Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Davis, Samuel H., ca. 1837-1862. Letter, 21 November 1861. 2 items.
Call No.
Mss. C D
Content
Pvt. Samuel H. Davis, a Union soldier serving with the 20th Ohio Volunteers, Co. G writes on patriotic stationery to two friends from Camp King, Covington, Ky. in a letter dated 21 November 1861. Davis gives a detailed description of camp life during the Civil War. He writes about the composition of his regiment and lists all their arms and equipment, observing that they "are ready for a fight and would like to give the rebels a mighty good thrashing." He also describes their tents (circular and of canvas, each holding 15 men) and discusses the method by which most of them are heated by a furnace, noting "we sleep the snuggest kind and dream of homes and friends thats far away." He also writes about how they cook food, observing that others might "laugh at the awkward way we go at everything." He closes by thanking them for the can of peaches they sent and wishing they were at the camp, but also writes "perhaps you are doing the best, by staying at home raising something for us fellows to eat by another year." (Davis died of disease in May 1862.)