My Dear Mother

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Over the years I have read thousands of Civil War letters and hundreds of diaries. Over the years I have listened to many discussions as to why the average soldier, both North and South, went to war.

The letter written by Jeremish Gage (11th Mississippi) on 3 July 1863, at Gettysburg is one of the greatest letters of the Civil War.


http://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/civil_war/id/1472/rec/47


Title Jeremiah Gage to Patience W.S. Gage (3 July 1863)

Author Gage, Jeremiah

Recipient Gage, Patience W.S.

Date 3 July 1863

Location Gettysburg (Pa.)

Subject Death
Patriotism
Confederate States of America
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863

Broader Subject Confederate States of America. Army. Mississippi Infantry Regiment, 11th. Company A
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Gage family -- Correspondence

Description Letter written to his mother, as Jeremiah is dying, after having been wounded at Gettysburg.

Transcript Gettysburg Penn July 3rd My dear mother This is the last you may ever hear fromme. I have time to tell you that I died like a man. Bear my loss as best you can.Remember that I am true to my country and my greatest regret at dying is that sheis not free and that you and my sisters are robbed of my worth whatever that maybe. I hope this will reach you and you must not regret that my body can not beobtained. It is a mere matter of form anyhow." This is for my sisters too as I cannot write more. Send my dying release to Miss Mary." you know who." J.S. GageCo. A, 11th Miss.) Mrs. P.W. Gage Richland" Holmes County" Miss.)(This letter isstained with my blood.)

Type Text
Original Format correspondence
Original Collection Gage Family Collection
Collection Finding Aid http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00196/
ASERL URL www.american-south.org
Use Note Each page has been transcribed. To view the page transcription, use the left-side drop down menu and select "page & text". This will open a new window to view both the original item and the transcript; within the window, selecting "next" at the top-right will allow for viewing the next page.
Citation Gage Family Collection, Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries
Rights This item is free from copyright and may be reproduced without prior consent.

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For those wanting to learn more about the 11th Mississippi.


http://www.amazon.com/dp/143899348X/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


Far from Home: The Diary of Lt. William H. Peel 1863-1865


Lieutenant William H. Peel was 23 years old when Mississippi seceded from the Union, prompting him to join the 11th Mississippi Infantry, along with his younger brother Eli. Captured at the culmination of the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, Peel spent the remainder of his service at the officers' prison on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay. By turns elegiac, tragic and often comic Peel's record of those months, along with his detailed account of the famous battle that led to his incarceration, is one of the gems of personal literature created during that most terrible of conflicts. The diary, now in the care of the Mississippi Archives, was transcribed by a Peel descendent who brings to this work an understanding of both the history and the family that shaped him, giving the modern reader a view inside Peel's world.


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http://www.amazon.com/dp/1893062228/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


Duty-Honor-Valor: The Story of the Eleventh Mississippi Infantry Regiment

Steven H. Stubbs labor of love which documents not only the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, but also the individuals who comprised it, is everything a regimental history should be. Unjustly overlooked by historians due in large part to the fact the regiment served as a part of two different brigades (the first a very unusal mixed-state command), the 11th Mississippi's combat record in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia is second to none. By the time it was assigned to Brigadier Joseph R. Davis's brigade in early 1863, combat reputations at the brigade level had unfortunately already been established and "carved in stone." As a part of Bee's/Whiting's/Law's hard-hitting "mixed" brigade, the 11th Mississippi, 2nd Mississippi, 4th Alabama and 6th North Carolina comprised one of Lee's premier combat units and played a major role at 1st Manassas, Gaines Mill, 2nd Manassas, South Mountain and Antietam. However, the brigade was broken up in late 1862 and the units reassigned to more traditional "state" commands. The two Mississippi units went on to form the core of Davis's new brigade which came to grief during the Gettysburg Campaign. Although the 11th Mississippi missed the debacle at the Railroad Cut on July 1, it was present for "Pickett's Charge" forming the highly exposed left flank of the Confederate line once Brockenbrough's small Virginia brigade broke to the rear. The remnants of the 11th Mississippi, along with the other units of Davis's Brigade, also suffered in rear-guard actions at Williamsport and Falling Waters. Thus, the outstanding performance subsequently demonstrated by Davis's brigade following the Gettysburg debacle, during the Overland Campaign and the fighting south of Petersburg in the closing months of the war, was largely relegated to brief passages or footnotes in the works of most Civil War historians. Steven Stubbs history of the 11th Mississippi helps correct this serious error of omission.



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http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.co.../confederate-unit-monuments/11th-mississippi/



11th Mississippi


There are two monuments to the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg. Both were dedicated in 2000 by the 11th Mississippi Memorial Association.

A monument with a bronze statue of Color Sgt. William O’Brien is southwest of town on West Confederate Avenue. (39.819641° N, 77.247065° W; Tour map: West Confederate Avenue – Part 2)

A position marker is south of town on Hancock Avenue showing the regiment’s furthest advance during Pickett’s Charge. (39.815317° N, 77.235507° W; Tour map: Hancock Avenue at Ziegler’s Grove; Google maps to both monuments)

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From the West Confederate Avenue monument:

11th Mississippi
Infantry Regiment


Davis’ BrigadeHeth’s Division
A.P. Hill’s Corps
Army of Northern Virginia
Confederate States of AmericaAfternoon July 2 – July 4, 1863

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The 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, under the command of Col. Francis M. Green and Maj. Reuben O. Reynolds, formed west of the tree line on Seminary Ridge behind Maj. William Pegram’s Battalion of Artillery and immediately south of McMillan’s Woods on July 3, 1863. Shortly after 3:00 p.m., Color Sgt. William O’Brien of Company C, memorialized on this monument, raised the colors and the regiment stepped forward. Although clusters of men reached the stone wall near Brian’s Barn, the attack was driven back with heavy loss, and the remnants of the regiment reformed in this vicinity.

Combatants – 393
Killed in action/died of wounds – 110
Wounded/wounded captured – 193
Captured unwounded – 37
Non-casualty – 53


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11th Mississippi Regiment
Company A – University Greys
Layfayette County – 1st Lt. Jonathan V. Moore
Company B – Coahoma Invincibles
Coahoma County – Capt. William D. Nunn
Company C – Prairie Rifles
Chickasaw County – Capt. George W. Shannon
Company D – Neshoba Rifles
Neshoba County – Capt. Jonathan R. Prince
Company E – Prairie Guards
Lowndes County – Capt. Henry P. Halpert
Company F – Noxubee Rifles
Noxubee County – Capt. Thomas J. Stokes
Company G – Lamar Rifles
Lafayette County – Capt. William O. Nelms
Company H – Chickasaw Guards
Chickasaw County – Capt. Jamison H. Moore
Company I – Van Dorn Reserve
Monroe County – Capt. Stephen C. Moore
Company K – Carroll County Rifles
Carroll County – Capt. George W. Bird, Jr.


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From the moument near the Brian Barn:

July 3, 1863. The 11th Mississippi Infantry regiment, with its ranks growing thinner at every step, advanced with the colors to the stone wall near the Brian Barn.

The regiment was here ‘subjected to a most galling fire of musketry and artillery that so reduced the already thinned ranks that any further effort to carry the position was hopeless, and there was nothing left but to retire.

– Report of Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Davis

Combatants – 393
Killed in action/died of wounds – 100
Wounded/wounded captured – 193
Captured unwounded – 37
Non-casualties – 39

 
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