[Partial Autograph Letter Signed from Union Soldier Reuben Kirk, to His Wife in Springfield, Vermont, Describing Escaped Slaves Seeking Refuge with Union Forces in Virginia, and the Growing Anti-Slavery Sentiment of Rank-and-File Soldiers]

[N.p., 1865. [2]pp., totaling about 325 words. Old folds, minor wear. Very good. With original transmittal envelope addressed to "Mrs. R. L. Kirk." Two pages of a surviving portion of a fascinating Civil War soldier's letter written to his wife, discussing enslavement and the arrival of enslaved people into Union lines. Though incomplete, the letter preserves several revealing passages documenting the ways in which direct exposure to enslaved people affected the attitudes of ordinary Union soldiers. The author was likely Reuben Kirk (he signs his name "Reuben" at the conclusion of the letter and addresses it to "Mrs. RL Kirk"). After reflecting on the separation from his wife and infant child, Kirk writes:

"I see by the papers that the Democrats are badly whipped there in the last election. The people are beginning to see that Slavery must die or our Country is lost. You do not find any proslavery men here among the privates. We have seen something of the affects of Slavery in Va & almost every day the slaves are flying to our lines for protection & they do not fly in vain. The soldiers will always divide their last ration with them. Some of them are almost naked."

Considering that he mentions recent elections, and then concludes with references to military operations then underway by General Grant, this likely indicates that Kirk was stationed with Grant in or near Virginia in 1864 or 1865. The postal mark on the envelope accompanying the letter is stamped from Washington, DC. Reuben writes near the end: "It has rained here this afternoon & our pickets are having a hard time. The cannonading has stopped so I guess we shall not be called out at present. Grant is getting an immense army here now & we hope to be successful in our next battle."

Syracuse University holds some of Reuben's Civil War correspondence. Their online inventory description includes some biographical information and further details on Kirk's war activities, as follows: "Reuben Kirk (fl. 1865) was a native of Springfield, Vermont and a soldier in the Union Army. He volunteered in 1863 and served as a private at the battle of Chancellorsville that same year; in General Philip Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864; and in General Grant's campaign against Richmond and Petersburg, 1864-1865." They indicate his wife's name is Mary, then further detail some of the content of his correspondence consistent with the present example: "The letters contain descriptions of life in the Union Army camps and on campaigns, descriptions of battles, and comments on such things as the religious life of the army and the presidential election of 1864."

The letter presents a firsthand account of enslaved people seeking refuge within Federal lines during the Civil War, and how this firsthand exposure of newly freed peoples came to make the cruelties of enslavement a central cause for the Union soldiers.