Letter Number 18--From the Mary/Sue Collection--Robert to Sarah--PROBABLY 28 October 1863 (Based on the Date Written and the Context)

 

Letter 18 Original Front

 

Letter 18 Original Reverse

 

Letter 18 Enhanced Front

 

Letter 18 Enhanced Reverse

 

THE CORRESPONDANCE BETWEEN ROBERT BOND JR. (1819- 1894) AND WIFE SARAH ANN (MAIDEN NAME “FISK”—1823-1909) BETWEEN 1862 AND 1868

 

From the Mary/Sue Collection

Transcription of Letter “18”—from Robert to Sarah

28 October 1863—Date Inferred From Context

Transcribed by William B. Bond—Sept., 2013

FRONT:

Nacth Natchez Miss 28^th/63

ever Dear Wife I will

trouble you with a few lines

I am get will¹ feast² I hope the

lines well³ you all the same

I think I sall⁴ come home

the forepart of Decmber⁵ I

I hope that you will have a

fat pig, your Robert Bond

I wood⁶ Like to have you see

Mr Leach⁷ and ask im⁸

Wat⁹ he wood⁶ get me Six

cords¹⁰ of Stones¹¹ Dig and all

them into the barn, at

jest¹² be lod¹³ the center west

of the Encop¹⁴ have im⁸ get them

as soon as you get this if it

is not frozen

if he can not get to¹⁵ men

to Dig them if you can

let me now as soon you

REVERSE:

get this I sall⁴ not be Abel¹⁶

to get one more

Before I Start for

home

Robert Bond

This is for S A Bond

FOOTNOTES:

1.  well

2.  fast

3.  will

4.  shall

5.  December

6.  would

7.  Mr. Leach is also referenced in letter #4 written by Sarah to Robert dated March 8^th, 1863.

8.  him

9. what

10.  cords

11.  stones

12.  just

13.  below

14.  hencoop

15.  two

16.  able

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

NOTE 1: Reading this letter is a challenge due to the unusual spelling and grammar—in fact this letter has been a greater challenge than any of the other 8 I have transcribed thus far. In some cases I had to take a “best guess” as to what was written. But it should be remembered that this letter was written “in the field” most likely under very difficult circumstances. So it is a treasure that it exists at all.

If anyone who examines a scan of the original can better make out what the words are or can see anywhere that there is an error in the transcription, I would welcome their input.

The following is my attempt at a transcription of the entire letter with spelling and grammar corrected:

FRONT SIDE:

Natchez Miss 28^th/63

Ever wear wife--I will

trouble you with a few lines.

I am getting well fast. I hope the(se)

lines will (find) you all the same.

I think I shall come home

the forepart of December. I

I hope that you will have a

fat pig.  Your Robert Bond

I would like to have you see

Mr. Leach and ask him

what he would get me six

cords of stones. Dig <and> all (of)

them into the barn, at

just below the center west

of the hencoop. Have him get them

as soon as you get this if it

is not frozen.

If he can not, get two men

to dig them if you can.

Let me now as soon (as) you

REVERSE SIDE:

get this. I shall not be able

to get one more

before I start for

home.

Robert Bond

This is for S A Bond

NOTE 2:  This letter was written on the front and back of a single sheet of paper. There is no “embossed seal” indicating the paper manufacturer at the upper left of the front side as was common on many papers of the time. The letter seems to be complete.

NOTE 3: One of the mysteries of this letter is what month in 1863 it was written. Considering the “Wisconsin at Vicksburg: Report of the Wisconsin-Vicksburg Monument” page 143:

http://books.google.com/books?id=1JxAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=%22Springdale+Station%22%3b+Mississippi&source=bl&ots=uK_xk-Ib09&sig=2tHpTWaz_qxqcT866-q8tLpyK6E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OpQjUsbcGYKbiALViIGYAQ&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Springdale%20Station%22%3B%20Mississippi&f=false

—the 12^th Wisconsin (in which Robert was enlisted) left for Natchez, MS from Vicksburg, MS on August 17^th, 1863 and remained in Natchez until November 22^nd, 1863. They then left Natchez on November 22^nd traveling back to Vicksburg--but returned to Natchez on December 5, remaining there until January 23^rd, 1864.

The location and date on this letter is “Natchez 28/63”, so it couldn’t have been written November 28^th since the Wisconsin 12^th was not in Natchez at that time. This is supported by letter #27 dated December 20^th, 1963 in which Sarah makes reference to the fact that her letter was being sent to Vicksburg.

The letter also could not have been written December 28^th since in this letter; Robert makes reference that he would “come home the forepart of Decmber.^” So this leaves August, September, and October as possibilities.

I believe it was written October 28^th, 1863, because there is a reference in the letter to “get them as soon as you get this if it is not frozen.” It would be unlikely for the ground in Wisconsin to be frozen in August or September, but it could be frozen in late October.

NOTE 4:  As mentioned, this letter was extremely difficult to transcribe and I may have made an error somewhere. Robert begins the letter with a loving greeting and an inquiry as to the family’s health. He follows this with the statement that he is getting well fast, but it is not known from what ailment he was suffering.

Robert finishes the first paragraph by stating that he plans to return home the first part of December and his hopes for a “fat pig” when he arrives. It should be noted that according to the reference above (NOTE 3: Wisconsin at Vicksburg: Report of the Wisconsin-Vicksburg Monument” page 143) only soldiers with veteran status started for Wisconsin on the 13^th of March, 1864 for a 30 day furlough. The regiment then reformed on the 3^rd of May in Cairo, Illinois, moving out and back to the war on the 10^th of May. Robert had not been enlisted long enough to achieve Veteran status, and presumable did not go home on furlough. In fact thus far there is no evidence that Robert returned home at any time during his enlistment.

The second paragraph on the front side was the greatest challenge to transcribe. It seems Robert was asking Sarah to ask “Mr Leach” (who is referred to in letter #9--written by Sarah to Robert on March 8^th, 1863) to dig six cords of stones into the barn if the ground was not frozen. And if Mr. Leach could not do this, to try to get two other men to do it. It is not known why the barn needed six cords of stones.

The closing on the reverse side is also a bit of a mystery. Robert states that he will “not be Abel to get one more Before I Start for home.” One more what? Presumably one more letter and this might make sense if he wrote this letter on October 28^th and he planned to be home at the beginning of December. But it seems that other correspondence between Sarah and Robert took less than a month, so I’m not sure why Robert thought he would not get another letter before he started for home.

The letter finishes with a closing and at the bottom of the reverse is the line: “This is for S A Bond”. Why was this necessary if the letter was in an envelope addressed to Sarah? Did Robert give the letter to someone else to give to Sarah?

Altogether, this letter is one of the most difficult to interpret.