Michigan in the Civil War
Hulbert, Rosanna Covey.
Hulbert was a resident of Waverly Township, Van Buren County, Mich., who married Nathan Hulbert, a veteran of Company C., 70th New York Infantry. The collection includes letters written to Rosanna Covey by her future husband and by her brothers Alfonzo, Hiram, and Jordin Covey and her cousins Eleazer and Israel Covey.
Alfonzo Covey, of Paw Paw, Mich. He enlisted in Company K, 13th Michigan Infantry, December 20, 1863. He was taken prisoner on March 4, 1865, and discharged July 20, 1865. There are nine letters written to home folks in 1864. He writes about the health of the boys in camp; rebel deserters coming into camp; the many new recruits; and his leaving the field hospital because he said they were starving him.
Eleazer J. Covey, of Leonidas, Mich. There are four letters written in 1864-65 to his cousin in which he tells her of guarding a mountain gap during five rainy days, and he describes the regiment's part in a charge on their front in the battle of Atlanta. In February 1865 he is put in charge of a commissary in a hospital in Nashville where he has "plenty to eat, a good office to work in, and a nice bed to sleep in." He enlisted in Company A, 11th Michigan Infantry in December, 1863, and joined the regiment in Rossville, Ga., in January, 1864. He was transferred to Company F in April, 1865, and discharged at Nashville in May.
Hiram F. Covey, of Waverly, Mich. There are ten letters (July 1861-Jan. 1863) in which he tells about the battle of Bull Run; comments on the differences between a Unionist and a Secessionist, mourns the death of his brother Jordin Covey; describes the activities in Camp Winfield Scott--skirmishing, digging trenches and rifle pits, throwing up breastworks; and standing picket guard, saying "Berdan's sharpshooters are here and they pick off a good many rebel pickets." He voices his opinion of Abolitionists who claim to be Republicans. In a letter from a hospital near Alexandria, (Nov. 30, 1862) he berates a younger brother for enlisting after one brother already has died for his country and he himself is disabled. One letter (Nov. 29, 1862) written from a hospital near Alexandria, in which he expresses his views of the Emancipation Proclamation. Covey enlisted in Company C, 70th New York Infantry, in April 1861. He was discharged for disability January 20, 1863. He reentered service and enlisted in Company G, 13th Michigan Infantry December 23, 1863, joining the regiment at Chattanooga February 1, 1864. He died of disease at Savannah, Ga., March 18, 1865.
Israel P. Covey. Eight letters written while he was serving in Company B, 44th Illinois Infantry (1861-1865). He was a corporal; re-enlisted January 1, 1864 at Blain's Cross Roads, Tenn., and was promoted to first lieutenant in Company B. He resigned in June 1865. He was in a battle near Murfreesboro. Five shots went through his coat, and one musket ball struck him in the right hip. He was taken prisoner on the way to the hospital, but released three days later when the rebels were driven off and left the men in the hospital. He guarded rebel property; was on the march in the rain for ten days, skirmishing most of the way. His first real battle was before Dalton and Resaca, Ga. Other battles were Jamesboro [sic], Franklin, and Nashville and he describes their movements. He didn't like McClellan, and he wouldn't vote for him. The 13th Infantry was camped near one of their camps, and he visited his cousin Alfonzo. One letter, March 18, 1865, tells Rosanna that on his way back to the regiment from home, he had been exposed to smallpox and had to stay in the hospital.
Jordin Covey. Three letters written July-Aug. 1861. One letter written July 5, 1861 from Camp Scott, Staten Island, in which he tells about fireworks on the 4th of July; guard duty; food. Covey served in Company C, 70th New York Infantry.
Nathan Hulbert. Eight letters written to Rosanna Covey from various camps: Camp Farnham, Md., Camp Winfield Scott, camp near the James River, Va., and Camp Brandy Station December 15, 1861-April 20, 1864. He tells of nightly shelling of rebel camps by the gunboats; building log huts; going by boat past Fortress Monroe; and seeing the Monitor. On landing the men were sent to a steam saw mill near Yorktown to get out lumber. There was heavy firing near them. Six Michigan regiments were within four miles of them. In July 1862 he tells of the retreat of the Army of the Potomac; the battle of Fair Oaks, and of President Lincoln's visit to the troops. In the April 20, 1864 letter he tells of sutlers and the sick being sent back from the front; and that he is driving a team again. The letter of Aug. 5, 1862, was written for Hulbert by Thomas Chaffee.
The collection also includes two letters written home by John Slover while he was serving in Company B, 17th Infantry (1862-1865). The letters were written from Camp Distribution, Va., or Rendezvous of Distribution (1863 and 1864). He believes fighting won't settle the war; and that the soldiers are losing confidence in the administration because "Lincoln wants the nigger on a level with the whites."
Also one letter from John J. Strong (June 22, 1862) from the "Banks of the Chickahominy" which describes the Fair Oaks battlefield. Strong served in Company K, 1st Michigan Infantry, and was killed at Gaines Mill, June 27, 1862.
The collection includes originals and transcripts of letters, as well as a partial subject index.
This collection is available on microfilm for interlibrary loan.