I recently came across an article published in the Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine in 1965 – the centennial of the end of the Civil War – that publishes letters found in a pension file in Washington written by Cordello Collins.

Depending on what birthdate you believe, Collins was either 19 or 21 when he enlisted in Roy Stone’s Raftsmen Guards in 1861.

“The markmanship of a hunder, the hardiness of a lumberman, were the standards for enrollment in this Warren County group,” the article entitled A Bucktail Voice – Civil War Correspondence of Pvt. Cordello Collins states, “and Collins easily qualified. He was an excellent shot, having like most of the Raftsmen, handled a gun in the backwoods since childhood.”

The author, Mark Reinsberg, describes Collins as a “sturdy, blue-eyed youth of five-foot-eight, toughened in limb by his apprenticeship as a blacksmith and several winters of lumbering.”

The monument to the regiment on the southern end of the Gettysburg battlefield.

Reinsberg writes that Collins and his family moved from New York to Pennsylvania in the early 1840s and noted that his father set up a blacksmith shop on the Allegheny.

“For a time, Mr. Collins could afford to keep two assistants in his shop. Ultimately, Kinzua was an unlucky choice of location. The area had been celebrated for its pine forest but by the Civil War period, lumbering in Kinzua had declined. The number of households engaged in farming had also declined. Moreover, there were three other blacksmiths competing for business in the village and hardly 400 souls in the entire township.”

The article states that the family owned a few acres and a couple cows but notes that by the time war broke out, Cordello’s father was heavily in debt and he suffered from failing health which ultimately left him bedridden.

“His wife Dolly, a Vermont woman with eight children to provide for besides her invalid husband, would be reduced to taking in washing while her eldest son defended the union.”

Collins would earn $13 a month as a private in the Union Army.

In a largely agricultural economy – and with hungry mouths at home – Collins felt an immense burden to make sure his money made it home to his family and not into the hands of debt collectors.

His company – the Raftsmen Guard – would have been one of the first in the area to organize, with the effective date of enlistment of May 29, 1861, less than two months after Southern soldiers opened fire on Fort Sumter.

The company traveled to Harrisburg and organized into the service on June 21 at the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry (also known as the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteers and the First Pennsylvania Rifles), according to a unit history from the National Park Service.

After movements to Cumberland, Maryland, into West Virginia and to Harper’s Ferry, the regiment was moved to Tennallytown, Md.

That’s where have the first letter that Collins wrote home. Reinsberg notes that the letters remain largely unedited – he added periods where needed but kept the misspellings. I kept them too – except for when there is a word in parenthesis after a misspelling that I thought was necessary to convey meaning.

November 1, 1861

Camp Pierpoint

Fairfax Co. Va.

Dear Perrants

I received your letter day before yesterday. It was dated the 23 of Oct. I was glad to hear from you and that you was so well there. You wrote to me that you herd that the Pa. solgers was all killed in that hard fite but none of the Pa. solgers was there. That paper will tell you all I know about it. I have sent 3 news papers there. I wrote one letter the 11 or 12 of Oct. I dont know whitch. I have received 5 letters from you. I dont know how meny letters I have wrote to you but now I am goin to put down every one I write and the day of the month.

We have had 4 or 5 hard frosts heare. Last night was very cold heare but was cloudy. Last Monday and teusday we had a genral inspection. The bucktails had the prais of bein the best drilled regment out of the Pa. reserve V.C. Yesterday our regment had a genral muster.

We expect 2 month pay now. I have sined my name to the Capt roal (roll) to have $6.00 dollars per month sent to you. I direcked it to mother. For I did not know but if I sent it to you father that some one you oad (owe) would try to get it. This mony will be sent to judge R. Brown at Warren. You myst go there to get it. Or send a order for it.There will be 12 dollars now sent. And maby it will be 2 month be fore it will come again but look out for it. It will be 12 dollars every 2 monnth. Save every cent of this mony to pay for a home for you and nothing elce. For my sake. When you pay this mony out be shure it wont be lost. Pay it out in mothers or my name. So you can keep it. I have 7 dollars left to me heare per month. That is a nuf for me to use a month.

While I am heare we have had one Skirmish heare. The 20 of Oct. some of this rement (regiment) had fire one shot a piece at them and killed 4 or 5 of the Secess horse men about 3/4 of a mile. This is all I can think of now at presant. Only we have got a new suit of close (clothes). There are a first rate suit. They are a dark blue collar. The coat is a frock coat worth a bout 8 dollars.

This song, let one of the boys lern it and speak it to school. We will have songs better than this after a while but this is the truth. When you write let me know if you got them papers, 3 of them. And I sent Amy a song. Tell me if she got that. It Cost me 15 cents for 5 and they ask 5 cents for 1 and this Song cost 3 cents.

I want you to send me a bucktail. Put a paper a round it and sent it by mail. Or if you can find Juit at Warren you can send it by him if he comes back again. I would like to have one from home for the naim of it. Write how much snow there has binn there and if you has killed eny dear since I came from home. The 19th, the Pa. solgers marched about 18 miles out in towards manasas gap. Then we laid down for to stay over night but about 9 oclock we was ordered back 2 miles to the Cross roads to where the most of the regments was. Then stade there over night and Sonday till Monday. Then marched back to our camps Monday. We have had a peaceiful time since then heare but we expect to move from heare soon.

We have a nuf to eat heare sutch as it is. But I have to buy some sweet potatoes and py and sweet cakes, butter Chease and apples to suit my taste. Butter is from 25 to 30 Cents a pound. Chease from 15 to 20 Cents per pound. Sweet potatoes 5 Cents per pound. I am well at present and harty. I can lay the sweet potatoes and butter down to a pritty good advantage. But Fletcher Hamlin can beat me eating. But we have plenty now. Apples at the sise of them sweet ones would sell heare too for 5 cents. I give yesterday 5 cents for one apple about the sise of a cup or your best. Write to me soon as you can. I reming (remain) your affectionare Friend

Cordello Collins

write as before