Letters to Lemuel P. Foss from Family and Friends, 1862-1865

This collection contains thirty-eight letters sent to Lemuel P. Foss, a Union soldier with Company F of the Thirteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, during the US Civil War. The bulk of the letters were written in 1863 from his hometown of Strafford, New Hampshire, by his parents, especially his father; his brother Edwin Frank; and his sisters Jane Victoria and Sarah (also spelled Sara). There are several other letters from his sister Margaret in Barnstead, as well as two letters from friends, one letter to a Mr. Barton from H. E. Burleigh(?) in East Sandbornton, New Hampshire, and an unfinished letter in the same hand addressed to "mon ami." Several family letters were written both to Lemuel and his brother Amaziah, who had also enlisted in Company F. Letters discuss news from home and local reactions to the progress of the war, including people's attitude toward the military draft in New Hampshire. In one letter, their father says that he is "very glad to hear the news is you have gone to Kentucky" (April 12, 1863), while a June 12 letter from Margaret a few months later indicates that she heard the "sad, sad news" of Amaziah's death. A letter from Edwin Frank dated May 21, 1865, notes: "The days of fighting our 'erring brethren' are passed and the happy days of peace are now dawning over our so lately distracted nation." Many of the family letters include missives from different individuals on the same sheet of paper.