Papers (1861-1863) including correspondence, tintype, a Bible, a comb, and two rings.
Charles F. Glover (March 30, 1846 - December 18, 1862) enlisted in Company G of the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry with his parents' permission at the age of fifteen. The regiment saw action in North Carolina in the Battle of Roanoke Island, encamped outside of New Bern, and participated in the Battles of Kinston and Whitehall where Glover was fatally wounded. The regiment subsequently encamped in Carolina City (Morehead City).
Glover wrote about the difficulties the regiment's officers encountered trying to secure pay for the men, the probability of the war ending in the very near future, the responsibilities of picket duty, and the weather in places where the regiment camped. Glover constantly requested from his parents certain items of comfort including a watch, tobacco, envelopes, paper, writing utensils, a comb, and medicine.
Events of particular interest that Glover described in his letters include the "drumming out" of a deserter while the regiment was at Annapolis, Maryland (December 12, 1861); the Battle of Roanoke Island (February 14, 1862); the regular observance of black soldiers taking refuge among Federal troops (February 24, March 2, and April 1, 1862); the difficulty of acquiring necessary personal items in the camp near New Bern (April 21, 1862); a correction of an apparent rumor that had reached Massachusetts regarding a captain's desertion (June 21, 1862); a pleasure trip taken by General Ledlie Foster with his wife (September 5, 1862); and the abundance of freshwater fish and game in the New Bern area (November 26, 1862). Glover also commented on the construction of two-story log houses for the soldiers at Brice's Ferry, eight miles from New Bern.
The 23rd Massachusetts participated in the Battle of Whitehall on December 16, 1862, along the Neuse River at present day Seven Springs, North Carolina. Glover was fatally wounded during this battle by a rifle ball that entered his lung. Two days later he died. Included in his papers is a copy of extracts from a letter (December 26, 1862) written by Captain J. W. Raymond, Glover's company commander, to Glover's parents explaining about the fatal wound he sustained at Whitehall. Raymond commented that he would have shipped the body to them, but the situation prevented him from doing so. Another extracted letter explains to Glover's parents that he had been buried approximately five miles from Kinston. A letter (January 3, 1863) from a fellow soldier to Glover's parents describing his nobility and bravery and a letter (February 18, 1863) from another fellow soldier describing the details of Glover's injury, transportation from the Whitehall area in an army ambulance, his death, and burial are also included. Another letter (June 22, 1863) from Captain Raymond to Glover's parents describes in considerable detail the responsibilities and challenges of commanding a company with underage men in it, the personal qualities that should be found in army officers, the building of fortifications in the Carolina City (now Morehead City) area, the drowning of one of his men, and the effectiveness of General Ledlie Foster.
The collection also contains a German Bible distributed by the New York Bible Society, two rings made from cattle bones, a comb, and a tintype of Glover.
Gift of Special Manuscript Fund
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.