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John Clark Esarey Civil War Letters
John Clark Esarey
December 31, 1864 Letter
From: John Clark Esarey (Camp of the 53rd Indiana Volunteers, Little Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia)
To: Barbara Ewing Esarey (Oil Township, Perry County, Indiana)
"We had high old times coming through when we struck the rebel lines."
Letter Image
Other Civil War Letters
The John Clark Esarey Civil War letters document his service in the 53rd Regiment Indiana Volunteers during late 1864 and early 1865, including his participation in Sherman's March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign.
Letters from John Clark Esarey to Barbara Ewing Esarey:
- November 8, 1864 – From Marietta, GA
- December 20, 1864
- December 31, 1864 – Near Savannah, GA (this page)
- January 11, 1865
- January 20, 1865
- March 26, 1865
- March 31, 1865
- April 11, 1865
- April 1865 (undated)
- May 10, 1865
- May 26, 1865
- June 2, 1865
Letters from Barbara Ewing Esarey to John Clark Esarey:
Other Related Letters:
- January 12, 1865 – JCE to Jonathan Davis Esarey
- April 22, 1865 – JCE to Parents
- May 31, 1865 – JCE Discharge Papers
Historical Context
This letter was written from near Savannah, Georgia, just ten days after Sherman's famous telegram to President Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah." The March to the Sea was complete, and John Clark was writing to Barbara on New Year's Eve 1864.
These letters follow John Clark Esarey from his entry into the 53rd Regiment Indiana Volunteers (September 27, 1864), through his participation in the devastating campaigns of William Tecumseh Sherman known as The March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign, to his discharge the following summer in Washington, D.C.