Letters Written Home

[FahanParish]

I have several letters and seen a few others than have a red, whitish and blue patriotic symbol or a military symbol such as a cannon in the corner of the writing paper - the symbol varies but the question is - did the sutlers sell writing paper? These are letters written by soldiers to home - not from home.
Where did the writing paper with these imprints come from?

 

[huskerblitz]

I have several letters and seen a few others than have a red, whitish and blue patriotic symbol or a military symbol such as a cannon in the corner of the writing paper - the symbol varies but the question is - did the sutlers sell writing paper? These are letters written by soldiers to home - not from home.
Where did the writing paper with these imprints come from?

"To write their letters home, soldiers purchased paper, envelopes, ink and pens from sutlers. Stationary makers printed many styles of patriotic stationary and envelopes with engravings of camp scenes or political humor and these were quite popular among soldiers."
http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/soldiers_letters_civil_war.html

Sorry for a kids' site but it was one I had bookmarked. The series of letters I'm currently reading now the doctor asked his wife several times to send paper in mid-1863 because none c0uld be had.

 

[FahanParish]

Thanks - kids' sites clearly can have good information too.

 

[28thNewYork]

For Federal soldiers several "assistance" organizations, the Christian Commission among them, distributed paper on which letters home could be written and pencils with which to write. An inkwell is a fairly commonly found soldier's personal artifact. Decorations, both on paper and envelopes , were diverse and usually carried a patriotic or military theme.

As noted in the article cited above (which is excellent--kid's site or not), CSA soldiers frequently had to scrounge for such materials.

Another common "communication" device was the diary, particularly among early war soldiers who knew they would be mustered out (given they survived) after a specific period of time, and among soldiers of both sides who had difficulty "posting" letters for various reasons.