Letters Home

"The news has come that the Rebel Braggs army is whipped and cut to pieces. One whole regiment come over to our side, so I guess Kentucky is sick of fighting against the Union. It is near 12 o'clock and we have been taking up our tents and putting them in line, so we have quite a village. To see the fortifications, forts, and cannons that are planted here is astonishing. There is men enough too. Regiment after Regiment. I am not discontented in the least. I see no hardship but what I can endure for the good of my country..." The 144th Regiment of the New York Volunteer Infantry signed up its first recruit, Bishop Asbury Cook, on August 12, 1862, and Cook remained with the regiment until it mustered out in July, 1865. The letters contained in this volume span Cook's career with the regiment. Letters written by Cook to his wife, Louisa Maria (Alexander) Cook are grouped by month and describe the daily activities and everyday concerns of the average soldier. Each month's section contains a chronology of events for the Civil War nationwide, a chronology of events within the 144th Regiment, and a history of the regiment. Supplemental historical background enhances, and sometimes contrasts with, the contents of Cook's letters.