John Crewell enlisted on 5/1/1861 at Dennison, NY as a 21-year-old Private.  On 6/15/1861, he mustered into Company F of the 34^th New York Infantry.

John wrote this letter to his father from US Hospital No. 24 in Philadelphia on 8/8/62.  The content is auspicious, considering he passed away from unspecified disease exactly two weeks after writing the letter.  The handwriting is light, which lends itself to his first lines “It is with trembling hand that I enclose these few lines to you to let you know where I am and how I feel. I am very weak at present. I have had the fever and the chills so bad that I am nothing but skin and bones, but I am in hopes to be better in a few days.”

The letter is written on lined paper, torn from a book. It is folded into 6 smaller sections, with light surface dirt staining along the outer fold lines. A cover is included, with a clipped postmark.  It is addressed to John’s father and opened neatly along the left side.

A haunting piece of ephemera for the Civil War collector.  [jp][ph:L]