CIVIL WAR - UNION - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 03/10/1863 - HFSID 262938

CIVIL WAR: UNION
A U.S. soldier in Grant's army during the Vicksburg Campaign, writes to his sister, describing life in camp and sending home a portion of his pay.
Autograph Letter signed: "Henry Brown", 2 pages (front and verso), 5x8. Lake Providence, Louisiana, 1863 March 10. To "Nancy Brown" ("Dear sister"), in full: "I received your letter the 8. I am well now. William Webb is writing to Irwin. We are camped by Lake Providence, Louisiana. Company A & B is on guard in the village. We have got a house to stay in. We was living in a town and it got a fire & burnt up three or four of the largest buildings. William Potter is well. I wrote a letter to Clarisa when we was to Memphis but I haven't had any letter. Today is the 17. I have been waiting to get paid. We get two month's pay. Our clothing was settled up I only got 13 dollars. I will send five dollars now and if you or Louisa wants to use any take it and use it. They [illegible phrase] last night and let them bathe in the lake". Although no specifics are known about this soldier and he has not sufficiently identified his unit. Much can be inferred from this letter. At the date of this letter, the Union Army was encamped at Lake Providence, a supply depot and base of operations as General Ulysses S. Grant prepared for the successful siege of Vicksburg. That town's surrender after a long siege, on July 4, 1863, (coinciding with the Union victory at Gettysburg) would split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi and prove - with hindsight - the decisive moment of the Civil War. The town of Lake Providence, now the parish seat of Carroll County, dates from this time, as slaves from nearby plantations escaped to the Union lines and settled here. The content of the letter, in which Henry Brown names other soldiers obviously known to his sister, shows that his unit was recruited from one or a few neighboring communities, as were many units on both sides of the conflict. Note also that Brown cites a later date in the letter than he put in the heading, suggesting that he wrote it over several days, as time permitted, or perhaps waited for his expected pay before sending the letter with money on to his sister. Great content for the life of an ordinary Civil War soldier. Normal mailing folds. ¼x¼-inch hole at upper fold. Lightly creased. Slightly soiled. Otherwise, fine condition.