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The Stilwell Letters
A Georgian in Longstreet's Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Ronald Moseley, editor
Foreword by Herman Hattaway
The remarkable letters of gifted prose by a Georgian soldier in Longstreet's Corps.
William Ross Stilwell was wed to Mary Fletcher Speer (known as Molly) on 8 September 1859 in McDonough, Georgia, in Henry County. William was twenty and Molly was eighteen. Having moved to northwestern Louisiana and having their first child, they returned to Georgia in 1861 so Molly and their son Tommy could stay with the family while William joined Company F of the 53rd Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry in May 1862.
The 53rd Georgia, on reaching Virginia, was immediately assigned to the brigade commanded by Paul Jones Semmes, a wealthy Columbus banker. The brigade was later commanded by Goode Bryan and then by James Philip Simms. The 53rd Georgia was in the Corps of James Longstreet and fought at Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cedar Creek.
Stilwell maneuvered for a special position and consecutively held positions of brigade headquarters guard, assistant to the brigade quartermaster, and finally brigade courier. Throughout the war, he maintained daily contact with
company F. Collected here are 127 of his letters, most written to Molly. He wrote her about once a week for two and one-half years. His subjects are endless, his prose, at times, is mesmerizing:
"When the moon is up in the heavens and gentle wind from the mountains sends forth its still rustlings among the aspen tree under which I stand while the thousands of rattles of the drums are all still and the frogs that sing in the swamp all around are sending forth their beautiful melody while I go from post to post with a little black box in my hand containing the moments of my soul with a little lock of golden braid." (22 July 1862)
In a more pessimistic mood after Gettysburg, "To give up is but subjugation, to fight on is but dissolution, to submit is awful, to fight on is death. Oh what shall we do? To submit, God forbid. To fight on, God deliver." (13 August 1863)
Ronald Moseley, an Atlanta native and retired businessman, is a descendant of a soldier who served along with William R. Stilwell in Company F of the 53rd Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry.
Titles of Related Interest
Griswoldville
Life in Dixie During the War
Repairing the "March of Mars":
The Civil War Diaries of John Samuel Apperson
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