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John Clark Esarey Civil War Letters
John Clark Esarey
May 10, 1865 Letter
From: John Clark Esarey (Camp of the 53rd Indiana Volunteers, near Richmond, Virginia)
To: Barbara Ewing Esarey (Oil Township, Perry County, Indiana)
"We can see nearly all over Richmond. It has a fine appearence from here."
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 - Near Richmond, VA (this page)
- 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
By May 10, 1865, the war was over. Lee had surrendered a month earlier, and Johnston had surrendered to Sherman on April 26. John Clark's regiment was now marching north toward Washington, D.C. for the Grand Review. Richmond, the former Confederate capital, had fallen on April 3.
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.