Gettysburg Farmer

Robert K. Murray and Warren W. Hassler, Jr. are both on the staff of the History Department at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Murray is author of "The Red Scare" (1955); Dr. Hassler wrote "General George B. McCleuan, Shield of the Union," published by the Louisiana University Press in 1957. Gettysburg Farmer ROBERT K. MURRAY WARREN W. HASSLER, JR. INTRODUCTION Vast indeed is the expanding Uterature on the American Civil War. So massive in fact has it become that only a specialist in the field can be expected to know much of it intimately. Of aU of this material, none has more universal appeal than descriptions of camp Ufe and battles and of the soldier's intimate thoughts and feelings. Certainly the most revealing of such accounts is found in Civil War letters, preserved with loving care—or with indifference—by descendants from Bar Harbor to Biloxi. Only when a soldier was writing to his loved ones at home was he likely to pour out his heart without restraint or false coloring. The letters which serve as the basis for the article below came into the possession of the authors from a university student who found them while cleaning the attic of his home in Gettysburg. Written by the student's great-grandfather to his wife, these letters, numbering about 150 and covering the years 1861-1864, record the daily life, tribulations, and fears of a typical Union soldier. Because these letters were written by a farmer from Gettysburg, instead of by one of the 150,000 (more or less) men in blue and gray who came to Gettysburg to fight in July of 1863, imparts to them a uniqueness in 179 180MURRAY AND HASSLER, JR. Civil War records. Few of the Northern troops engaged in the battle of Gettysburg were fighting simultaneously to defend the Union and their own home town. Moreover, more than most, these letters reflect the passing moods and struggles of the average soldier in the ranks during the Civil War. The reader wiU quickly discover that the emotions, reactions, and complaints of this Union soldier vary Utile from those of the soldiers in any war—the Spanish-American, the First World War—or in fact from those of the GI who fought in World War II and in Korea. Indeed, many of the letters might have been those of any soldier in any army at any time or place in history. Michael Murray MiUer was scarcely twenty years old when roaring guns at Fort Sumter broke the morning calm of April 12, 1861. Like most Pennsylvanians, this small Gettysburg farmer met the news with a sense of indignation and foreboding. A foUower of the local press and an interested observer of national affairs, MiUer was prepared from the beginning to take his stand with the Union. He had little use for those who were wiUing to let the South "depart in peace," and, although strongly antislavery in sentiment, he followed the general Pennsylvania pattern in basing his decision largely on the preservation of the Union. President Lincoln's first call for volunteers on April 13, 1861, found MiUer in a quandry. Much as he wanted to fight, he had a wife and child who also had claims on his loyalty. Besides, he had a farm to work, which, if he left, would be unattended. Prudence seemed to indicate that he wait. Yet in late May, as war fervor continued to mount and the interrelated thoughts of adventure, excitement, patriotism, and principle played on his mind, Müler enlisted as a three-year volunteer and was caUed to duty in early June with Company K, First Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Corps.1 During the war the Pennsylvania Reserves etched their name high on the Union's roll of honor. Of aU the distinguished units serving with the Army of the Potomac, none achieved a more immediate or lasting reputation for meritorious service than did this famous group. A number of the great names associated with the Union Army came from the Pennsylvania Reserves—men such as George G. Meade, John F. Reynolds, George A. McCaU, and Abner Doubleday. EspeciaUy prominent was the role played by the P.R...