When hostilities broke out between the North and South in 1861, my great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson (Jack) Reese volunteered for service in the Confederate army. He served with the army until the end of the war in 1865. For most of the war, Reese was in General Longstreet's Division of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, one of the most famous units in military history. As a member of this force, he was integrally involved in a key chapter of American history.Jack Reese corresponded on a regular basis with Nancy Wimpy of Dahlonega. Nancy Wimpy and her husband, Archie Wimpy raise Jack and other foster children, having no offspring of their own. These transcripts detail their communication during the war. There are other letters between Jack and Archie, also some other correspondence to and from various other relatives and acquaintances. When the war started, Jack Reese was 20 years old, Archie Wimpy was 57, and Nancy was 53.
As best I can tell, the original letters were probably passed on by Nancy Wimpy eventually to my great aunt May Reese Simmons, my grandfather Reese's sister. I remember Aunt May who was in her 70s and lived in the West End section of Atlanta when I was a child. My uncle, W.O. Reese, Jr. obtained the letters from her and turned them over to the Georgia State Historical Archives. Photo copies of the originals are in his possession. The transcripts I have made are from these copies.
Transcribing the letters was in many ways a painstaking job. Though in general the copies of the originals were excellent, some pieces were quite difficult to read. Further complicating the effort was the authors' handwriting and style that can seem quaint to our modern eyes. Many words are spelled differently than would be correct today. I suspect this is partly due to a difference in educational standards and partly to the fact that some of the grammar and spelling conventions were just different than ours.
I've taken some liberties in cleaning up errors to make the material more readable, however for the most part it remains as it is in the original. I made a conscious attempt not to modernize the text so as to let the correspondence come across with the unique feel of the period.
One thing that did strike me was than Jack's style seemed to become more polished over the four years covered. This seems odd since he spent the entire time in the field with the army. I suppose we can attribute this to his maturing and just the practice of corresponding on a regular basis which he would not have done much of prior to the war.
Another theme you pick up on is one you read about in history books and see in films. It's the notion that existed on both sides that the conflict would be short and victory would come easily. This perception comes through clearly in the early letters, but gradually changes to a more pessimistic tone as the South's situation deteriorated.
I've arranged the correspondence in chronological sequence. It's clear that there is a great deal of missing material. The authors make mention of having "recd. yours of the 10th" and so on, of which no copy is available. I suspect that some of the originals were no kept or lost, but also certainly many were never received by the original addressee owing to the difficulty of the times. Additionally, a close study of the dates will disclose that no letters were forthcoming from Reese during periods when the army was on the move or was in close contact with the enemy. Naturally it would have been difficult to post a letter to Georgia from, say, Gettysburg, Pa.
As an appendix to the transcripts, I've included a section composed of several photo copies. The first is one of the letters to give an idea of what they actually looked like. Second is a very interesting copy of a "parole pass" give to Jack at Appomattox Court House after Lee's final surrender. These documents were issued to the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia and allowed them to "...return home and remain there undisturbed." These passes mark the end of the American Civil War. Lastly I have included a typed transcript of a letter from Solomon Rees to his brother William Reese, dated May 1850. Solomon was Jack's father who left his motherless children and set out for the California gold fields. He never made it, dying from cholera somewhere near the Platte River. The letter was transcribed by my grandfather, W.O. Reese, Sir as is evidenced by the initials at the bottom.
I have further plans to add to his material in the future. I would like to add a series of annotations to each letter, elaborating on the names and places mentioned in the text. I have learned quite a bit about the people and history discussed herein, just by working on the project. I just haven't had time to get it all down yet. I did get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction in working on this project. I trust that you will find the result as interesting as I did.
Transcribed and submitted by
Ann Reese Cranford
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