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Description |
This collection of three letters, a song, and 4 CSA currency notes relates to John W. Gould, born about 1841. He was the son of Rufus and Mary H. Gould of Oakbam, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Gould was mustered in as a musician in the 25th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on October 7, 1861. The regiment sailed with Burnside's expedition to North Carolina at the beginning of 1862. Gould became ill at least twice, first in New Bern, and apparently saw no further military service. The letters contain news of family and friends at home, and the second of the three letters describes the box of comforts that family members are sending to him, including such restoratives as wine, currant jelly, slippery elm, and hartshorn. The collection includes, too, an undated manuscript song. Gould's father and his older brother, William R., were shoemakers, while his older sister, Mary Ann, was a schoolmistress. Though his name does not appear in the usual lists of Civil War volunteer soldiers, Gould volunteered for service in the Massachusetts infantry. He was mustered in as a musician in the 25th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on October 7, 1861. The regiment sailed with Burnside's expedition to North Carolina at the beginning of 1862. After the regiment had been stationed at New Bern for about four months, Gould was taken ill, apparently for a second time, and was sent to the General Hospital at Beaufort, N.C. At the beginning of September 1862 all the regimental bands with the federal occupying forces at New Bern were mustered out of service and sent home. If Gould survivied his sickness to return home in September, he apparently saw no further military service during the Civil War. His younger brother, Edwin S. Gould, mentioned in these letters as being eager to enlist, may be the soldier of that name who saw service in Company F, 60th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, and as a hundred-days man in 1864 in Company F, 51st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. There are three letters in this collection, dated July 9, July 20-21, and July 21, 1862. They were written from Massachusetts to John W. Gould by his mother and sister while he was-hospital ized at Beaufort. The letters contain news of family and friends at home, and the second of.the three letters describes the box of comforts that family members are sending to him., including such restoratives as wine, currant jelly, slippery elm, and hartshorn. The collection includes, too, an undated manuscript song, "Hurrah for the West", written by Edwin S. Gould at Oakham. The burden of the song is that he wants a pretty girl to become his wife and remove to the west with him a year hence. Four pieces of Confederate States of America currency, probably souvenirs of Edwin S. Gould, are in the collection. They are all from the currency issue of February 17, 1864: $2.00, no.30407, "A"; $10.00, no.56817, "C"; $20.00, no.24051, "C"; and $100.00, no.16794, "B". Two 1861 issues of the New York Herald, two 1863 issues of the New York Evening Express, and two 1864 issues of the New York Times have been transferred to the Newspaper Collection. |
