• Full Citation: Jacob W. Bartmess, "Jacob W. Bartmess Civil War Letters," ed. Donald F. Carmony, Indiana Magazine of History 52, no. 1 (March 1956): 49-74.
• Home: Jay County (New Corydon)
• Year: 1862-1863
• Regiment: 39th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 8th Calvary, Co. C
• Engagements: Stones River
• Abstract: Bartmess enlisted in the 39th in October 1862 at Camp Joe Reynolds (Indianapolis) and wrote letters to his wife Amanda and their two children until his discharge in July 1865. These letters are from the 1862-1863 period, during which Bartmess took part in the Battle of Murfreesboro, was taken prisoner, released, and returned to the field. The 39th was in Harrison's Landing, Tenn., at the end of 1863. Bartmess's letters to his son offer a unique perspective on how one parent described the war to a child.
• Sample Text:
  1. "Well my dear little boy. papy is away far from home. here in this camp with a lot of houses in it made of boards and lots of people in them. Some has big guns to Shoot Secessionists with and some has great big knives that they call swords to cut secessionist heads off with...Elliott you must be a good boy and do as mother tells you and papy will come home as soon as he can." (to his son, Nov. 18, 1862, Camp Carrington, Ind., p. 54)
  2. "My thoughts ask me where are the many little orphans calling and crying for papy, while his body is mouldering in this vast grave-yard. O who will answer for the sin of this most dreadful and calamitous war." (Murfreesboro, Tenn., June 7, 1863, p. 63)
• LC Subject Headings:
  1. Stones River, Battle of, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 1862-1863
  2. United States. Army. Indiana Cavalry Regiment, 8th (1863-1865)

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