CityView Magazine

‘The Confederacy is gone ... ’ When Henry H. Bowen of Washington County penned letters to his wife, Ann, during the Civil War, he wrote of the simple things: what he ate, where he slept, the weather. Bowen served on an ironclad in Charleston. His letters showcased his beautiful slanting penmanship (and his difficulty with spelling) but they also give hints about the man he was. Dec. 15, 1864 “My dear wife I take the opertunity to rite you a few lines to let you know that I am well at present, and I hope these few lines may find you all the same. I … was very much pleased to heare from you all and … to heare the yankeys has not bothered you and I pray to God every day to protect you from them and that is all that I can do.” Bowen’s wartime letters are kept at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. Other wartime letters can be found in online archives. Still others have been collected into books. The originals are written in fading ink on yellowing paper. Sometimes the handwriting is difficult to read. Sometimes the words have nearly disappeared, except to those with the keenest eyesight. “We fare very well and get plenty to eat,” Bowen told Ann. “I don’t have any use for my overcoat for we have not bin exposed to the weather as yet.” He gave news: “There is some excitement about (Gen. William) Sherman and I can’t tel.” And he sent advice on keeping the homestead running while he was away: “You had beter kill that sow that was weak in her back if you can get her fat enough and the old red sow to. You must all carry on your busyness the best you can and I will advise for you as well as I can.” Bowen’s final war letter was composed in Fayetteville as he and his fellow Confederate soldiers fled before the advance of Sherman’s Army. Feb. 26, 1865 “I am well and have bin all the time … badly (wearied) from a long march … we evacuated Charleston on the 17th and took the course for Wilmington but when we got in about … miles of Wilmington we heard the Yankees had taken it and we took it afoot for Fayetteville… we have not bin in any fights yet and I hope I shant and I have not heard how many was killed in the fight at Wilmington. It looks like the Confederacy is gone …” Bowen was drafted into the Confederate States Marine Corps in 1864, according to Sion Harrington III, the military collections archivist at the N.C. Office of Archives & History. His is one of dozens of letters that visitors can still read, touch, smell. But Harrington can’t help but wonder what will happen to the war letters of today. He hopes that some of today’s soldiers will keep the letters and e-mails they send and receive. “Nobody’s writing letters anymore,” he said. “It’s all temporal. You hit ‘delete’ and it’s all gone.” ‘Somewhere in France’ Just months before the end of World War I, Pvt. N.J. Faircloth wrote to his parents in Fayetteville. He began his letter with, “Somewhere in France.” Aug. 7, 1918 “Mama I got a letter from you and papa today that made me feel better than I have in a long time for you said you all had a nice crop and was doing well. You no I love to hear good news from home, while I help give the Germans a whipping. “Mama when you are praying for me be sure to remember the other Soldier boys; and Papa don’t you worry about me for I am enjoying myself over here: Me and Bill McLain is having a good old time in France …. ” That same year, after the war had ended, another Fayetteville son, Edger Blanchard, wrote a letter to his mother on American Red Cross stationery. Blanchard was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Dec. 10, 1918 “I was in all of the (Hindenburg) drive and believe me I did not thank I had a chance but I come out all OK. Did not get a scratch but I had some close calls. I got a hole shot through my helmet … I was in the battle of Bellacourt and believe me it was some battle. We went in the drive with 198 men in my (company) and when we came out we did not have but 53. CityViewNC.com | 39 “Mama when you are praying for me be sure to remember the other Soldier boys; and Papa don’t you worry about me for I am enjoying myself over here: Me and Bill McLain is having a good old time in France …. ” - Pvt. N.J. Faircloth

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