“Fort Henry was Taken”

“Fort Henry was Taken”

Name: Dexter E. Buell

Date: February 10th 1862

Location: Camp Franklin

Unit: 27th New York Infantry Regiment, Co. B

Camp Franklin

Sunday, February 10, 1862

Friend Bob,

I received your letter yesterday and I thought I would answer it today being I just came off from guard and nothing else to do. You say there is good sleighing up there. Well the mud down here is about five to six inches deep, That is the kind of sleighing down here. The going is awful bad, The wagons get stuck in the mud up to the hubs. Every little ways you can see a wagon stuck fast. I will tell you how it is down here. If you stand too long in one place, when you start to go, you will find yourself fast in the mud. I have had my boots pulled off more than once in this mud. The soil is all clay down here.

Bob, soldiering is about played out most. Bob, about the money, I think some of coming home but I don’t know certain yet. The water we drink down here is just about like the canal water up there. That is so—no joking. If I don’t come home next month, I will send you as nigh $26. I will try and get them in Treasury notes if you think that will be the best, If not, I will try and get the gold. I would like to have been at home this winter to have enjoyed the sport of skating and hunting with Hank and the rest of the boys. How does Hank get along? Tell him to write. How does Jack Cosart get along? Tell him to write once in awhile.

I suppose you have heard before this time that Fort Henry was taken and Lloyd Tilghman and staff and sixty others taken prisoners. Our army is slow but sure every time.

Ask Hank how many minks he caught this winter. Ask him if he wants to chop wood for Ira Mirrick again. Tell him, me and Frank Hicox has a laugh over that every little while. Bib, I must close so goodbye for this time and I remain your friend, — Dexter Buell

Write soon.

N. B. Tell Hank to write. Yours, — D. B.

_________________________________________

Biography:

Dexter E. Buell was born in 1842 to parents Samuel Buell and Polly Dunham and was the youngest of his siblings. Dexter was born and grew up in Wayne County, New York. The county seat, Lyons, New York, is located in the western part of the state. At the young age of 19, Dexter decided he would answer the call of the Union. He joined the 27th New York in July and was mustered in on July 14th, 1861.

The 27th New York left for Washington, DC on July 10th. They were actually involved in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the war. It is crazy to think that the regiment had only been in service for 16 DAYS! The regiment lost 1 officer and 25 men during this battle. The Battle of Bull Run was a crushing defeat for the Union and showed the North that this war would last longer than originally anticipated. They retreated back to Washington, DC and later, in 1862, they would be involved in the siege of Yorktown as well as heavy fighting near Richmond. They would not experience as many casualties, but they would be involved at Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.

This letter was written early in 1862; Dexter was in Virginia and had not been engaged in combat actively. He talks about the mud and how you would sink if you stood in it for too long, but he also talks about the capture of Fort Henry, which would be followed by the capture of Fort Donelson and would be some of the most devastating defeats for the Confederate Army. It is very interesting that he talks about this as Fort Henry was overshadowed by Fort Donelson. At the end of the letter, he reassures the person that he is writing to that the Union is not fast but gets the job done.

Dexter was mustered out of the 27th New York on May 31st, 1863. He then reenlisted in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery but would be discharged due to medical concern. When Dexter returned home from war, he married Laura Ann Hitchcock and became a carpenter as far as I could tell. He later wrote a book about his time in the Civil War: “A brief history of Company B, 27th regiment N.Y. volunteers, its organization and the part it took in the war.” Dexter passed away in 1923 at the age of 81 years old.