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1st Maine Cavalry, 1864

This slideshow contains 8 items
1
Pvt. John Sheahan advice to not enlist, Virginia, 1864

Pvt. John Sheahan advice to not enlist, Virginia, 1864

Item 97594 info
Maine Historical Society

Writing to his father in Dennysville in February 1864, Pvt. John Sheahan of Co. K of the 1st Maine Cavalry, urged him to give up ideas of enlisting and to not let Sheahan's younger brothers, Ned and Henry, enlist.

Sheahan's older brother, William, a sergeant in the 6th Maine, had been killed in November at Rappahannock Station. Their father, also named John, had gone to Washington and Virginia to retrieve his son's body.

Pvt. Sheahan wrote, "Have you not been out here and seen how soldiers live, we were taking comfort when you saw us, and have you not done enough already?" He told his father he would be unable to protect the younger sons.

He concluded, "It may seem fun to be a soldier but on the battle field where men fall like grass it is a sad reality."

The end of the letter appears to be missing.


2
John P. Sheahan to father on recent visit, Warrenton, Va., 1864

John P. Sheahan to father on recent visit, Warrenton, Va., 1864

Item 64439 info
Maine Historical Society

John P. Sheahan of Dennysville, a private in the 1st Maine Cavalry, Co. K, wrote to his father about the new winter camp the regiment had set up.

John Sheahan Sr. had just been in the Washington, D.C., area and visited his son. The elder Sheahan made the trip from Maine to take home the body of a younger son, William, who was killed at Rappahannock Station on November 7, 1863.

William Sheahan was a corporal in Co. F of the 6th Maine Infantry.


3
John P. Sheahan on sorrow at brother's death, Virginia, 1864

John P. Sheahan on sorrow at brother's death, Virginia, 1864

Item 64463 info
Maine Historical Society

Writing from the 1st Maine Cavalry Camp near Warrenton, Virginia, in January 1864, Pvt. John P. Sheahan tells his parents about his continuing sorrow at the death of his brother William in November at Rappahannock Station.

Sheahan wrote, "he died a most brave and gallant soldier." He told his parents not to put a stone on his brother's grave because he wanted to get a stone for it when he returned from he war.

He also reported that he was studying infantry tactics and was to take an examination in several weeks.


4
John P. Sheahan on duration of war, Virginia, 1864

John P. Sheahan on duration of war, Virginia, 1864

Item 64470 info
Maine Historical Society

Pvt. John P. Sheahan of Co. K, 1st Maine Cavalry, wrote to his parents in Dennysville, commenting on the diphtheria epidemic there and how the town would never be the same because of diphtheria deaths and Civil War deaths.

"How little did any of us then think that it would grow into a gigantic war filling our country with men maimed for life," Sheahan wrote about the men and boys who answered the first call for soldiers in 1861.

He added, "The spring campaign will commence the fourth year of the most bloody war the world has ever seen. I hope it may put an end to the Rebellion but oh I fear not."


5
John Sheahan, 1st Cavalry, on desire for commission in Black troops, 1864

John Sheahan, 1st Cavalry, on desire for commission in Black troops, 1864

Item 64474 info
Maine Historical Society

Pvt. John P. Sheahan wrote from Virginia to his father in Dennysville about his desire to study in order to take an exam for a commission with Black troops.

He wrote of the advantages and disadvantages of seeking such a commission. He was a private in the 1st Maine Cavalry.


6
John P. Sheahan on engagement, Virginia, 1864

John P. Sheahan on engagement, Virginia, 1864

Item 64475 info
Maine Historical Society

In February 1864, John P. Sheahan of Co. K, 1st Maine Cavalry, wrote to his parents in Dennysville to tell them he was engaged "to that girl I told you about."

Sheahan, in winter camp near Warrenton, Virginia, praised his fiance as being nice, a Christian, and a "most splendid scholar." He wrote that he told her that they could not marry for four years after he got out of the service because he wanted to go to medical school.

He also reported on his efforts to get a commission and thus a promotion.


7
Pvt. John Sheahan on fighting near Richmond, 1864

Pvt. John Sheahan on fighting near Richmond, 1864

Item 97595 info
Maine Historical Society

Pvt. John Sheahan of Co. K of the 1st Maine Cavalry wrote to his parents in Dennysville about "a very hard and dangerous time."

He described being ordered to the rear of Richmond, riding day and night, then being led through an area where they were led through "swamps, over fields, across rivers" by a black man who offered to guide them. He wrote that "hope had left me."

He reported on prices in Richmond and how little money workers there earned.


8
John P. Sheahan on commission as lieutenant, Virginia, 1864

John P. Sheahan on commission as lieutenant, Virginia, 1864

Item 64480 info
Maine Historical Society

John P. Sheahan of the 1st Maine Cavalry wrote to his parents in Dennysville to tell them about the reaction to his commission as a 1st lieutenant. He had been studying for exams to be promoted.

He decided to leave the 1st Maine Cavalry in part because of the way he was treated by the captain. When the captain heard about Sheahan's commission, he ordered him held in the guard house. The captain told the Adjutant that he intended to have Sheahan court martialed for "a good many things."

The adjutant advised the captain that he would be hurting himself if he proceeded with his plans. Sheahan was released.


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