Dated “Camp Alabama Sept. 7^th 1862.” Addressed to younger brothers Dempsey and Willy. 4 pp. in ink on unlined paper, 7.625 x 9.625.” Exhibits fold-marks, soiling on rear page, w/ lightly faded ink. Else VG & entirely legible. In protective sleeve. Accompanied by documentation.

Note: Adam Kreps served in three regiments, first mustering as private in Co. “F”, 15^th PA Cavalry, 8/22/1862, then transferring with Lieutenant’s commission into Co. “A”, 67^th Regt. U.S.C.T., 2/24/1864, then transferring again into Co. “E”, 92^nd Regt. U.S.C.T., 7/12/1865, mustering out of service, 12/31/1865. He served exclusively in the western theater and with U.S.C.T. regiments mostly in Louisiana. His correspondence consists of letters to family, primarily to his father.

In this letter Adam Kreps writes of crowded camp life at Carlisle’s “Camp Allabamma.” Excerpts as follows:

“…it seems very little like the sabbath. Right behind our tent and adjoining it they are playing the banjo & dancing…we had a presentation of a very fine flag presented by the mess of Company B…there was brass band music and also cheers for the flag. In sight of our camp there is a camp. The man there is in the army and has six sons in the army. If our family would turn out like that it would be all but Willy {wrong, Willy would serve too]

“I did not expect to tell you I had received my bounty…we finished out dinner and had hardly washed our dishes till we were ordered to the quarter master to get our sabers so you can see by all this that there is a good many unnecessary things done on a Sabbath that could be done on a weekday but a person hardly knows one minute what he’s going to do next…”

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Born in 1806 in Lebanon, PA, J.F. Kreps established himself in Greencastle as an enterprising farmer and businessman, moving to West Newton/ Rostraver Township. An ardent Union patriot, Kreps raised troops and money, and served as a civilian Pennsylvania regimental commissioner, spending two months in that capacity visiting PA regiments serving with Gen. Rosecrans’ army at Stones River, TN, in late spring/early summer 1863; also visiting PA Army of the Potomac units in 1864.

He also contributed five sons to the Union army—John, Francis, Adam, William and David Dempsey (with John, Francis and Adam serving as officers), in five different regiments, all of whom would survive, though son John would be severely wounded at Liberty Gap, TN, and son Frank, captured at Chickamauga, would spend 14 months in various Confederate prisons before making an heroic and hair-raising escape from Columbia, S.C., in 1864.

The bulk of the letters in this first family grouping (27 letters dating from August 7, 1861 to July 1864) are from J.F. Kreps to son Adam (15^th PA Cavalry, 67^th Regt. U.S.C.T., 92^nd Regt. U.S.C.T. Also letters to son Frank (77^th PA Infy) and son George, and six to wife Eliza, most of which were written during J.F. Kreps tour of General Rosecrans’ army. Subsequent groups contain letters home from sons Adam, William, John and David Dempsey. Taken as a whole, the Kreps letters present a valuable and fascinating picture of the coming and goings of an American family at war.   [JP]

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