Abstract:
"These letters are remarkable, too, because they extend from 1847, the Mexican War..then a break and then resume with his trip to the west on the same boat as Gen. Wright. Later they continue through part of the Civil War. He was devoted to his family, yet was unable to visit them only on rare occasions. First, the yellow fever outbreak prevented his reunion when he prepared to come west. When he returned, his family were in Maryland and he was across the river in Virginia (one letter was signed 'Simcoe' and sent across the lines by a spy..evidently as protection for his family if the letter was intercepted.)"
