letter.
Things in the regiment are getting better as more food comes in along with muskets and rifles. I pray for an end to this, but it feels as though the war is only getting darker. Tell my father Samuel and my brothers and sisters I think of them every day. I miss your touch more than I can write. Remember, God is always watching us, even in the mud and the blood.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas
*Private Melvin Thomas will bring some Johnny cakes for the fellow soldiers to try tomorrow.
This is the recipe I followed if you want to know: https://loweryleather.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/civil-war-recipe-confederate-johnnie-cakes/
Blog 4:
December 10, 1863
Dear Mavis,
I am sorry I haven’t written since September of last year, but the battling has been constent and my suplies are near gone. 1863 is closing, and it has been a year that changed evrything.
It started with a thunderclap when President Lincoln signed the final Emancipation Proclamation on New Year's Day, declaringe the slaves in the rebel states to be free. I know some say it won’t change much since the South won't listen, but to us in the ranks, it feels like we are finally fighting for something holly.
The spring was filled with hardshipps. We faced Lee again in May at Chancellorsville, where General Hooker lost his nerve and the Rebels won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory for them. They kilt their own General Stonewall Jackson by mistake in the dark. Lee may have won the field, but he lost his right hand, and the Rebels won't ever be the same without that man's brilyance.
I was sickend to hear about the draft riots that eruptid in New York City back in July. To think that folks are rioting against the draft law while we are out here bleeding for the Union makes me sick to my stomach. It’s hard to know the war effort is being hamperd by our own people up North while we’re doing everything we can to presurve the nation down here.
To lift our spirits, the President issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in October, calling for us for a day of thanks in November. It was good to stop and count our blessengs, even in this mess. It made me think of your presance in Dover.
We ended the year with a grand sight out West. I heard the boys in the Army of the Cumberland swept up Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga without even waiting for orders and won a crusheing victory. Now that we hold Chattanooga, the way is open to split the Confederacy even further.
I pray 1864 may bring an end to this messe. Tell father Samuel and the siblings I miss them. Remember, God is always watching, and I hope to write back soon.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas
Blog 5:
November 15, 1864
Dear Mavis,
It has been a bit long since I last wrote, but 1864 has been a reluntless and kayotic shift for the war. This year has truly broken the rebellun, though it has cost us dearly.
The mood in our camps shifted back in March when word spread that President Lincoln finelly found his man. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed to command all armys of the United States on March 10, and was commissioned as lieutenant gineral. They say he didn't even come to Washington for his appointment, but went right to work with the Army of the Potomac. We finally have a general who knows how to fyght, and I am hopeful that this marks the beginning of the conclusion of this dredful conflict.
However, the cost of victory has been tearible. Starting in May, we fought the Rebels in the thick woods of Virginia. The battle in The Wilderness was pure hell, as the woods caught fire, incinerating many wounded men in the brush. It was greatly confusing and vicious. Despite the high casualties and a tactical retreat, Grant did not stop, and we immediately engaged Lee again at Spotsylvania from May 8-18, resulting in unbelievable casuelties.
I was worried when I heard the news back in August. The Democrats, meeting in Chicago, nominated General George B. McClellan to run against Lincoln in the elekshon, with George H. Pendleton as his running mate. Little Mac promising to end the war and restore the Unyon makes me think he would have settled for a weak peace.
However, I am writing this letter on a relatively high note. On November 8, President Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide, crushing McClellan 212 electoral votes to 21. Furthermore, we soldiers gave Lincoln 116,887 votes against only 33,748 for Little Mac. Morale and spirits are higher than ever, and I put my faith in Lincoln that he may end this war as soon as posibel in a favorable manner.
The end is very close, Mavis. Keep me in your prayers, and tell my father Samuel that the Union will hold.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas
Blog 6:
April 26, 1865
Dear Mavis,
Altho a year has passed sinse my last letter home, I am elated beyond words to tell you that I am finaly coming back home. Though I wished this war to end much sooner, the reality of this sittuation still feels sureal. Confederate General Lee has surrendered to our national hero, Ulysses S. Grant, at Appomattox Courthouse. This marks the long-awaited end of this conflict, and I am now heading toward Dover.
Following Lincoln's reelection, a great fraction of the Union attended his eloquent Second Inaugural Address. He promised to forgive the Confederacy, announcing, “With malice toward none; with charity for all... let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds.” His words brought fourth a sense of pride, implying a close end to this war.
On April 6, 1865, we fought in what we presumed wood be one of the final battles of this war. While attempting to retreat and keep his forces together, Lee encountered us at Saylor’s Creek. The brief, one-day engagement was an easy victory for us. About 8,000 Rebels surrendered, which was roughly a third of Lee’s remaining army, and forced him to retreat further west.
However, I feel deeply deflated to announce that my return will not be without devestation. On April 15, heartbreaking news swept threw the nation. President Lincoln, the true savior of our nation, was shot and killed while attending a play at Ford’s Theater. This act was taken directly in front of his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, alongside Major H.R. Rathbone and Miss Clara Harris. The assasin was identified as the actor John Wilkes Booth, who fired a single shot into the President's skull. Our beloved leader passed away the following morning, leaving the entire nation in deep sorrow.
Justice, however, has been taken. Early today, April 26, Federal troops surrounded Booth and a fellow conspirator, David Herold, inside a barn on the Garrett Farm in Virginia. While Herold surrendered peacfully, Booth refused to come out. Union troops set the wooden structure ablaze to force him out, and as he rushed from the burning building, he was shot and killed by Sergeant Boston Corbett. I heard that Booth's final words were, “Tell mother that I dyed for my country.”
While this war was a national tragedy that I hope is never inflicted upon any nation ever again, I choose not to conclude this conflict without acknowledging the other side. Even though our idologies never aligned, the determination and firmness of the Confederate soldiers is a trait we can all respect. Though their stubborn persistence ultamately prolonged the war and caused significantly more deaths, those same strong traits can now be redirected to help rebuild our fractured nation together.
I thank you, Mavis, alongside my beloved father and 5 siblings for y’all’s patience. God has heard our prayers, and I promise that nothing will seperate us again, and our love shall not perish from the Earth. I’m coming home.
Your Forever Loving Husband,
Private Melvin Thomas