John French letter to his family, July 1861
Contributed by Fifth Maine Regiment Museum
Description
John French, a private in Co. B of the 5th Maine Infantry, writes to tell his family not to believe all that they may have heard about the first Battle of Bull Run, which he took part in, saying "our loss is not near as large as it is reppresented in the papers."
He also mentions the secessionism at work in Maine at the time.
Several other young Maine men, friends of French's who also enlisted, are mentioned by name; they saw each other frequently, despite being in different regiments.
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