Part I - Hezekiah Lamb and Hannah Small
Family Group "G"
Joshua S. Lamb, son of Hezekiah Lamb and Hannah Small, was born 1846, in Grant County, Indiana.
He was a private in the 9th Iowa Cavalry, during the Civil War. He died 7 October 1865, in Pearidge, Arkansas, and was buried there, until the 1880’s, when the Union men’s graves were moved to the National Cemetery, in Springfield, Missouri.
The story told in the family, is this: The war was drawing to a close, and Joshua was working as a cook’s helper. He went down to a stream to get water, and on the way back he stopped at the top of a little hill to watch a battle going on below. He was hit by a stray bullet. The bullet didn’t kill him, but the infection and fever which set in, did.
As a good Quaker, his mother must have been particularly grieved. She kept a good many of his letters, including some letters that had been written to his sisters. How precious they must have been to her. I have gone through those letters and interpreted them as best I could. The letters were old and yellowed, faded, the handwriting sometimes small and cramped on a small piece of paper, the spelling and the style of 100 years ago. They are presented here to picture better the times they were living in. BLS
Dear father I seat myself down to answer your letter which I got today and read with pleasure. I was glad to hear from home. I would like to hear from you every week, but I don’t hear from you only about once in 7 months. Our Brigade just got in to camp today we was out nearly 10 days. The 8th Missour captured 20 prisoners the Rebs fired on our pickets but did not hurt anyone our Regiment is in the Second Division and 7th Army Corp and it is commanded by Brig General Andrews he is a fine looking man we are brigaded with the 8th and 11th Missouri Cav Well father we haven’t got paid for 5 mo tho we signed the pay roll just before we went out on the scout and the pay master came to pay us but we wan’t here so he has left and it may be some time before we get our money. I will send you all I can and you must use it all for it don’t belong to me. I expect you have a lot of hard work to do now for you have got a good sized farm and it will keep you busy to get along with it. tell the boys to do all they can and not quarrel with one another for I know I used to jaw and grumble all the time and when I come to think about it I am ashamed of myself. Maybe the time will come when I can come and help them do their work I am well and hearty with the exception of a sore T O E. I was walking yesterday (my horse had give out) and I stumped my toe very bad I will have to send this letter unpaid for I can’t get any stamps here for they are are not to be had. You said you had the dryest sumer there that you ever seen Well we had a very dry summer here but we have plenty of rain now corn is not very good we stripped nearly every field as we went along there were nearing 10 regiments of us and 8 pieces of Artilley We run about 60 rebs out of Hickory plains they were just ready to eat brakfast Give my love to mother and the rest of the family tell the little children would like to see them the best kind they must be good and kind to one another or they will grow up wicked as I have done father. I find it is very easy to keep from swearing you know I used to curse the horses and the boys and I find it only hurt my self but I hope to be a better boy in the future. Direct to Cairo or Memphis either place will do your son Joshua S. Lamb
I Embrace the present moment to drop you a few lines to let you know how I am getting along. I am not very well this morning I have got the flux but I got some medicine of the doctor and I think that I will soon be well again. I hope when these lines reach you they will find you all well. It has been some time since I have got any letter from you but I am looking for our ever mail. I haven’t heard from Wilson for a long time. I have write 2 letters to him since I have got any from him. I heard the 39th had lost 167 men killed and wounded and Col Redield was among the killed I would like to know whether any of the mosheta(?) boys were killed or not all of our wounded men started out with 7 days rashions. I guess they are going to Fort Smith they will have a pretty cold time of it for the nights are prety frosty. We have had rain nearly ever day for over a week but the sun is shing this morning and it has cleared off again. I expect you have some very cold weather up there now but I think the weather is more disagreeable down here than it is up there you must write and let me know how you get along with the farm and how much corn you raise to the acre there and how much wheat and corn and oats are worth per bushel.-potaoes are 3 dollars a bushel down here. I don’t know how much wheat and corn is worth for there wasen’t much raised and we captured nearly all the corn they raised. Butter is 80 cents a paound apples 10cts apiece or 3 for a quater, the citizens want 6 dollars a dozen for chickens but we think that is a little to steep and make them take 25 cts apiece. I got a pass a few days ago and went to the bluff to see Howell his arm was prety bad it was swelled very bad but I guess it will get well after while
Reuben and Enock are both well Reuben went out with the rest of the mounted men I wanted to go but Lieut. said I wasn’t able to go so I staid We have very poor tents to stay in but we are a going to build winter quaters we have got some logs hauled for a kitchen. We will have to make boards to cover our house with for ther aint any mills around here to saw lumber there was 10 or 12 of our Regt took 5 teans and went out after lumber and there was a squad of Rebs dashed on them and wounded 2 teamsters and took them prisoners but two of our company. the teamsters are both dead now they found some wounded man they had left I don’t know where he is now Some of our brigade went out and captured some of the Rebs and I don’t know how many prisoners they took Well I can’t write much more for my hands are getting cold tell me when you write whether Silas has got down there yet or not and whether you hav heard anything from Jane or not I don’t get any word from Jim’s folks I haven’t got but one letter from them since I left ___? tell me how the draft goes there and all about the election When it passes there are about 30 of our company entitled to a vote and they are all for old Abraham Lincoln
I will close by hopeing to hear from you soon this from
Dear Mother I take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines to let you know how I am gitting along. I haven’t been very well since our last scout. I took a deep cold and I have a very bad cough, but it is some better. I hope when this comes to hand it will find you all well. the most of our brigade started out on a scout day before yesterday, they aim to be gone 40 days. It commenced snowing this morning and it snowed til noon the ground is very muddy. 40 of our company went out they will see the worst time they ever saw in their lives
I would like to have been there to have passed Christmas with you but we passed it here in a little log cabin. We had a prety good time New Years. I wrote three letters Reuben and Enock are well and so is Corporal Burnham. both of our Lieutenants resigned, our captain was mustered out. I would like to be there to go to your writing school but it may be some time before I have an opportunity, but still think that I will have a chance some day We don’t hear any war is progressing there is good many gurillias through this state they made a dash ever now and then on our pickets
I wrote you a letter day before yesterday. I can’t think of much to write about for ever thing is just the same. Well I will tell you what we had for dinner. We had hard tack and sour belly and coffee and beans. so you see we live ____ (?) fat these times, but when a solder gets that he thinks he’s doing prety well. I don’t know whether the boys will come back or not they may go over into TN yet. Well I don’t care whether they come here any more or not for one place is just about as good as another if you want to know anything about Arkansas I can tell you it is prety muddy in wet weather the Byous all overflow
Well I guess I have wrote about all I can think of this time. I will again before long tell the boys to be good boys and mind their mother. so I will close my letter by hoping to hear from you soon from your hopeful son
Joshua S. LambDear Sister I now take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines in answer to your most kind and welcome letter which came to hand day before yesterday and I can say that it found me well excepting a very bad cold I truly hope that these few and awkward lines will find you all well. I received a letter from Rebecca at the same time I did yours. I would like to see you all the best kind and I am in hopes that this war is about determined. Well I think it is for we have drivem them to their last stronghold and they will have to come to some terms before long there is not hardly a Bushwhacker to seen any where around here. There was some of our regiment started out on a Scout yesterday. I guess they are agoing towards Pine Bluff they think there is a few rebels down that way. I expect we will stay here till next summer. I don’t care if we do for we have got splindid quarters to stay in. We have got good stables for our horses, and if we do stay here we won’t have much scouting to do. Some say that we are brigaded with the 3rd and 4th Arkansas and the 9th Kansas, but I don’t know for certain now. the brigade we were in is about all dismounted. Well Jane, I expect that old Indiana did look natural to you for there is where you spent your childish years. I would like to see the old place and mill once more but it is doubtful whether I do or not, for I don’t expect I will ever have a chance to visit there for times will change so it wouldn’t look natural to me
We have the nicest kind of weather here now although it is prety windy to day. I would like to have a chance to go to your meeting, for we don’t get to go here for there ain’t any to go to I haven’t been to church for 4 or 5 months. Well, Jane I would like to see some of the prety Girls you say comes to meeting but ___(?) that is out of the question now so I will have to content myself by looking at one that is by my side (Well you can guess that she don’t live in Fremont County though) tell John that he may fight in Fremont County while I go back and conquer Dallas. Well, I will hush up for the present. We haven’t been paid off for nearly 8 months and I don’t know when we will get paid for there isn’t much talk of it now. I am going to send every cent of my money home if I ever get it. I don’t calculate to lend any more
I want to express some clothing home this spring. Ask father if he don’t want a good overcoat, if he does I can send him one and he can get it collored Black if he wants to. I believe that Sidney is your expreses office. they have got about 40 dollars charged against ever boy in the company for clothing and any body with good sense knows that a person can’t wear out a hundred dollars worth of clothing a year. they make us draw clothing when we don’t need it and then when we go to march it is lost and we have it to pay for I guess that I will have to quit and get the boys some dinner and then write some to beck (Rebecca?) and the rest. We haven’t any chance to get postage here we have to get our office to frank our letters for us
From your loving brother