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John Clark Esarey Civil War Letters
John Clark Esarey
March 19, 1865 Letter
From: Barbara Ewing Esarey (Oil Township, Perry County, Indiana)
To: John Clark Esarey (Camp of the 53rd Indiana Volunteers, in the field in South Carolina)
"...this is a hard task for a woman to undertake to write to a husband when she has not heard a word from him for 2 months past."
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
- 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:
- January 22, 1865
- March 19, 1865 (this page)
- April 2, 1865
Letters to/from Parents and Family:
- November 8, 1864 – JCE to Parents
- January 12, 1865 – JCE to Brother
- April 22, 1865 – JCE to Parents
- May 6, 1865 – JDE to JCE
- June 6, 1865 – JDE to JCE
Other Documents:
- May 31, 1865 – JCE Discharge Papers
Historical Context
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.
By March 1865, Barbara had not heard from her husband for two months as Sherman's army marched through the Carolinas, cutting off regular mail communication.