Meshach P. Larry letter, Oct. 18, 1863
Item 5506
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Description
This letter describes Meshach Larry witnessing the execution of a deserter during the American Civil War, near Fairfax Station, Virginia. Larry was born in 1835 and raised in Windham. A blacksmith by trade, he joined Maine's 17th Regiment, Company H on August 18, 1862. Larry was one of the 21 Union soldiers missing in action after a bloody battle called the Wilderness Campaign. In this letter written from Camp Fairfax to his sister Phebe, he wrote, "...If the Rebs do not trouble us I think the Dogs of War will be put in thier kenels this winter somewhere in this vicinity."