Autograph letter, 3pp on lined stationery, written from West Liberty, Ohio, November 27, 1864 (with a postscript dated November 30, 1864), addressed to "Mr. G.W. Williams" and signed by a cousin (signature reads as initials, likely "B.L."). Accompanied by the original mailing cover addressed in period ink to:

GEORGE WILLIAMS / GEN. HOSPITAL / WARD NO. 1 / CAMP CHASE, O.

franked with a 3-cent 1861-issue stamp and postmarked.

CONTENT: A chatty, personal home-front letter from a young cousin to a hospitalized soldier, mixing courtship gossip with sobering news. The writer describes catching a bad cold while helping neighbors thresh grain, recounts a late-night "spree" cornering a girl and keeping her out until daylight, and teasingly asks the soldier's advice on a rival suitor situation involving one Jacob Hunt. The tone turns somber discussing "Isabell," described as bedridden and failing — she has "suffered three deaths it appears" and it would be "a blessing to her...if she was called away out of her troubles and this sinful world." The three-day-later postscript reports Isabell's death and impending funeral. The writer also mentions a "Miss Hazel," suggesting an ongoing romantic thread between the correspondents' circle.

SOLDIER IDENTIFICATION: Two Ohio soldiers named George W. Williams surface in period muster records: one in Co. E, 64th Ohio Infantry (mustered out 12/29/1864 at Columbus, Ohio), and one a private in Co. K, 5th Ohio Cavalry (enlisted 12/2/1863, mustered out 6/9/1865 at Camp Chase, Ohio). The mailing address — Ward No. 1, USA General Hospital, Camp Chase — combined with the November 1864 date, points to the 5th Ohio Cavalry soldier, who would still have been in service (and evidently hospitalized) at that time, rather than the 64th Ohio infantryman, who had already mustered out. Flagging this as our best-supported reading of the muster data rather than a certainty — worth a second look if you want to double check before it goes up.

CONDITION: Expected folds, some scattered foxing/staining (heaviest at left margin of first sheet), old fold separations, otherwise legibly written in period ink throughout. Envelope shows edge wear and a chip at the upper right corner near the stamp; docketing/postmark clear.  [ss][ph:L]

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