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The Regar Collection: Civil War LettersJames Frederick Allen of Eau Claire, Wisconsin served in Company K, 36th Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The Civil War letters of his brother, Edward H. Allen, are in the Southern Historical Collection of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Betty Drees Johnson. January 31st, 1864. To J. Frederick Allen from his brother Edward at American House. 2 pages, 1 sheet. March 20, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Headquarters Eau Claire Union Guards, Camp Randall. 4 pages, 1 sheet. March 28, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, unsigned, but clearly from J. Frederick Allen. Sent from Camp Randall. 4 pages, 1 sheet. April 5, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Camp Randall. 4 pages, 1 sheet. April 14, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Camp Randall. 4 pages, 1 sheet. Undated and no addressee. Presumably to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen. 4 pages, 1 sheet. May 5, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Camp Randall. 4 pages on half sheet with envelope. June 5, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Fair Oak Swamp, Headquarters of the 36th Regiment. 4 pages, 1 sheet. June 7, 1864. To his mother, Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at White Oak Swamp. 3 pages, 1 sheet. June 16, 1864. To his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, from J. Frederick Allen at Libby Prison in Richmond. 2 pages on half-sheet. [1864?]. A handwritten poem entitled They Have Left Us Here to Die and "Composed at Sumter Prison by Hyatt of the 118th P.A." Sumter Prison was at Andersonville, Georgia, and is better known as Andersonville Prison. Although "Hyatt" says he composed it, various forms of this poem circulated. Glenn M. Robins, in his article "Race, Repatriation, and Galvanized Rebels: Union Prisoners and the Exchange Question in Deep South Prison Camps" (Civil War History June 2007; 53, 2: pgs. 116-140), prints the poem and discusses problems of attribution since the poem was apparently copied by various men. A longer, but very similar poem, with many of the same phrases, is A Cry from Andersonville, found at http://civilwarpoetry.org/union/soldierlife/andersonville.html and attributed to William Comfort of the 35th New Jersey Volunteers. In 1887, Civil War veteran James R. Compton, who served as a Private in Company "F," Fourth Iowa Infantry, included an unattributed poem titled The Prisoner's Lament in his book Andersonville: the Story of Man's Inhumanity to Man. A closer version to Hyatt's is published as Have You Left Us to Die? on page 127 of Report of the Unveiling and Dedication of Indiana Monument at Andersonville, Georgia (National Cemetery) Thursday, November 26, 1908. By Indiana Monument Commission, R.C. Griffitt. Published by W.B. Burford, contractor for state printing, 1909. (Harvard's copy has been digitized by Google. The editor of this volume says of the poem: "This poem was found in the knapsack of a prisoner who died in Andersonville Prison, a copy of which was taken by D.C. Smith, a fellow prisoner.") Two "Hyatts" have been located who served in the Pennsylvania 118th and were imprisoned at Andersonville. The most likely author is Thomas J. Hyatt of Co. K, 118th Regiment, who was captured in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864, and arrived at Sumter (Andersonville) Prison May 22, 1864. He remained there until November 1, 1864, when he was transferred to a series of other prisons. T.J. Hyatt describes his experiences at Andersonville in History of the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers Corn Exchange Regiment, from Their First Engagement at Antietam to Appomattox. To Which is Added a Record of its Organization and a Complete Roster, by John L. Smith; Pennsylvania Infantry. 118th Regiment, 1862-1865. (Philadelphia, PA., J.L. Simth, 1905), pages 612-630. See an electronic version of this book. The second possibility for the author is James W. Hyatt, private in Co. H of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry. James W. Hyatt died at Andersonville on December 3, 1864 and is buried there. He is also mentioned in the above history on page 372. 4 pages, 1 sheet on letterhead of the U.S. Christian Commission. May 7, 1865. To his parents from Jacksonville, from J. Frederick Allen, following his release from Andersonville Prison. 2 pages, 1 sheet. May 20, 1865. Signed form allowing James F. Allen to be absent until officially mustered out of the military. June 27, 1865. To his brother Ed from J. Frederick Allen, from West Eau Claire. 4 pages, 1 sheet. |
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