Rhode Island in the Civil War: All Quiet on the Rappahannock Tonight: The Civil War Letters of Lt. P

Although the Civil War was fought over 150 years ago its effects still reverberate throughout our country. First and foremost, the unity of our nation was preserved during the conflict, but at an enormous cost. An estimated 620,000 soldiers died during the Civil War.

Today most of the discussion of the Civil War revolves around the motives for secession and the outcomes of the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the Lincoln presidency. Yet less is remembered about those who fought in these immensely bloody battles. Consider the tragic fact that at Gettysburg alone, 51,000 men lost their lives.

Indeed, the collection of letters originally written by Lieutenant Peter Hunt, skillfully edited by Sandra A. Turgeon, provides a glimpse into the daily life of an officer in the Union Army. As one would expect, readers living in Rhode Island are bound to feel an emotional connection to this important local history.

Only 18 when he left a comfortable life in the Rhode Island town of Rumford, to join the Union Armies massing to the south of Washington, Peter Hunt came from a long lineage of Rhode Islanders, with familial connections to the state’s founder, Roger Williams. Through Hunt’s letters home, an idyllic colonial life is portrayed, replete with marriages, death, and life among the gently rolling farms and forests around present day Seekonk, Rehoboth, and East Providence. He often wrote to his brothers Daniel and Horatio, as well as a revolving cast of friends. The heartwarming relationship that Lt. Peter Hunt had with his mother, provides a lens through which the reader can observe some of the emotions coursing through the author of these letters. At one moment, Hunt presents a dashing officer bragging about the excellent performance by his troops. The next, he simply aspires to see the faces of his family once again. Privy to the now famous rotating cast of Union generals during the war, Hunt describes General McClellan as, “a pleasant gentleman, can ride splendid” (5), and General Grant as, “not a very large man… he looks a great deal like his pictures. He rides a most beautiful trotting horse with splendid equipments and a great deal of style” (213). Hunts position in the army, as an officer, allowed him to have experiences that give the reader insight into the lives of the ordinary enlisted men in the Union army. However, Hunt also reveals a taste of society to which belonged the generals, chiefs of staffs, and other ranking members of the government of the United States.

While hardly as exciting and gut-wrenching as the descriptions of the battles of Spotsylvania and Gettysburg, yet equally insightful, are the themes of food, clothing and religion. These are aspects of the Civil War that Lt. Peter Hunt most frequently wrote to his relations about. For example, on 3 February 1862, writing to his brother Dan, the author describes the conditions of winter quarters: “Here I am still in the old camp with wet feet all the time. The troops are shut up in their tents just like the crew of a ship, when their little world is so penned up ice” (37). It can be easy to forget, but during this age, diseases, cold weather, and malnutrition could kill as effectively as the opposing army. Despite his status as a ranking officer in the 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, Hunt was not spared the hardships of Army life. Through the letters, we may see how, in a manner perhaps similar to today, with our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the significance and the happiness brought by communications with home, and the celebration of holidays such as Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The heavy mood related in Hunt’s letters is often punctuated by his continual requests for money and clothes. It definitely seems as though the clothes of that day could not hold up to the rigors of Army life, and the difficult weather of the Virginia battlefields certainly constituted a significant challenge, as Hunt’s letters from the winters of 1861 and 1862 attest to.

Of course, while Hunt’s descriptions of the everyday struggles and life of a Union artillery officer is perhaps the most interesting and insightful part of the collection, one may not forget the imperatives motivating this army to fight, and indeed the terrible battles that raged during the course of this massive conflict. Often describing developments and military movements from the front to his kin back home, the reader is continually updated on the current morale and movements of Union Army. The reader of these letters learns of fascinating “picket exchanges” between Confederate and Union soldiers, where they would exchange small goods for newspapers in order to see what the other side’s papers were saying. Hunt writes of the victories in the western campaign, such as Vicksburg. During 1864, Hunt describes Grant’s stubborn advances with the Army of the Potomac in order to encircle the Confederate capitol of Richmond. Through the tone of the writing, one can tell that towards the end of his short life, Hunt was optimistic about the Union winning, describing the relentless push of the Union deep into Virginia in tones draped with pride. Hunt fought in the battle of Gettysburg, describing it with his own eyes: “Captain Arnold is the only battle commander left along the entire line who was not wounded. All the others were either killed or wounded. Did I tell you my horse was shot? A solid shot passed through his neck” (149).

Unfortunately, Peter Hunt was wounded in 1864 by an artillery fragment that shattered his foot, and eventually took his life. Medical care for combat wounds at this time proved to be tragically inadequate.

Although at times the dense Victorian era writing can prove difficult to decipher, the editors of the volume provide some help by underlining and providing footnotes where it appears Hunt was incorrect in his spelling, or factually incorrect about a detail. Aside from that, the Prologue and Epilogue give the necessary family details and context to keep the reader from getting lost. Overall, the collection of letters provides a profound insight into everyday life during the civil war, while also exploring familiar themes of love, war, maturity, and grief. The Civil changed America irrevocably, and today never lurks far from the surface of contemporary political and social movements. This book provides a great resource for contemporary Rhode Islanders to connect local history with one of the most important events in American History.