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Letter From Joseph Saberton
Joseph Saberton was part of the 25th Indiana volunteer infantry and was a private. He also sent all of his letters to his brother. -
First station
Joseph Saberton was station at Syracuse and they were going to be heading to St Louis soon. He doesn't like how he doesn't know when they will leave and how orders are sudden and unexpected. This is important because many soldiers in war didn't know when they would leave and this would cause confusion. .uncertainty.https://www.syracuse.com/living/2021/04/1861-syracuse-readies-itself-for-civil-war-after-attack-on-fort-sumter.html -
Moved to Saint Louis
When he went to Saint Louis many people were getting sick with measles and they are down to only 500 active man. My soldier dislikes the situation they are in with everybody getting sick and also hates the weather around them as it is damp sleet, and snowing. This is important because it shows how many people got sick and died from diseases and not from the battles.
(https://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-diseases) -
In the battle Camp Corinth
In this battle his regiment moved to the p center line and many people died. Joseph felt that this was the closest he came two dying as the two people next to him died. This is important because he becomes close to dying in this battle and this shows that he could die at any moment. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/mississippi/corinth_national_cemetery.html -
Moved from LaGrange to Memphis
Joseph moved to Memphis and 6 people died of heat stroke. He felt that they weren't getting enough food and water and that it was extremely hot. This shows that when they traveled over long distances they don't get much food or water and many people died because of it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgNxfMIObBk -
They caught six guerillas
While they were moving to Memphis they captured six guerillas. He says that they were like cowardly dogs who were following them and killing their wounded and sick. This shows that as they were traveling they still were being attacked from soldiers that were from the south. https://kids.kiddle.co/Flanking_maneuver -
Fixing of the Railroads
Their was a fight at Bolivar about two week before he wrote this letter. He and his team had to rebuild the railroads that the south tore up. He thinks that this is necessary and doesn't think to much of it. This proves the importance of railroads as they brought many goods for the north.
https://www.britannica.com/video/195090/Union-forces-railroads-Confederate-troops-American-Civil -
Fight at Bolivar
At this fight he said that Price and Grant were fighting at Corinth and Grant killed 1,400 rebels. Joseph says that Price got whipped badly in the fight. He also is expecting a fight since 30,000 soldiers are going to arrive soon. The importance is that the north were winning their battles and taking over the war. Also shows that he could be heading into battle in the coming days. soon.https://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/shiloh.html -
Moved to camp near Lagrange
Here they moved to LaGrange to get closer to holly springs to join the fight. They have a total of 70,000 men ready to fight. He is confident that the rebels will give up the land since they already are retreating. The importance is the north are now taking more land from the south and winning the war. https://www.mycivilwar.com/campaigns/621220R.html -
Camp near Davis Mills
His and the grand army have moved into Mississippi and is guarding the way from holly springs to LaGrange. He is happy that he gets to rest and the army isn't attacking or moving. This is important because they now have time, supplies and they now have they can guard Lagrange and move in on the south.https://www.battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/town-la-grange -
A theatre at Memphis
At a theatre they caught 200 of their men their without passes to be their. He feels good about being at Memphis and capturing the men as they had done this before and thinks that they deserve it. This is important because it shows how strict the war was. This also shows that if you did good and were brave in the civil war you could be rewarded by going back to Memphis.
https://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/place/4591/civil-war-in-tennessee-memphis-during-the-war/ -
The Grand Procession
The people of Memphis held a celebration and General Hulbert gave a great speech. This makes him think that many people are now turning to the union and as they win more in the war people side with them. This is important because many people are now joining the union and a great turning point for them.https://time.com/5836444/black-memorial-day/ -
Sickness
Joseph got sick and had the chills on Saturday and Sunday. He thinks that this will keep him at fall and wont be able to travel. This is important because this shows how dangerous diseases could be in the war and that they had little medicine that works. https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/symptoms-and-conditions/chills -
Captain Dablin gets arrested
The captain got arrested for leaving without leave. He had a though about doing this as well but he knew he shouldn't. Also they treated all the people that left without leave like prisoners. This shows what happened if you didn't follow the rules and many people didn't follow the rules.https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/arrest-arbitrary-during-civil-war -
Memphis citizens won't let them leave
This is when the regiment was going to leave the area they created a petition to keep them at Memphis. He thinks the reason they are staying is because of the people and thinks that they earned staying here by fighting in those battles. This is important because it shows that people that weren't involved in the war still had a voice in what they army did.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I3ILOUvGPc -
Traveled from Memphis to Cairo to Nashville
This is when they traveled across the state all the way from Memphis to Nashville. He felt that this was a long ride and even though they just arrived their he expects that they will be moving to Decatur Alabama. This is important because it shows how it took a very long time to cross states and even when they made it they often had to go somewhere else right afterhttps://www.historycentral.com/railroad/CWrail.html -
Moved to Decatur
When they arrived at Decatur they had many fights and in the most recent battle they lost two men. Because of these loses he was put on scout to make sure they don't suddenly get attacked. He hears rumors about them moving to the front but doesn't know if it is true or not. This is a important battle because it is a very southern state and this would be a big gain for the union if they could take more parts of Alabama.https://www.nationalguard.com/19d-cavalry-scout -
Camp West Point
Here they moved in and cut their communications and then the south tried to drive them away but they forced the south seven miles back and killed, captured, and wounded many soldiers. He says that many of the souths soldiers were surprised when they found out their communications were cut off. This is important because they took over 7 miles of land from the south and gaining many prisoners to try and gain information from them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrQ5VBZi2E&t=40s -
Found many guns
They found a place where the south left all of their big guns. He feels that they have it really hard where they are at because they have to keep marching and now they have to bring even bigger guns with them. This is important because they found weapons but the soldiers marching are very tired from marching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAG8iclBVZQ
