by David Flint
Calvin A. Haynes of East Nassau, NY at the age of 24 enlisted in August 1862 at Troy in the 125th New York Infantry Regiment. His letters home to his wife Lucy have been transcribed by John Minitti of Winchester, MA, and are here reproduced, with some editing, courtesy of the New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Chicago Sept 30th 62
Dear Wife
I suppose that you are anxious to hear from me again by this time. I am now in Chicago, Illinois. We left Annapolis last friday morning and arrived here Monday afternoon. Where we will go next God only knows. They say that we are agoing to Minnesota to fight the Indians but we cannot tell where we shall go.
There is not more than eight hundred men left in the regiment. They have skedaddled at every depot on
the route. They might just as well discharge us as to try and keep us for the boys are all discouraged. They have marched us and not half fed us until we are about used up. We have got the wors tyrant for Colonel that ever commanded a regiment. The boys all swear that they will never take up arms again under such officers. They will not stand guard. They put sixty on guard last night and this morning there was not but twelve of them left. They all went to there quarters and went to sleep. If we ever do go into the service again the boys swear that they will shoot the Colonel the first shot they fire.
I don’t suppose that they have any right to keep us as long as we are paroled prisoners but they will do just as they are a mind to whether it is law or not but I don’t think that they will have a great many to hold if they do not use us better than they have so far. I know of one that they will not that is certain.
I wrote to you about coming out here. I wish that you was here. I would give more to see you and Ella than for anythign in the world but I guess that you had not better come until we know what we are agoing to do, for by the time that you arrived here we might be in another part of the world and you would feel worse to come out here and find us gone than you would to have stayed at home. As soon as I find out where we are agoing to stay I shall have you with me if it is a possible thing. I may get desperate yet and leave. If I do I will see you I think if I have got money enough to get to you and if I have not you will have to come to me. I am glad that I took as much money with me as I did for I have had to board myself about all the time since I left home. If I had not I should have been dead before this time I think.
I wish that I could hear from you yet I would give anything to receive a letter so that I could know how you are a getting along. If you have not written to me write as soon as you receive this. I want you Lucy. If we should have to go to Minesota we would not see home again in three years I don’t think, but I have not gone yet nor I don’t think I shall until I see you. Write and let me know what you think about it.
From Your Husband,
CA Haynes
P.S. Lucy don’t let anyone see this letter for it will make a great story if you do.
CAH
Conditions At Camp Douglas
According to an article in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society by Joseph L. Eisendrath, Jr., Camp Douglas was constructed in 1861 as a training facility for Union troops. Built to accommodate 8,000 soldiers in training, it became also a prisoner-of-war camp in February 1862 and by July of that year it housed 7,850 Confederate prisoners. After the debacle at Harpers Ferry, about 8,000 captured Union troops, now on parole, were transported to the camp. Supposedly the plan was that they would move on out to the western frontier to fight the Indians, which would have been allowed under the terms of the parole. The overcrowding in the camp, unsanitary conditions and the severe disciplinary tactics of the camp commander caused great dissension and even mutiny among the parolees and many attempted to escape. Col. George L. Willard was in command of the 125th Regiment during this time but, being a parolee and in effect a prisoner himself, it is not clear how much control he might have had over the treatment of his troops. It took intervention by the Secretary of War to get the severe discipline relaxed and the troops settled down.
