Civil War Letter of Lt. Amos E. Wood of Woodville, Ohio

Lt. Amos E. Wood
John B. Rice Collection
Hayes Presidential Library and Museums

 The following is a transcription of a letter written to Sgt. Robert H. Caldwell of Elmore, Ohio by Lt. Amos Eastman Wood, Jr. of Woodville, Ohio. Both men enlisted in Company I, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the fall of 1861. They had fought together at the Battle of Stones River on December 31, 1862. Robert died February 8, 1863 of wounds received in that battle. Obviously, his friend, Lt. Wood had no knowledge of his death, but believed Caldwell had returned home to Elmore, Ohio. The Grand Army of the Republic Post in Elmore was named for Sgt. Caldwell.  Lt. Wood was the elder son of Amos E. Wood, Sr., for whom the town of Woodville, Ohio is named. Lt. Wood died of disease in a Murfreesboro, Tennessee hospital in June 14,1863. 

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Camp at Smyrna Run

Feby 18th 1863

Dear Robert

I promised you when I wrote you last that I would write again someday, but the fact is, Robert, a soldier has no business making promises, for he makes them only to forget them. He cannot tell what a day may bring forth, but what he may be on duty or something of that kind. I hope by this time Dear Boy, you are much better and have arrived safe in Elmore (as I was informed you were in Cincinnati when I last wrote you. I thought you were at home until after I had written.) You cannot imagine how surprised I was this afternoon upon hearing of the death of Geo. Rice.  I was up to Murfreesboro the other day and he was then so much better I thought he would soon get well, but poor Boy was taken away while far away from friends and home. How many many young men left home bouyent with hope, that they would live to see the time when peace would restore them to their loved friends, now are gone to their long homes and their remains left to bleach in the blood stained ground upon which they fought for their country's freedom. 

How hard it seems Robt to have those whom you love and respect, shot down by your side and then your forced to leave them to the mercies of the insolent foe, and while breathing their last to be stripped and damned by them.  After the battle, I walked over the battle ground and there saw Veon [probably  Cpl. Alanson J. Veon of Co. I, 21st OVI who was killed at Stones River, Tennessee on Dec. 31, 1862] and others stripped of their clothes as if some uncivilized being had rumbled over the ground and perpetrated this barbarous act. And then I thought "why" this was done by men who profess to be educated and refined, how can men who have been raised in a Christian land act thus? Surely it is as "Burns" says "Man's inhumanity to man, makes countless thousands mourn."

Robert, I have thought lately about being a Christian. I would give anything to be a good Christian, an honest one. I have thought since the fight, more about this than ever before. I was kindly cared for during the fight, and brought without a scratch, and to whom should I be thankful but to God who has watched over me and supplied my every want thus far in life. I am satisfied that I shall never be happy until I am [a] humble Christian. Robert, will you think of me in your prayers? Ask that I may become better; I will endeavor to be better by daily watchfulness and prayers.

I am well pleased with the place  I now have, though it was quite hard for me to leave the Boys. Michael Rice [sergeant in the 21st OVI] is with me, he sends love, and says tell Robert to hurry and get well. I think the army will make another ground move soon for Chattanooga (or perhaps this side). If so, you can look out, for Rosecrans  is sure to win. Our Army has received quite a large reinforcement since you left, and they are all good men, all of them old troops, at least most of them.  Robert, you must write me and give me all of the news. Write soon for I shall be uneasy untill I hear from you. My love to all inquiring friends, especially to your father and mother. 

 

Your friend as ever, 

Amos E. Wood

1st Battalion, Pioneer Corps

Murfreesboro, Tenn. 

Lt. Wood's letter is part of the Robert Caldwell collection of Civil War letters at the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. The Caldwell letters have been transcribed and appear on its website. 

Gold Fever of 1849 Takes Its Toll

When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, Robert Caldwell could think of little else. Intelligent, well educated, and dependable, he had worked long and hard for his half-interest in a blacksmith shop, a Lower Sandusky (Fremont), Ohio tavern, and land in Fulton County. But gold fever was everywhere and like thousands of others Caldwell was consumed by it. 

He planned to leave his wife Eleanor and head for the gold fields. With his brother William, Robert joined the Fort Stephenson  Mining Association, a group of nearly a dozen men who hoped to find riches in the "far west." 

By April 1849, Caldwell along with the other Sandusky Countians were in Independence, Missouri, outfitting for the 2,200-mile overland route to California. During an interview with a St. Louis reporter, the men declared they were ready for anything - starvation, drought, snows, Indians, and rugged terrain. They were not alone! That spring more than 25,000 Americans had set out across the plains. All were dreaming of the California gold fields and spectacular wealth!

In reading several of Robert's letters that are part of the Hayes Presidential's William Caldwell Collection. it is clear that nothing was as Robert Caldwell envisioned. Soon after filing claims on the north fork of the American River near Beals Bar, Caldwell was forced to give up his "diggings." because of heavy snows. Then came washouts, inflated prices,  robbery, riots, and always, hordes of gold seekers. Robert opened a blacksmith shop in Sacramento to renew his grubstake.

When Robert and Eleanor's adopted child died, Eleanor begged her husband to give up his dream and come home. Robert wrote, "Suppose that I do come home and not have any money - what will you say to me ...I will tell you what you would say to me - If you had always listened to me you would not have went to California. Are you not willing to sacrifice some of the happiness for me to make one more try?" 

Robert could not bear the humiliation of returning to Fremont a failure. He wrote that I am not about to "be a beggar." "No, I will die here unless things change..." Caldwell was certain he would soon strike it rich. 

Weeks became months and months became years. Finally, Robert admitted that he did not have even enough money to book passage for home. 

Just before Christmas in 1853, death made its claim on Robert Caldwell and his dreams. In late January 1854, Eleanor received a letter postmarked "Sacramento." It was a letter from a minister, sending his condolences and telling her that "while Robert Caldwell was buried among strangers, he had died among friends."  [To date, the location of Robert Caldwell's grave is unknown.]

Eleanor (Lary) Caldwell remained in Fremont, raising the couple's only child, Augustus. She died in 1868 at the age of 57 and is buried in Fremont's Old Whittlesey Cemetery  

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