The last letter home from an Irish soldier from the American Civil War

Madam,

This was cut out of the pocket of a man I buried last night – he was murdered – June 3, 1864 – and buried on the spot where he fell.

The spot was marked by a gash in a tree where his head lies, by Sergt Ewell of my company.

Yours Truly

S. Dexter Ludden
Captain 8 NY Arty
Mrs. Mary McNamara
Buffalo NY

The body that Dexter Ludden and his men had buried was that of Irishman Hubert McNamara, a soldier of the 155th New York Infantry, Corcoran’s Irish Legion. Hubertus had enrolled in Buffalo on August 28, 1862, when he was 34 years old. Before becoming a soldier, Hubert had supported his wife Mary and three children by working as a cartman. He was described as 6 feet tall, with hazel eyes, brown hair and a light complexion.

Hubert had married Mary Donovan on January 2, 1859, but that was not his first marriage. Hubert’s first wife Margaret (née McGrath) had died in Hudson, NY on January 26, 1855, leaving Hubert to support their three-year-old daughter Maria alone until his remarriage.

By 1864, Mary Hubert had given birth to two more children in their home on Exchange Street; Tomas, who arrived at November 30, 1859, and Maria, born May 6, 1862 – his youngest daughter being but a month past her second birthday when her father died.

On June 2, 1864, the day Hubert wrote his last letter, Corcoran’s Irish Legion had been with the Army of the Potomac for less than a month. By the standards of many other brigades, the Legion’s first eighteen months of service had been relatively uneventful. That all changed in May 1864 when they joined the Army of the Potomac at Spotsylvania, VA. In the days that followed, the Irish had to get used to near-constant fighting – and increasing losses.

It was in this context that Hubert wrote these few words to his wife on June 2. When he wrote them, he was aware that he would be involved in an attack on the rebel factory the next day. Given the strength of the enemy position, many in his unit would have been anxious about what lay ahead.

The 155th was brought into battle at Cold Harbor by Captain Michael Doran. While he prepared the lines of his men for the advance, they were temporarily protected from fire behind a small ridge. When they got past this cover they could see the main Confederate line about 150 yards away, but they would never reach it. A firestorm erupted from the rebels’ position. One member of the regiment recalled how the “balls literally started mowing us down,” while another said of the attack that “it was murder, not war.”

The Irish had no chance; by the time they got within 50 yards of the enemy position the attack was halted and soon pushed back. The massacre cost the 155th some 130 casualties, almost half their number. Unfortunately, Hubert was one of them that fallwith the newly written letter to his family not yet sent in his pocket.

The sheets of paper recovered from Hubert’s body were included by his widow in her pension application, to prove both Hubert’s death and her relationship with him. They are first transcribed below and labeled as Sheet 1 Front?, Sheet 1 Back? and page 2 front. It is written in faded pencil, which, together with the battlefield lighting featuring Hubert’s body, makes transcription difficult. They are presented below as Sheet 1 and Sheet 2, with the original transcription accompanied by an edited version for modern readers.

(Sheet 1 Front?)

…almighty god that we will marry them soon. So far everything is going well, I thank the almighty god for his mercy (illegible) possible (?) I dress you with a few lines, I hope I see you and the children in good health as the departure of the few lines that I am currently encountering, thank you to god almighty for being to me, we have been fighting with rebble for the past 10 days and we have ridden them as much as 30 miles, but there are many of our men who wonder and wonder, but the purity is good surrounded in the (?)

(Sheet 1 Reversed?)

June 2, 1864

Camp of the Armi of the Portommack 7 miles from Richmond mi Dear wife and children, I take the favorable opportunity (?) (illegible) tell at what point I would go crazy or get hurt, but I trust in God, for his mercy drags me there is a hard battle I’m going with her we fight the knight and fight day my dear wife and children there is nothing more I can let you know now I have the time now

(Sheet 2 front)

it is very difficult to get paper or ink, whatever, otherwise her John Dempsey is healthy and also Michael Lawler. I wish you would tell his wife there is nothing left, my dear wife and children I think is a good bie for a truce

now more at this moment from your affectionate husband Hubert Mc Namara 2 Corps 2 Division 4 brigade Co I 155

armi from the portom mac

good job, write quickly

Edited

Irish Central History

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(Sheet 1 Front?)

…almighty God, may we soon be done with it. I am doing well so far, thanks to Almighty God for his grace (illegible) as possible, I address you with a few lines. I hope to find you and the children in good health, as the departure (of) these few lines leaves me wanting at the moment. Thanks be to Almighty God for his (mercy) towards me. We have been fighting with (the) rebels for the last ten days and we have driven them as far as 30 miles, but (a) large number of our men have been killed and wounded, but they (are) fairly well surrounded by (?)

(Sheet 1 Reversed?)

June 2, 1864

Army of the Potomac camp, seven miles from Richmond. Dear wife and children, I take the favorable opportunity (illegible) to tell the moment when I would be killed or wounded, but I trust God for his mercy towards me. There are terrible battles going on here, we are fighting night and day. Dear wife and children, I can’t let you know anything now that I don’t have time.

(Sheet 2 front)

It is very difficult to get paper or ink (or anything else) here. Things are going well for John Dempsey and also for Michael Lawler. I wish you would tell his wife. I think there is nothing more to my dear wife and children, so let’s say goodbye. Currently no longer from your loving husband Hubert McNamara, 2nd Corps, 2nd Division, 4th Brigade, Company I, 155th New York, Army of the Potomac. Goodbye, write quickly.

The precise order in which Hubert’s letter was to be read is not clear from the individual pages. I have interpreted their order as shown above based on the content. I believe the first page (page 1 front?) was part of a letter that Hubert possibly wrote before his arrival in Cold Harbor. In it he refers to the battle against the rebels during the ‘last ten days’, which would indicate May 28. I suspect that he was then working at Cold Harbor and, realizing that he was about to go into action, left his previous letter to write down a few words in case he died. If this is the case, it makes the letter all the more poignant.

The section entitled ‘Sheet 2 Obverse’ may also have been written in Cold Harbor, but that is not clear. Captain Ludden wrote his note to Hubert’s wife on the back of this page. Of the comrades mentioned in Hubert’s correspondence, Cold Harbor was also Michael Lawler’s last battle. He was fatally wounded and left behind a wife and four children. John Dempsey also appears to have been injured at Cold Harbor, but eventually recovered. Hubert’s wife Mary lived a long life after her husband’s death, remaining a widow for more than half a century. The elderly Irish woman died on September 2, 1916 at the Holy Family Home in Williamsville, NY.

* Damian Shiels is an archaeologist and historian who leads the IrishAmericanCivilWar.com website, where this article first appeared. His book “The Irish in the American Civil War” was published by The History Press in 2013 and is available here.

*Originally published August 2015. Updated November 2024.