137th New York Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER - Fighting Rebels near Atlanta, Georgia
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137th New York Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER - Fighting Rebels near Atlanta, Georgia:
$66.01
Civil War Letter
Ira S. Jeffers in later years
This remarkable Civil War letter was written by Pvt. Ira S. Jeffers (1843-1932) of Co. F, 137th New York Infantry. Ira was the son of Leverett Jeffers (1819-1895) and Sophronia S. Scofield (1821-1870) of Binghamton, Broome county, New York.
The 137th New York Infantry saw its share of heavy fighting during the war. It participated in the battles atChancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wauhatchie, Missionary ridge, Lookout mountain, Ringgold, Rocky Face ridge, Resaca, Cassville, Lost mountain, Kennesaw mountain, Peachtree creek, the siege of Atlanta, and numerous minor actions on the march to the sea and in the campaign of the Carolinas.Col. W. F. Fox, in his account of this regiment, says: “It won special honors at Gettysburg, then in Greene’s brigade, which, alone and unassisted, held Culp’s hill during a critical period of that battle against a desperate attack of vastly superior force.
The casualties in the 137th at Gettysburg exceeded those of any other regiment in the corps, amounting to 40 killed, 87 wounded and 10 missing. The gallant defense of Culp’s hill by Greene’s brigade, and the terrible execution inflicted by its musketry on the assaulting column of the enemy, form one of the most noteworthy incidents of the war.
TRANSCRIPTION
Addressed to Mrs. Sophronia Jeffers, Binghamton, Broome county, New York
Near Atlanta, Ga.
July 31st 1864
Dear Parents,
I received your letter of the 17th 3 or 4 days ago but I had just write a letter to you. I do not have much of a chance to write here about these times. We are near enough to Atlanta so that we can shell it. When I wrote to you before, I was just going on fatigue duty to build breastworks in advance of the others. We have got them done and have been in them some time. They are shelling us nearly all of the time. They have commenced a kind of siege here now I should think.
General Hooker has been relieved of command at his own request and General Williams is in command of the Corps. The boys all hate to have him leave us. They think as much of him as they do of Sherman from what I hear. I guess that the Western Generals and Eastern Generals cannot agree any better together than the Eastern and Western men, but the men agree better than they used to.
It is very hot weather here now but for all that, we have to work sometimes pretty hard building breastworks &c.
Milt Knox and Bob Winner, Johnny Thompson, and myself are all well at present. I cannot write any war news this time as I know of more than what you get in your paper. We don’t get much war news till we get our papers from Binghamton. I get my paper as regular as I could expect and the other boys get the standard, and I have sent for another paper but it has not come yet. It is a religious paper called the American Messenger. I cannot think of much to write this morning but I thought that I would write enough to let you know that I am well.
— Ira S. Jeffers
TERMS
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We're members of the American Philatelic Society, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance and the Illinois Postal History Society.
We only sell genuine, original letters (no copies or reproductions). Some of our letters have been transcribed and nicely presented for futuregenealogists and history buffson the Spared & Shared blog.
We've been selling on since 2001. offer WITH CONFIDENCE.
TERMS$2.00 postage in the United States and $3.00 elsewhere. We accept paypal. Postage combined for multiple purchases.We're members of the American Philatelic Society, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance and the Illinois Postal History Society.
We only sell genuine, original letters (no copies or reproductions). Some of our letters have been transcribed and nicely presented for futuregenealogists and history buffson the Spared & Shared blog.
We've been selling on since 2001. offer WITH CONFIDENCE.
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137th New York Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER - Fighting Rebels near Atlanta, Georgia:
$66.01