"They showered Godspeeds and blessings on their sons, and braced their hearts to the parting by pledges to keep all right and bright at the firesides of the county."

Colonel William H. Noble

Contents

Introduction

The Early Years

Army of the Potomac

South Carolina

Florida

Return Home

News From The Front

Letters from the Seventeenth Connecticut

In the days before the radio and the telephone, the only way to keep in touch with loved ones back home was through the written word--the letter. Most Northern soldiers had at least a rudimentary education, if not more. It is through their letters, and the letters written by family member's back home, that we can get a glimpse of what life was like for the boys of the Seventeenth.

Here are some letters to start with. I am grateful to those folks who were kind enough to provide me with transcripts of their ancestor's letters for inclusion in this site. I am hopeful that more will be forthcoming in the future. If anyone has a letter that they would like to share, please contact me at seventeenth-ct@att.net.

Note: In most instances, the original spelling has been left intact. The original owners transcribed some letters---I do not know which of those may have been corrected. In some letters punctuation has been added to make them more readable, but it no case has the content been altered.