October 27, 1862: 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. A businessman and member of the First Troop Philadelphia City Calvary before the war, Biddle entered Civil War service with the 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on  September 1, 1862. Starting out as a a major, he would fight at Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, among other engagements, and would leave the service as a lieutenant colonel. (He was commissioned, but never mustered, as colonel)

[Note: this statement has been updated to reflect that Biddle was not mustered as a colonel. It also originally mistakenly stated Biddle was also at Chancellorsville, but he was on leave]

Transcript (excerpt):

Camp at Berlins Md

Monday Night 27^th Oct 1862

Dear Julia,

Here I am seated on my buffalo robe under a fly just rigged for the accommodation of Atwood Ferriday Do Ramsay & myself. Morning just after inspection we received orders to parade the regiment to make a permanent move I had been out all the day previous examining damages to farmers with the Board and had hurt Louis a little by a jump over part of a fence the rain had been falling all the morning and there was a good deal of drilling and we got ready – slower than the rest of the Brigade as new regiments always are and marched – the ground soon became a muddy clayey puddle through which the Antietam turned off to the Southward passed a farm of a man named Samuel Pry when we had been examining the day before and passed long the side of the hills towards the river – we came upon the road we had before marched over on our way from Frederick stopped for about 20 on a farm of a man named Tobey when we had encamped for a night on our previous march We then marched on and undid the slope of the south mountain just at dark here and formed the division halted in the woody forest…

Citation: Alexander Biddle (1819-1899), autograph letter signed to Julia Williams Rush Biddle. 27 October 1862. Rush:IV:30:24