Civil War Letters of James Henry Lauriston Hull

Transcribed and submitted by Jamie Brinkoeter

List of Civil War Correspondence

James Henry Lauriston Hull was the eldest son of Col. Edwin Sealy Hull & Sarah Ann Young Hull of Carthage. He served in the Confederate States Army for the duration of the war from 1861 until he was surrendered at New Orleans in 1865. While he never faced combat, in his letters he describes the daily routine of a civil war soldier: the rumors of war, the loneliness of camp life, the longing for family, and the constant specters of illness, violence and death. These letters are presented unedited and in their entirety. They speak for themselves and no corrections or changes have been included. However the transcriber worked difficult handwriting reproduced on poor-quality photocopies. While every effort was made to be perfectly accurate, some occasional words or phrases could not be deciphered. There are sixteen documents available in the James Henry Lauriston civil war letter collection. These range from 1861 through 1865, and track Sgt. Hull through Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

1861                                       Fragment of letter, probably to his parents. Undated, but mentions 6 months in service, so it’s very early

 

October 10 letter to his parents. He was near Plano in Collin County, Texas

 

1862                                       January 24 letter to his parents from Camp McKnight in Red River County, Texas

 

Undated letter to his parents from Jackson Port, Arkansas

 

March 19 letter to his parents. He was at Camp Van Dorn in Independence County, Arkansas.

 

1863                                       August 2 letter to his parents. He was in the Office of Post Quarter Master, Alexandria, Louisiana

 

August 30 letter to his parents. He was in the office of Post Quarter Master, Alexandria, Louisiana

 

 November 21 letter to his mother. Written from Office of P.Q.M

 

1864                                       Fragment of letter to one of both of his parents. Undated, but by content appears to be spring of 1864

 

March 27 letter to his parents, from Office P.Q.M. Bonham, Texas. This letter is of some significance. Lar tells of a raid by Quantrell’s men, a notorious group of Confederate sympathizers who conducted raids during the Civil War, mostly in Missouri.

 

August 9 letter to his father, from Kickapoo, Texas and separate letter to his mother

 

August 9 letter Mollie Young (his cousin, Mary Laulette Young, who later married Judge J. G. Hazlewood), from Kickapoo.

 

August 15 letter to Mollie Young

 

November 29 letter to his father. Written from Office of Quarter Master, Anderson County, Texas

 

1865                                       February 18 letter to his brother, Thomas Fulton Hull. Written from the Disbursing Office, Govt. Iron Works, Anderson County, Texas.

 

               

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