John Sheahan Sr. to son in POW prison, 1864
Contributed by Maine Historical SocietyDescription
John Sheahan of Dennysville wrote to his son, 1st Lt. John P. Sheahan of the 31st Maine Infantry, who was being held at Camp Sorgum, the Confederate prison in Columbia, South Carolina.
The younger Sheahan was taken prisoner at the end of July 1864 at the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg.
The elder Sheahan reported that his other two sons, Ned and Henry, also in the 31st Maine, were well and that they had heard from Lizzie [Shriver], a woman from Westminster, Maryland, to whom the younger Sheahan was engaged.
On the reverse side of the letter is a small sketch, which appears to be of Richland Prison (Camp Sorgum), where Lt. Sheahan was held.
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