"After the battle"

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (1824–1863) to James Shields (1810–1879), June 11, 1862. Julian DeForest Venter Collection of Stonewall Jackson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

I regret that the interest of the service forbids my granting the request. After the battle, I gave instructions that your wounded should be attended to, and your dead buried; but your wounded were permitted to remain on the field longer than they otherwise would have been, had not General Fremonts Arty,* hours after the termination of the engagement, not only so fired upon the ambulances and their parties, as to drive them from the field. The hospital was also fired upon; notwithstanding it as well as the ambulances were marked by hospital flags. It is to be presumed that General F. did not sanction the outrage

that such conduct should be mentioned in this connection.

*Artillery

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (1824–1863) to James Shields (1810–1879), June 11, 1862. Julian DeForest Venter Collection of Stonewall Jackson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

This blog complements the Library of Congress exhibition, “The Civil War in America.” This series of posts chronicles the sacrifices and accomplishments of those—from both the North and South—whose lives were lost or affected by the events of 1861–1865. To learn more about the object featured in this blog entry, visit the online exhibition.

"I could not rest"

Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907). Behind the Scenes or Forty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. New York: G. W. Carlton, 1868. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

"God alone can tell"

Mr. Gregory (?), Beaufort County, Prince William Parrish, South Carolina. Diary entry, November 22, 1861. Greenwood Plantation Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (033.00.00)

"What is my crime?"

Eugenia Levy Phillips (1819 – 1902). Prison diary, August 30, 1861. Philip Phillips Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress