Interesting letter in a Civil War pension file

RhinehartRoots

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Jun 6, 2019
I found this in a Civil War pension file at the National Archives on a recent trip. Jared Benjamin’s file included letters he wrote during and after the war. This one, from 16 April 1865 was written the day after Lincoln died, and a week after the war ended. He was stationed in Mobile, Alabama when he wrote this.

Word of the war's end must not have fully reached him yet, because he wrote, “I hope all the rumors are true that we hear about Davis and Lee. If they are, the war is near its end. That is [word missing] but they are too good to be true. I am afraid, we will hope for the best. If they want to fight more we are ready to fight...”

Great insight into the mindset of these soldiers in the final days of the war!

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This was interesting--thanks for sharing! (And welcome, by the way!)

One of the letters I came across in a CSR that really intrigued me was a distant uncle taking great pains to argue that his Confederate service was forced upon him. This was in his Confederate CSR rather than his Union one. I had several other relatives who served in both armies--including one of his brothers--and nobody else had anything like this.
 
Thanks Christian and Zella. I just found this site today-- I wish I had known about this community a long time ago! I'm looking forward to being a part of what goes on here.

That letter was interesting. To find something dated the day after Lincoln died, and one that mentions the end of the war like that is a great snapshot into history.

Zella, that letter you mention sounds interesting too. It's always great to hear what is going on in the minds of these individual soldiers. I'm a believer in the notion that history is told by the common individuals that lived through it, and not just by the major events.
 
While Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865, is commonly considered "the end of the Civil War," there was still another month of fighting in the West. The Battle of Palmito Ranch, in Texas (a Confederate victory), took place on May 12 & 13. Kirby Smith surrendered his command on May 26th.

President Johnson didn't formally declare the end of the war until August 20, 1866.
 
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