Letter from Ben McComsey to his mother from Minor Hill, Virginia regarding their last encampment near Georgetown which was a pleasant location and the were able to wash their clothing in the Potomac. He describes their current location at Minor Hill as "not a healthy place and the sooner we are out of it the better for our health." Ben is still feeling well, but William Markley has been taken to the hospital in Washington with Typhoid fever. He answers an apparent question about carrying his belongings and the weight of the items, requests apple butter, and asks for a fine tooth comb since some of the other me have lice.
Stationery has a picture in red and blue of a hand holding two American flags and a banner "God and our native land." Below the picture "For the flag our fathers gave, / O'er our children's head shall wave, / And their children's children's grave. / God for our native land."
Admin/Biographical History
Benjamin was the son of William and Mary Ann (Dorwart) McComsey. In 1860 he was a farmer living with his family in Providence Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Ben's service during the Civil War was brief. He enlisted in Lancaster on 7 August 1862 and was mustered into the U.S. Army on August 11 as a private with Company D, 122nd Pennsylvania Infantry. He died from typhoid fever in a military hospital at Berlin, Worcester County, Maryland on 7 November 1862.
Letter from Benjamin McComsey (MG0018_SerA_F077_It01)
Letter from Benjamin McComsey (MG0018_SerA_F077_It02)
Letter from Benjamin McComsey (MG0018_SerA_F077_It03)
Letter from Benjamin McComsey (MG0018_SerA_F077_It04)
Biographical information (MG0018_SerA_F077_It05)
Letter from Henry Benner (MG0018_SerA_F077_It07)
Letter from Henry Benner (MG0018_SerA_F077_It08)
Letter from Benjamin McComsey (MG0018_SerA_F077_It09)
Tintype of Benjamin McComsey (2009.014)
McComsey Family Album (A-15-01-01 to A-15-01-40)
Carte de visite of Chester Hubley (1-02-01-79)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Civil War Collection (MG0018), Series #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
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Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Renunciations are papers filed in the Orphans' Court by executors of an estate who do not wish to administer that estate. They show the name of the decedent, the decedent's place of residence, the name of the person renouncing administration, the name of the replacement administrator to be appointed, and date. The relationship between the decedent, the executor, and the administrator is usually shown. Arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within each year.
System of Arrangement
Arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within each year.
