Army of Northern Virginia

~~ 6th Alabama Infantry ~~
Thomas S. Taylor Letters


1861 - 1865

~ Civil War letter of Thomas S. Taylor, April 1864 ~

It is now the early spring of 1864. There has been no conflict except for sporadic skirmishing in West Virginia since the autumn of 1863. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia has been anticipating an attack ever since March when General Grant was promoted by President Lincoln to Lieutenant General and placed in charge of all Union Forces. General Lee’s has made ready, but the South is now severely limited in manpower and resources.

This is the last letter that I have in my possession from Lt. Taylor. It is a very happy letter written a week after his 31st birthday. He is clearly pleased with being placed in charge of a company of sharpshooters. This assignment had been the focus of his ambition as a soldier. It will lead to his death in less than two months, while leading his sharpshooters in battle at Cold Harbor. It is so very tragic that this brave, loving, articulate soldier had to lose his life when he had so much yet to give to his country and his family.

Camp 6th Ala Vol.
Apr 7th 1864

My Dear Sister

We will now have a little talk through the medium of pen ink & paper, & what shall we talk about. I have nothing new & to tell the same old tale of camp life would be dull monotony to you. Were I to enlarge on the old subject & tell all I could you would only exclaim with a laugh, well that is one of Brothers biggest & say that his Satanic Majesty would blush at such a report himself while I at the same time would not be telling half. So these things would not only become uninteresting to you, but laborious to me to write them. I must therefore write something else. 

Well now I have it. Can you guess. I see you are now becoming interested, you begin to smile now. I see in my imagination. Oh if I could see you now how delighted I would be. But I must tell you the news. I have today sicceded in getting a position in the Army that I have been working for some time to get. I have now commissioned a Company of Sharpshooters. This is not a Bomb proof department by any means but I think I will like it very much. There is some little honor attached to it but honor is nothing more than a puff of wind. There are some advantages to be derived from it in times of battle. My health is very good all are expecting operations to commence before long I dread the Springs campaign. Tomorrow is a day of fastings & prayer God grant great good may be done. I have not heard from my box of meat. I must now close by asking you to remember your soldier Brother in your prayers

Write soon. God bless you
Your Brother Thomas
Miss Matilda Taylor

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H. E. Cross, Jr.
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