American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Approximately 28 war-date letters, including 16 soldier's letters (several incomplete), many with original patriotic covers, spanning ca 1861-1864. Correspondence is primarily related to the service of Private William B. Moore, Co. B, Ohio 12th Infantry, and includes his letters to family, letters written to him while in the service, and letters written following his death. Notable in the archive is content associated with Ohio's early response to the war, and the establishment of Camp Dennison, in southwest Ohio.

The earliest letters from William B. Moore are written in April 1861 from Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio, almost immediately after the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the onset of the war. Moore was apparently eager to enlist, and his letters demonstrate a youthful enthusiasm for camp life and soldiering. One notable incident at Camp Jackson occurs when "a man was arrested...as a spy he was charged with trying to put poison into the wells[.] poison was found in his sleeve, and several letters were found on his person from men in Kentucky."

In early May 1861 the regiment relocated to Camp Dennison, Ohio, which Captain William Rosencrans had laid out via survey just weeks prior. Six letters in the archive were written from Camp Dennison during these very early weeks of its existence, providing an interesting glimpse into the state's initial response to the outbreak of the Civil War. So new was the training camp that when Moore arrived there were no sleeping quarters so they spent the night in a barn and built their quarters the following day. A somewhat festive aura still prevails, with Moore writing, "they are talking of having a picnic and writing for the Wilmington folks to come down at the same time; one should like to have our uniforms and arms before you come, we expect them about the middle of next week." An interesting detail offered by Moore is the presence of a company of Zouaves at Camp Dennison. "Their drill is very different from ours," he writes, "the command is given in French, and with a bugal. They fire, and then fall instantly, flat on the ground and while in that position load muskets." Moore's letters also convey that he had left home without consulting his mother and father for permission to enlist and without telling them that he was leaving. He asks for their pardon for his actions, but assures them that he is fully aware of the dangers and implications of his actions. 

Moore would soon experience the dangers of war firsthand. After departing Ohio for the front he arrives in western Virginia, an area with a combustible combination of Union and Confederate sympathizers. While stationed near Charleston along the Kanawha River, he "came across a boat loaded with wheat which was bearing an American flag * Col. of the eleventh Reg. placed some of his men in the bushes and then placed a cannon upon the banks, he then asked who they were they answered they were Kanawha Rangers, he asked them what they meant, they said they were northern troops we asked again if they were Union men and they thinking that they there but few on shore to oppose them not seeing those in the bushes, answered that they belonged to the Southern Confederacy. The COl. then ordered to fire when the cannon opened upon them...a volley then opened upon them from behind the bushes, when they all took to flight...." This letter of 2 August 1861 would be Moore's last. He drowned at Kanawha Falls that same night, an occurrence described in a letter written the following day by Captain A.W. Doane, Ohio 12th Infantry. 

[With:] A group of 13 letters from family and friends addressed to William B. Moore in the US service including while stationed at Camps Jackson and Dennison. -- Several additional pieces of war-date correspondence associated with the Moore family, including an 1864 letter home written from Maryland by Private Thomas C. Moore, Ohio 149th Infantry. -- A small tintype of an unidentified bearded gentleman. -- A newspaper, The Wilmington Watchman, 23 May, 1864, giving an account of camp life at Camp Dennison.

HDS indicates that William B. Moore (1844-1861) enlisted as nineteen year-old private on 4/22/1861 and mustered into Co. B, Ohio 12th Volunteer Infantry. He drowned less than four months later on 8/2/1861 at Kanawha Falls, Virginia. Given his birth date, it seems likely that the young Moore lied about his birthday so he could be eligible for service, which may be the reason his parents objected to his enlistment.