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Thomas Christie to James Christie1 winona, oct. 21, 1861 My Dear Father:— Please don’t be angry when I tell you that I have enlisted today in ‘the McClellan Rifles,’ a Company of Sharpshooters for the 3rd Minnesota Regiment . Indeed, my dear father, you know I ought to have gone long ago. Our Country needs my services. I have good health, and am used to ‘roughing it.’ My brothers are at home, to take care of you and Mother, and the farm. There is therefore no reason why I should not go. Mr. Clayton2 is to be our Captain, under whom I enlisted an hour ago. He is a man worthy of your confidence and mine. I liked him from the moment I set eyes on him. The Regiment which we hope our Company is to join is one of the crack regiments of the state. It is now jist about filled up to the maximum strength; and we hope to leave for the front in about a week. Tomorrow our squad of recruits takes boat for old Fort Snelling, the rendezvous of the Regiment. Please direct a letter to me at the Fort, to tell me that you forgive me for this disobedience; and then I shall try to get a short furlough, and come down to see you all for a day, before I go South. Now you know, father, that you would enlist if you were in my place. You have taught me to hate Slavery, and to love my Country. I am only carrying 25 1 “A Part in this Great Struggle” October 21, 1861–March 17, 1862 1. Transcribed in Thomas Christie reminiscence. 2. William Z. Clayton, originally from Freeman, Maine, came to Minnesota in 1857 and eventually became commander of the First Minnesota Light Artillery. “Minnesota Biographies,” 128–29. out these principles, in coming now to the help of the Country when she is attacked by a Slaveholders’ rebellion. I shall not deny that motives other than strictly patriotic have had an influence upon me; but I don’t think these other motives are wrong. I do want to ‘see the world,’ to get out of the narrow circle in which I have always lived, to ‘make a man of myself,’ and to have it to say in days to come that I, too, had a part in this great struggle. I lay all these workings of my mind frankly before you; it is for you to say if they are wrong. You know, my dear father, that I have never concealed anything from you. Do forgive me, and have Mother forgive me, for acting now in a way to pain you. I feel sure, even as I write, that you will not only give me your blessing—but that you will even be glad to have your son enrolled among the Defenders of the Union. But whether that be so or not, I must go. My friends, Southwick3 and Tilson,4 have enlisted with me. Please give my best love to all at home. And do write me a good letter at once! Your A¤ectionate Son, T. D. Christie5  Thomas Christie to James Christie6 fort snelling, minnesota thursday, nov. 7th 1861. Dear Father: How I long for a letter from you. To assure me that I am forgiven! We are now in the service of Uncle Sam. The McClellan Rifles have been transformed into the Second Battery of Minnesota Light Artillery. We were sworn in on the 4th, and are to go South as soon as the Battery in full, which will be, they say, in ten days. Our commander is Captain Roderick,7 an old Artillerist, and one of the best Drill-Masters in the country. 26 brother of mine 3. Charles W. Southwick, a native of Massachusetts, listed Minneapolis as his residence at the time of enlistment. Adjutant General’s Report, 786. 4. Richard O. Tilson, born in New York, resided in Winona in 1861 and was eighteen when he enlisted. Adjutant General’s Report, 786. 5. Thomas and Carmelite Christie Papers, M542 frame 0029. 6. Transcribed in Thomas Christie reminiscence. 7. No oªcer by this name appears on any muster rolls for Minnesota regiments nor in the army register. From Thomas’s description, the commander in question may be Captain William Hotchkiss, who had served in the Third U.S. Artillery in the Mexican War and soon became commander of the Second Minnesota Battery...

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