Dated “Camp Douglas [Chicago, Ill] Oct 1^st / ’62. Cover address: “F. D. Wheeler, Esq. / Saratoga Springs /NY”, postmarked “Georgetown, D.C.” 4pp. in ink on pink lined paper, 5 x 8”. Exhibits fold-marks & slight fading, else VG.

The 115th New York was mustered in August 1862, and immediately on entering service found itself captured with the Harper’s Ferry garrison by forces of Stonewall Jackson in route to Antietam in mid-September 1862, and paroled to Camp Douglas, at Chicago. Returning to service in November, the unit was dispatched to the southeastern theater where it saw action at the Battle of Olustee [FL]. The spring of 1864 found the unit attached to the Army of the James and engaged at Bermuda Hundred, Drury’s Bluff and Cold Harbor, before joining the Ft. Fisher expedition and eventually participating in Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign to the close of the war. During service it lost 135 killed and mortally wounded and 188 by disease for a total of 323, and was listed as one of “Fox’s Fighting 300” regiments.

Ezra W. Drake was a 27 year-old private mustered into Co. “F”, 115^th New York Infantry, 6/12/1862. He was listed as a POW 9/15/1862, Harper’s Ferry, VA, and was mustered out at Raleigh 6/17/1865.

In this letter, written from Camp Douglas during its internment following its capture as a part of the Harper’s Ferry garrison, Private Drake tells of the hardships he and he mates have encountered since their encounter with Jackson’s rebels at the Ferry. As follows:

‘’…I thought I would write again thinking that you would like to hear from me and more what I have been about for the last few days. I have seen more of hardship in the last 5 weeks than I ever saw in the same length of time before. I suppose that you have heard all about our surrender of Harper Ferry so I need not tell you any thing in regard, but I can tell you something that you do not see in the paper. When you get done with this list you can judge whether you call it hardship or not.

In the last five weeks we have traveled 2,850 [miles] by R. Road and walked 150 with our knapsacks on our backs. We have slept 16 nights in the open air, 10 on our arms, 6 in the cars and freight car at that with no place to lay down. We have had a 3 days fight with the enemy, got licked schedadeled minus all the stores belonging to an army of 10,000 men and with all this have hard crackers and water more than half the time.

I do not know if you understand what a hard cracker is. Well I will try to explain. They are a combination of flour and water laid in the sun until have become petrified and then rubbed with brown paint to give them the appearance of baking and still farther they are such a delicacy that after you have partaken of a few of them you would as soon go hungry as to try to eat one of them but for all that we enjoyed good health and kept in good spirits. Sometime when I have lots of time I will give you the particulars of our fight at the Ferry as it is time to get dinner and I have got some trout to cook.”

Superb camp letter from Union regiment captured by Jackson’s forces at Harper’s Ferry on the eve of Antietam and interned at Chicago’s Camp Douglas. The Horse Soldier has never encountered a description of Union Army hardtack quite as hilarious as Private Ezra Drake’s of the 115^th New York. In protective sleeve.    [JP]  [ph:L]

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