Co. "K" Article

27 Aug 2006

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Area soldier's Civil War letter is online

Civil War soldier Fred Wilkinson could be considered as devoted to the Union as he was to his wife back home in Kalamazoo, based on a letter in a new online exhibit of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City.

``My love for you grows stronger every day,'' Wilkinson wrote to his wife, Amanda, on Nov. 16, 1861. ``I hope that you will not feel sad because I am not with you. ... Remember that you have more cause to rejoice that you have a husband contending for the Constitution and flag of his country.''

The letter is among 103 from Wilkinson -- 99 of them to his wife -- in the museum's collection, said museum communications manager Eric Sharfstein.

``We acquired the letter, along with the rest of the Wilkinson collection, with several Civil War soldier collections from many states in 1993,'' Sharfstein said in an e-mail.

Fred and Amanda Wilkinson were married on May 8, 1861. A few weeks later, at the age of 27, he enlisted as a sergeant in Company K of the 2nd Michigan Infantry. He wrote the Nov. 16 letter knowing that he would not be home for the birth of their first child.

To see a photo of the letter and hear an excerpt, visit the Web site at www.gilderlehrman.org. The online exhibit, called ``Freedom: A History of US,'' also includes a unique copy of the South Carolina printing of the Declaration of Independence, drafts of the Constitution, and a handmade abolitionist flag used by supporters of John Brown.

The P.S. column is produced by, from left, Tom Minehart, John Liberty,

Features Editor Margaret DeRitter, Kathy Jennings and James Sanford.