The letters posted here were transcribed from typed copies of letters written by my great-grandfather, Captain Nathan Atkinson Brown (Nate), and his wife Louisa Nicholes Brown (Loulie), during the Civil War years of 1861-62, and a few letters in 1864.  These two young lovers were from families that owned large rice and cotton plantations on the Satilla River in Camden County, Ga.

 

The letters are a window on society in the deep South during the middle of the 19th century, as well as on the perspective of a young Confederate officer guarding the Georgia coastline from Yankee gun boats.  Food, medical care, diseases, travel, and events during the Civil War are touched upon in the letters.  Excerpts:

Letter 34: 'I tryed very hard while in Atlanta to have the baby's daguerreotype taken for you, even stripped all of clothes (but her little shirt) off, and she did look so cunning and sweetly, but alas! was such a frisk we could not get her to stand still one second..'

Letter 36: 'Jessie Choen gave me a ring made out of a Yankee bone and two hearts pierced by an arrow painted with Yankee blood.' 

Letter 42: 'We had quite an exciting time down here on day before yesterday with the Yankees and Capt. Readdicks' black point pickets.  They came up in their boats from Fernandina, and surrounded the house the pickets were in.  All the picket, fifteen in number, were asleep but one.  The Yankees landed at an unexpected point and took them in the rear.  They took Malcolm Crawford and Nat Thomas prisoners.  The rest of them made their escape good to the camp, but they had to run twenty miles in their shirt-tails, bare headed and footed.  Quite a ridiculous sight.  One poor fellow they got cut off from escaping by land, so he being a good swimmer plunged into the river and swam a mile across to my picket on this side.  He said he preferred the sharks to the Yankees.  They fired thirteen times at him as he ran, but fortunately did not succeed in hitting him.  Some of the picket killed three Yankees before they stampeded.  I am very sorry they got hold of Crawford.'

 

 

 

 

 

My son Jared took this photo of me with Max , our australian shepherd, in the alpine flower garden on Marys Peak in Oregon's coastal range.