“A Somber Burial of a Soldier”
“A Somber Burial of a Soldier”
Pvt. Stephen Mead
Location: Near Washington D.C.
Date: Wednesday November 5th 1862
Unit: 141st New York Regiment Co. A
Wednesday Nov the 5th 1862
My Dear Friend
I now take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well and hope that these few lines will find you the same. I received your letter and was glad to hear from you again and I hope that I shall hear from you again before long. We have some talk of goin to Texas to stay this winter. It is pleasant down hear this morning we have not had no rane (rain) to speak of yet. We are going to muster for our pay this morning, but when we will git it I don't know know but before long I hope. We had lots of fun down hear yesterday, we had a foot race and a horse race to and we had election with all the rest.
There was one man died out of our company and I was apointed (appointed) to dig his grave for the first time, but who will be the next one, that we do not know, there is a grate menny (great many) sick hear but I am well at present and I hope that I shall live to see you all once more but I dont know weather(whether) I will or not but I guess that I will. I want you to tell (?) Julie that I dont want to sell my waggon to no one, for if I should live to come home I shall wast it my self. You read that Lillian was sick and I want you to wright as soon as you git this and tell me how she is a getting along and all the rest of the folks.
Tell your father that I dont want him to wright to me untill he gets through with his work so that he has got plenty time to do it and then tell him wright a few lines and stick in your letter and if he aint got the money I will send him some. Tell A. Sumner that I would like to hear from him for I would like to know how he is gitin (getting) a long. Tell George Horn that I will sew (sue) him if he dont pay up right off and I want you to sew them in my name. No more at the present so good by for this time. Wright soon as you git this, from your friend
Stephen
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Biography:
Pvt Stephen Meade (1829 -1864) had a pretty normal life; he was married to Miranda Green and they had 2 children, Lilly and Charles. However, this normal life would be uprooted by outside circumstances. Like many other New Yorkers at the time, Stephen felt that it was his duty to help fight in the Great Civil War that had come upon the United States.
He enlisted on August 14th, 1862, and like many other soldiers in the war, he wondered if he would ever make it back home to see his family. In September, this regiment was shipped to the defenses around Washington D.C., which is around the time that this letter was written. He is very surprised by the weather in the area as the sun had been out and it had not rained in a while. He mentions they might go down to Texas for the winter; however, they ultimately would stay in Washington D.C. until April 1863.
In this letter, he mentions being appointed to bury a fellow soldier that died from disease. For those that do not know, disease was the biggest killer in the Civil War taking approximately two-thirds of the Civil War’s casualties. The soldier that Stephen is burying is named Dewitt Primer. While Stephen is burying this soldier, he asks the question “But who will be the next one, that we do not know?” This would sadly be foreshadowing for Stephen as his unit would later be a part of the Atlanta Campaign, and he would take a bullet/shrapnel to the side at the Battle of Peachtree Creek in Georgia on July 20th, 1864. Medicine was not as great as it is now, so a lot of times it was more of a left for dead situation. Stephen would die of his wounds in Chattanooga on July 30th, 1864.
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