1865 Michigan Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER from Tennessee ADAMS EXPRESS Receipt

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1865 Michigan Infantry CIVIL WAR LETTER from Tennessee ADAMS EXPRESS Receipt:
$141.50

Civil War Letter
Great contentin this 1865 Michigan Infantry CIVIL WAR soldier letter written from Camp Harker in Tennessee. He writes about their conditions and is sending his military pay home to his father. An original ADAMS EXPRESS receipt with revenue stamp is enclosed, which matches the content in this letter !!! Certainly not something you will find every day!. FULL SCANS, TRANSCRIPT and some RESEARCH NOTES below. Letter ishousedin a postal cover envelope with a Nashville, Tennessee postmark - stamp is missing.The following biography of Capt. Charles J. Fox was published in theHistory of Pomona Valley, California, with Biographical Sketches...(1920)Although a native of England where he was born at Manchester, October 31, 1842, Capt. Charles J. Fox has no memory of the land of his birth, for he was but one year old when he accompanied his parents to the United States on a sailing vessel, which made the trip in three months.He was reared at Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan, and is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in 1864 in the Fourth Michigan Infantry. He was lieutenant in his company and later captain in Company H, under Col. Jairus W. Hall, and saw service in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. He still carries the bullet by which he was injured in guerrilla warfare in one of the many skirmishes that he participated in in Tennessee, and among the relics in his home is the gun he was shot with, which was taken from the guerrilla, and which he prizes very highly. He served on the general staff at San Antonio, Texas, and had charge of cleaning up the city. In those days, San Antonio had but fifteen thousand population. The Captain wears the button of the Loyal Legion, of which he was a member, and after brilliant service, he was mustered out at Houston, Texas, May 26, 1866.At the close of the war he returned to Pontiac, Michigan, and was appointed and served several years as revenue assessor in Michigan. He was also the proprietor of a clothing store at Pontiac, which he sold in 1888, and went to Seattle, Washington, where he engaged in the making of brick, twelve miles from Seattle. He founded, laid out and built up the town of Pontiac, Washington, and was its first postmaster. He was a member of the firm of the Pontiac Brick and Tile Company which did a large business, and their brick was used in many of the public buildings, among others the Denny Hotel Block, the Court House, and the Burke Block at Pontiac, Washington.In November 1890, while on a visit to Pomona, California, Captain Fox purchased twelve acres of one-year-old orange trees in the Packard Orange Grove tract, from J. E. Packard, and in 1893 came to Pomona to locate permanently, where he has since lived on his orange grove. The place is very productive, is well kept, and is one of the attractive places among many beautiful homes in Pomona.The marriage of Captain Fox was solemnized in Michigan June 2, 1881, and united him with Miss Arabella W. Kirby, a native of that state. The children born of their union are: Charles Kirby, a civil engineer of Los Angeles; Lillian Buirne, who was secretary of the Red Cross at Pomona during the late war; and William H., a mechanic of Hollywood, California.

TRANSCRIPTION

Head Quarters 4th Michigan Infantry
3d Brigade, 3d Division, 4th Army Corps
Camp Harker
June 14th 1865

Dear Father,

We are getting paid off today. I get $788.15 pay up to the 31 day of April, out of which I send you $500 by Express. You can use it. It will probably come in handy to you. It will help you if you go into business on your own hook which I hope you will. I am in hopes that we will be home before long but we don’t know where we are going. Some say that the order for us to go to New Orleans has been countermanded. I hope it has. You can give mother $50.00 as a present from me. Mother says you expect Mr. Lord next month. I suppose someone else has been appointed in his place.

Father send me my account. I want to know how much money I have saved since I came into the army. I think I can make more money here than I can at home. You can send the check of deposit to me. When you write, let me know what you think you are going to so about the store. I would like to go into business with you but I suppose I have not got money enough to do anything.

I was on picket all day yesterday and it rained hard all day and night. I took three rails and slept all night. I can sleep on the ground as well as I can on a bed. I shan’t get any clothing till I know what we are a going to do, If we should happen to come home, I won’t want any more military clothing. I send mother some papers and have just received a letter from her dated June 8th. In it I see that you have telegraphed. I did not receive it. I have made up my mind to stay in the regiment. I think we won’t see any harder times than we have [already had] and I stood the storm then and I think I can at New Orleans — if we go.

Mother says if I am homesick I had better come home. I don’t let such a thing enter my mind for our regiment has lost more men from that cause than any other. There is no danger of getting homesick for there is 4 or 5 of the officers about my age and if ones goes anywhere, we all go. The officers that I thought I would not like at Adrian, I think more of than I do the officers that came from Pontiac. They are old grannies — all but Capt. Henderson — and I think a great deal more of him now than I did when we left the state.

I send you $500.00

100.00 for Mrs. Gorman
80.00 for Mr. Whittmore from James
60.00 for Mr. Myers from William
50.00 for Mr. Curtis from A. H. Curtis
_______

$790.00

You can pay the charges. They have paid me. Hoping this will find you all well and I hope you will receive the money all right.

From your affectionate son, — C. J. Fox

TERMS

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