Beschreibung:

Lot of 3 letters written and received by Corporal George Childress (1839-1905) during his service with Co.I, 66th Illinois Infantry, 1861-1864. Childress corresponds with members of his church in Bridgeport, Illinois about his wartime experiences and receives news from home about the health of his friends and family, as well as the outcome of a local election. Childress left his Illinois farm in 1861 to enlist in Pulaski, Tennessee as a corporal. On November 25, 1861 he mustered into Co. I, 66th Illinois Infantry, which was attached to the Department of Missouri for the majority of that winter. In the first letter, A.J. Warner, Childress's friend from church, tells him that if he "stay[s] at St. Louis this winter I will try to come out and see you during the winter" (November 10, 1861). Subsequent correspondence makes no mention of such a visit, but the 66th Illinois remained in Missouri until February of 1862. The regiment moved first through Illinois and Kentucky, before arriving in Tennessee for the capture of Fort Donelson. In early March, Childress and his fellow advanced on Savannah, thence to Pittsburg Landing in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862). Childress writes to Warner in the weeks before the battle, from his position "above Savannah on the Tenn. River." He relates that his regiment is "waiting for orders to move on toward the enemy. There is a great many troops here. They are scattered thick and for about seven miles from the river." He has heard that "Beauregard is not far from here with 200,000 men but [I] think they will not fight much as they are beginning to think they are fighting in a weak cause." In addition to flagging Confederate spirit, Federal reinforcements were arriving for support in battle and the ensuing Siege of Corinth, and Childress seems confident in their success: "Union men are coming in on almost all sides of us. I hear this morning that Yancey the leader of the rebellion is taken; that is a good thing." In November, Childress and his regiment moved to Tuscumbia Hills and establishes Camp Davies, where they remained for the next year. From there, they marched to Pulaski, Tennessee for duty until April 29, 1864. Veterans were granted furlough in the meantime (January-March 1864), and it seems as though Childress was able to go home briefly in February before returning to the field in advance of the Atlanta Campaign that summer. His correspondent this time is a woman from his church, "Mattie," whom he addresses as a "new sister." They were not acquainted before the war, but Childress relies so heavily on letters from the members of his congregation because both of his parents and his closest brother are deceased, as he reveals in the letter. He explains to her the recent divisional reorganization, noting his use of stationery marked for the 4th Division, of which he is now a member. Towards the end, he mentions a potential assignment in Michigan, the objective of which is to "guard the Canadian shores," but the 66th Illinois remained in the south, notably participating in the Siege of Atlanta, the Battle of Salkehatchie River, and the Battle of Bentonville. Childress mustered out on July 7, 1865 in Kentucky and returned to Illinois, where he served as the first postmaster of Golden Gate. Condition: One letter written in pencil, with fading to first page. All with areas of staining and some tearing at fold lines.