The following thirty
letters were written from April 4, 1861 through July 22, 1862.
Twenty letters, including one addressed to his younger brothers,
were written by William Harrison "Tip" Crow while
serving in the Confederate army during the Civil War and sent to
his father George Washington Crow in Lebanon, DeKalb County,
Alabama. There are three letters written by Tip which were sent
to his sister, Eliza Ann Crow Fikes and her husband Harlin Fikes,
Jr., in Sulphur Rock, Independence County, Arkansas and one from
the Fikes to Tip. Letters written to George W. Crow by two of
Tip's hometown friends who were serving in the same company have
also been included. The letters are published as they were
written. Spelling and punctuation was copied as it appeared on
the original handwritten letters. Some words or letters were
added in brackets [ ] to clarify meaning, insert obvious
omissions or improve the continuity. In some cases the correct
spelling is inserted in parentheses ( ) following the original
spelling. Footnotes are used for additional information and
definition of some obsolete words.
The writing on some
of the letters is bold and easily read, while on others the ink
is extremely dim and difficult or impossible to read. The script
was illegible in a few cases requiring a decision or
interpretation to be made as to the letter or letters to be used.
Much care was taken in transcribing the letters and it is hoped
that any errors made have no effect on the message intended by
the writer.
Most of the letters
were written in ink. Because the writer had to stop often to dip
his pen in an ink supply, when the writing resumed words were
sometimes repeated or omitted. Many of the letters were written
under harsh conditions. The extreme cold and heat, poor lighting,
rough writing surfaces, physical ailments of the writer, and
general chaos of army camplife were far from ideal conditions to
compose a well-written letter.
Considering the age
of the letters, the majority are in remarkably good condition.
The letters were written on various types of paper ranging in
size from a partial sheet measuring 7� by 7� inches to large
sheets of 15 by 14� inches folded to form four pages. Quality
and appearance ranged from one large sheet of lined blue paper
with a cannon and other confederate markings printed in red to
small brown scraps of paper. Like most other supplies available
to the southern soldiers, paper was most plentiful early in the
war. The quality and quantity of the paper rapidly diminished as
the war progressed and at times paper and pencils were among the
scarcest of commodities.
No envelopes were saved with the letters. Several
of the letters were folded several times forming a small parcel
which was addressed on the back side. When the company was camped
at one location for an extended period of time the letters from
home would reach camp in about seven to ten days and it is
assumed the letters from camp home took approximately the same
time to reach their destination. As mentioned in many of the
letters, men traveling back and forth from DeKalb County to the
campsites were often used as couriers by the soldiers to send
their letters home.
Although the wording
and the spelling used in the letters are sometimes awkward, the
feelings of the young soldiers come across very clear. The ink on
the letters may have faded over the years, the feelings denoted
are as vivid as when they were first recorded.
This page was last updated on 01/31/02
Copyright 1994 DeWayne R.
Welborn; Owasso, Oklahoma
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 94-XXXXX