August 28, 1863: Alexander Biddle to Julia Williams Rush Biddle

Alexander Biddle was a member of the prominent Philadelphia Biddle family and was married to Julia Williams Rush,  the granddaughter of Dr. Benjamin Rush.  Biddle served with the 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, beginning in September 1862. Starting out as a major, he would participate in Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, among other engagements, and would leave the service as a lieutenant colonel. (He was commissioned, but never mustered, as colonel)

Transcript (excerpt):

Camp at Rappahannock St

August 28, 1863. Friday

Dear Wife

Yesterday under date of 26. I wrote to you about my arrest – I hear nothing further about it and am pretty much as usual In some respects it is an exemption from bother and saving that I don’t like to have any unsettled thing on my mind it gives me no concern. – Today there was a presentation of a sword by the Penn Reserves to General Meade at Bealeton – Gen Curtin and Morton McMichael were there and made grand eloquent speeches which will probably be properly reported – I of course was not there but Mr Kay who came down to it and paid us a visit tells me that Curtin actually alluded to the early prospect of settling domestic troubles and war with England and in Mexico as a thing to be calculated on – this is very shameful in view of the reality of our present position and strikes me as almost infamous in a Governor but we must I presume accept him for want of a better. – This evening the Reserves made an attack on a sutler in a piece of woods about a mile from out camp – we have just seen the firing in the corner of the woods – we suppose these marauders consider themselves entitled to a special exemption – it will do perhaps to replace their contributions for the aforesaid sword but woe be to any other regiment that gets caught in such acts…

Citation: Alexander Biddle (1819-1899), autograph letter signed to Julia Williams Rush Biddle, 28 August 1863. Rush IV:30:34