A Pair Of Letters From The Union Surgeon To Mr. Edward (Eddie) Cushman Of Monson, Massachusetts Regarding The Arrival Of More Black Soldiers And The Threat Of Rebel Ironclads

JORDAN, JOSIAH [A UNION SURGEON]

Publication: Letters written by Josiah Jordan, a Union Surgeon, 1865, Morganza, Louisiana

Both of these letters are written from Morganza, Louisiana. 6 pp. This was the headquarters for the 67th U. S. Colored Infantry at the time of writing. Josiah Jordan was a Union surgeon writing to Edward Cushman, son of Solomon F. Cushman, proprietor of the S. F. Cushman Woolen Mill, and a member of the prominent Cushman family. The first letter is dated February 11, 1865 and reads: "I live in the bank of the great Mississippi & see Steam Boats pass every day sometimes with a thousand soldiers on one... A great many soldiers are moving to a place near New Orleans & when they are all ready with Artillery Cavalry & Infantry they will all move together to whip the rebels & almost all the soldiers that I see here are blacks. I think there will be battles fought in this part of the country soon. Not in Louisiana but in Texas or Alabama. I am on the west shore of the river about 100 miles below Natchez and 27 miles below the mouth of the Red River." The second letter is dated April 1, 1865, and was written immediately following the flooding of their encampment. Jordan describes the layout of their temporary site and anticipates that they will soon be leaving the post altogether. "News came to us last evening that the rebels were coming down the Red River with their Iron Clads and 5,000 men or more to attack us, there will be some big fighting before the boats can get at us. We have 16 or 1800 men here, and three small gun boats called Tin Clads lying in the river so that we can do some very good fighting if they come. I am liable to be called up anytime in the night by the coming of the Rebels..." Joshua Jordan Josiah Jordan was from Dover, Maine, and moved to Foxcroft in 1848 where he had a successful medical practice. Following the tragic deaths of his two children, he became disillusioned with medical science and gave up his practice. In 1862, Jordan enlisted and served with the 22nd Maine Infantry before becoming a surgeon in Morganza, Louisiana, with the 67th U.S. Colored Troops, a unit which saw much action in the Civil War. Edward Cushman was a member of a prominent Massachusetts family, whose lineage can be traced back to the Mayflower. He would eventually move out west to California and become a pioneer of the city of Long Beach, California. Letters have old fold creases and are lightly rubbed and soiled and accompanied with the original mailing envelope. Very good.

Inventory Number: 52813