John Mosely --Gettysburg, A letter to his mother...

M E Wolf

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This letter of John Mosely, a CSA POW at Gettysburg, mortally wounded writing home to his mother.

Source
: Under Both Flags, Title: John Mosely, published 1869 - Graham - Page 72

John Mosely

Dear Mother -- I am here, a prisoner of war and mortally wounded. I can live but a few hours, at the farthest. I was shot fifty yards from the enemy's lines. They have been exceedingly kind to me. I have no doubt as to the final result of this battle, and hope I may live long enough to hear the final shout of victory before I die. I am very week. Do not mourn my loss. I had hoped to have been spared, but a righteous God has ordered otherwise, and I feel prepared to trust my case in his hands. Farewell to you all! Pray that God may receive my soul.

Your unfortunate son--John
 
This letter of John Mosely, a CSA POW at Gettysburg, mortally wounded writing home to his mother.

Source
: Under Both Flags, Title: John Mosely, published 1869 - Graham - Page 72

John Mosely

Dear Mother -- I am here, a prisoner of war and mortally wounded. I can live but a few hours, at the farthest. I was shot fifty yards from the enemy's lines. They have been exceedingly kind to me. I have no doubt as to the final result of this battle, and hope I may live long enough to hear the final shout of victory before I die. I am very week. Do not mourn my loss. I had hoped to have been spared, but a righteous God has ordered otherwise, and I feel prepared to trust my case in his hands. Farewell to you all! Pray that God may receive my soul.

Your unfortunate son--John

gives me chills !!
 
Thanks for sharing that letter.

So sad that letters like that were written far to many times. Amazing how many of those letters were not for concern for themselves but for their loved ones left behind. Showed the character of the men and sometimes boys that fought that war on both sides.
 
This letter of John Mosely, a CSA POW at Gettysburg, mortally wounded writing home to his mother.

Source
: Under Both Flags, Title: John Mosely, published 1869 - Graham - Page 72

John Mosely

Dear Mother -- I am here, a prisoner of war and mortally wounded. I can live but a few hours, at the farthest. I was shot fifty yards from the enemy's lines. They have been exceedingly kind to me. I have no doubt as to the final result of this battle, and hope I may live long enough to hear the final shout of victory before I die. I am very week. Do not mourn my loss. I had hoped to have been spared, but a righteous God has ordered otherwise, and I feel prepared to trust my case in his hands. Farewell to you all! Pray that God may receive my soul.

Your unfortunate son--John

Did his mother receive the letter?
 
Did his mother receive the letter?

As far as I know Wilber, the mother did get the letter.

I'll also add, that death notices were often sent with an envelope with a black border. The mail, the couriers and mail handlers deserve an extra golden star for letting these black bordered envelopes pass through enemy lines. Apparently, this was a mail/letter etiquette in place in the 1800's. I found in the same book "Under Both Flags", Pg. 97 - Story "Wiggins of our staff" ...a paragraph where Horatio C. King (Then Major), tells the story about Wiggins getting a black bordered envelope and knew that Wiggins' sweetheart died.

This makes absolutely great sense in how men found out about the death of someone, e.g. family, friends, etc. Black Bordered envelopes would be handled differently then standard mail.

As a re-enactor, this nugget will be extremely useful to share :wink:

Respectfully submitted,
M. E. Wolf
 
They seem so matter of fact in the letters like this one and some others I have seen.No pity or feeling sorry for themselves as such.Very brave and honest.
 
They seem so matter of fact in the letters like this one and some others I have seen.No pity or feeling sorry for themselves as such.Very brave and honest.
Very much so, lilbow. It was another time and another place. There were good people and there were nasties. We like to remember the good ones, but we can't say there were no bad ones.
 
I wonder how old was this boy.....i've seen the photos of those young died soldiers at the battlefields, specially at Gettysburg. It was
from my sister's books when she studied in Lexington, Kentucky. Is Virginia the first state the war started?
 
People of todays sanatized world, with the days of antibiotics dating only from the 1930's, can never know the world before this, when death surrounded the living, up close and personal. Few families, escaped deaths of their members including the newborn. Death and burials, were common everyday occurrances and an integral part of day to day life to be faced with courage and accepted humbly and not something to be avoided at all costs..
 
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