2 page letter on lined 11 x 7 ½” paper. Boldly and neatly written in ink with a few misspelled words. Shows light wear and scattered ink smears. Dated March 30, 1862 from Camp Magnum, NC, and directed to his mother.  Full text of the letter included in a scan below.

William J. Lowry was born in Guilford County, NC and was a farmer prior to the Civil War. He was 22 years old when he enlisted on March, 3, 1862, and mustered in as a Private in Capt. Charles E. Shober’s  Co. B, 45^th North Carolina Infantry.  Muster rolls show that he was with his regiment until he fell at Gettysburg on the second day of the battle. Details of his death, and location of his burial, were not found in a brief internet search.

The 45th N.C. Inf. was organized near Raleigh, in April 1862, and was trained at Camp Magnum, from which this letter was written. It served under the commands of Generals Daniel and Grimes. After fighting at Malvern Hill, in Virginia, the regiment returned to North Carolina and served there until the spring of 1863. They then moved north and took part in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor, saw action under General Jubal Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and surrendered at Appomattox. At Gettysburg, where young Lowry was killed, the regiment suffered 40% casualties!

The regiment’s Gettysburg after action report written by Capt. J. A. Hopkins indicates that just one soldier from the 45^th NC was killed on July 2^nd!  July 2, the line of battle was formed in a beautiful grove, which skirted the northwestern part of the town, near a theological seminary.   The position of the Forty-fifth North Carolina Regt. Was on the right of the Forty-third and on the left of the Thirty-second North Carolina Regt.'s, Maj. John R. Winston commanding. Though wounded, he remained with the regiment.  The fire of the enemy's artillery was very heavy for several hours.  The line was somewhat screened by the crest of a small hill.  Loss, only 1 killed; 10 or 12 wounded.  Late in the evening, the regiment was moved forward nearly half a mile, mostly in an open field, where we were a part of the time under a severe fire of sharpshooters; but, taking warning in time, we escaped their fire by lying down.  The line then fell back a short distance, and retired for the night.

Accompanied by copies of his muster rolls. Further research certainly a possibility!

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