Confederate family letter - 04/06/1863

Letter to Dr. Casper C. Henkle - Care of Col Williams - 37th Va Reg - Guinea's Depot

There is quite a tale found in this Confederate folded letter/cover. It is addressed to Dr. Casper C. Henkel (1835–1908), who was a prominent Confederate military surgeon from New Market, in the Shenandoah Valley. Henkle served throughout the American Civil War. He primarily served as a surgeon for the 37th Virginia Infantry within Steuart's Brigade. As the regimental surgeon (and family friend of the New Market Goods), he would know the whereabouts of most of the men in the regiment, so the letter was eventually sent to him.

Pair of CSA6s with a Collinsville, VA postmark

The first part of this letter was written (possibly) by Noah Good. Given Noah's connection to the 37th Cavalry and Guineas Depot, the most likely cousins or kinsmen who served with him in the 37th are Peater, Jacob, Christian, and George.

As a resident of New Market during the time, Dr. Casper C. Henkel was the town's leading physician, Noah and his family would have been under Dr. Henkel's direct care.

The Good family was a large, interconnected clan in the Shenandoah Valley (Shenandoah and Rockingham counties). In the mid-19th century, it was common for cousins to enlist together in the same local companies, particularly in the 37th Battalion Virginia Cavalry and the 7th or 12th Virginia Cavalry.

While Noah Good served in the 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, Dr. Henkel was the Surgeon for the 37th Virginia Infantry. During the 1864 Battle of Newmarket, Dr. Henkel served as the acting Medical Director for General Breckinridge's command. If Noah Good or any of his cousins were wounded in the Valley or near Guineas Depot, they likely would have been treated by Dr. Henkel or his staff.

As noted above, I believe it was Noah who began the letter by addressing his cousin Peater. This is a sample of Noah's handwriting -

Noah Good's handwriting from the opening section of the letter

When Noah finished, he sent it to Peater, who was probably serving in another infantry company within the 37th. Here is a sample of his handwriting -

Peater Good's handwriting from the middle of the letter

When Peater finished, he sent it along to Noah's wife, Julia, in New Market. Julia used the remaining space of the paper for a letter back to Noah in care of Dr. Henckel, back in camp with the 37th. Here is a sample of her handwriting -

Julia's goodbye to Noah in the closing section of the letter

The first part of the letter written by Noah Good and sent to Peater Good:

"dear Cousin i want you to send this letter to pap as soon you can

we got a letter from him he said we should direct this our letter to you

we are all well at this time and send you our love and best respects and Julia thinks very hard of you for not writing to her so nothing more"

The second of the three "letters" on this single sheet was written by "Cousin Peter Good" where he introduces his idea to "hire a substitute" to bring Noah home. The Confederate government allowed drafted men to hire substitutes to serve in their place during the early years of the American Civil War. This practice was legal under the first Conscription Act of April 1862 but was eventually abolished in late 1863 as manpower needs grew desperate. From Peater:

"I Received the kinde leter from yore wife to day of 6th

it finds me well and hope when this reaches you will find you engaging

the same blessings

yore wife stated in yore leter that she want you to Put Matt in as a subtute and you to come home

If you suckeed in geting him in as a subtute let me now and I will see Capt Rice and try and hav him trans ferd to the compney that I am in so he will be with me

I dont want the day but what some of us is either talking or thinking about you the soldiers is all left home and gone up the vally all but is three Regiment of Cavalry and they went to fortroyal but we heard that the Cavalry that went up the valley is ordered to go down the valley again"

Also from Peater, a short, but difficult-to-transcribe postscript at the end of the letter:

"P.S.

please answer this as soon as possibly you to hand

I did not even to see you for m fackettys

is so hard for me to get from camp

If I see Capton Rice I will use my influence to make the exchange

Pleas wright as soon as you get this Dearest

yore leter Bowling green

Caroline Cty in Car of Capt Garber

Staunton Artillery

From your affection Cosen

Peater Good"

The final portion of the letter is from Noah's wife, Julia, home in New Market, a short distance from the camp where her husband was at war with the Union boys. Reading between the lines, one can feel the anguish suffered by families who had boys in the fight. In addition, the families and the soldiers were often separated by mere miles. Imagine how much more difficult it was knowing your loved ones were fighting for their lives on ground they spent their youth on. From Julia:

"dear husband

i hope if we never meet on earth anymore i hope we may meet in the paradise of god where pain and sorrow are no more

we can not live here with pleasure any more

all we got to do is to put our trust in the time our heavenly guide gently along

oh God gentle lead us through the lonly vale of tears

we all send our love and best respect

grany is here to day and she sends you her love and best respects

kiss this letter for me

i never had any thing to hurt my feelings as it did when they took you that day that

you could not stay all night at home

i have nothing more to rite at this time

i will wright more the next time so nothing more but remane

your true and loveing wife

untill death

Julia..A..Good

to Noah Good"

First two pages of the Good family letter

I appraise this cover at $125.00. I was able to transcibe nearly all of it. My transcriptions are verbatim from the original script. That includes spelling and puncuation (or lack thereof).

The lion's share of the value is in the content. It's a very fine piece of Confederate history with verifiable people, locations, and various Civil War battles. It's also a deeply personal recounting of the anguish and heartache the Civil War borne by the soldiers and the families of the Confederacy.

Jeff Abbas - American Philatelics