Michigan in the Civil War
Browse by Name: Read, Thomas.
Read, Thomas, d. 1896.
Photocopies of eighteen letters (Jan. 1863 and Aug. 1863-July 1864) written to members of his family while he was serving in the 5th Michigan Infantry. Most of the letters are written from the hospital in Chester where he was a patient after being wounded. He makes critical comments about the doctors, the hospital and its food and discipline. He tells of the disciplining of a soldier by a doctor, which caused a near mutiny. He speaks of a wounded female soldier. He also comments on the Emancipation Proclamation, Copperheads, the draft and bounty payments, the conscript law, and the conduct of the war, with a reminiscent account of the march from Hampton to Yorktown and the hardships they endured. There are frequent references to home affairs. Read was from Sanilac County, Mich.