Soldier excuse for absence, Boston, 1861
Item 70133 info
Maine Historical Society
Adjusting to the rules of army life was never easy.
Patrick Melody of Portland, a private in Co. B of the 12th Maine Regiment, wrote to Shepley on Dec. 12, 1861, only a month after enlisting, asking to be excused for being absent after a furlough.
He wrote that he was not a deserter and stated, "I will return this evening I remain your faithful soldier untill the Country is free."
Melody, an Irish immigrant, was 33 when he enlisted when the regiment was formed in November 1861. He was mustered out in 1866
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