Gift of the Moyerman family, 1972.
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MSS 099, F916, Matlack family letters to Samuel J. Matlack, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Processed and encoded by Alexander Clark Johnston, February 2012.
Philadelphian Samuel J. Matlack (1845-1898) served as a sailor aboard the USS
Family members in Philadelphia--including his father, mother, sisters, brothers, and a relative--sent letters to Samuel J. Matlack, who served on the
The
Samuel J. Matlack was employed as a manufacturer after the war. In 1867, he married Emma L. Everly (b. 1848). Records of his post-war activities are sparse, although his pension application indicates that he received treatment for mental illness in 1883 and that by 1885 his condition was severe enough to prevent him from working. In 1890 Samuel Matlack was admitted to the US National Homes for Disabled Veteran Soldiers for a "depression of skull" and in 1891 he successfully applied for a pension due to mental disorders resulting from his military service. In his pension application, Matlack was diagnosed with epilepsy and an unspecified "mental derangement." In 1892 Samuel Matlack was transferred to the Government Insane Asylum in Washington, D.C. (later known as St. Elizabeth's Hospital), where he remained until his death in 1898 of bronchial pneumonia.
Matlack family records are sparse. Samuel's parents were Mason Matlack (ca. 1824-1868) and Matilda E. Matlack (ca. 1808-1894). His brother, Lewis J. Matlack (1842-1909), was employed as a merchant and was married to Clemmie Matlack (b. 1844). As mentioned in letters in this collection, Lewis and Clemmie Matlack had two children: Laura (b. 1863, died in infancy) and an unidentified son (b. 1865). Samuel J. Matlack had four sisters: Mary, Mollie, Tillie, and Annie. A second brother, Harry Matlack, served in the Union Army and died while a prisoner of war, sometime prior to 1862. At the time of the Civil War, all of the surviving members of Samuel J. Matlack's immediate family were living in Philadelphia. Samuel Matlack's "nephyou" (probably his cousin), Mason M. Murray, served in the Union Army and was wounded in June 1864 in a campaign against Richmond. Mason Murray's leg was subsequently amputated and he remained hospitalized for the duration of the war. In December 1865, Murray wrote to Matlack from Tilton US General Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.
This collection consists of seventeen letters written by members of the Matlack family in Philadelphia to Samuel J. Matlack while he was serving in the Union Navy aboard the USS
The letters document the Civil War era as experienced by civilians and depict the Matlack family's close relationship with their son and brother. Although the Matlacks described seeing wounded soldiers and supply ships coming and going through Philadelphia, their experience of the war was otherwise second-hand, mediated by newspapers and infrequent letters from their son and other first-hand witnesses to the combat zones. The Matlack correspondents wrote about family and neighbors: births, deaths, holiday celebrations, and day-to-day business and activities. They wrote about financial hardships caused by the war, especially the increased cost of goods. They commented on recent developments in the war effort and on political and current events, including the 1864 presidential election and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. Samuel's father and brother relayed news about a relative, Mason M. Murray, who served with the Union Army and lost a leg to amputation after he was wounded in battle. Family members occasionally referenced information from Samuel Matlack's letters (which are not present in this collection), providing a few details to an otherwise undocumented military experience. Family members almost always admonished Samuel for failing to write more regularly and expressed frequent concerns for his safety. Lewis Matlack cautioned his brother not to "touch one drop of spirited drink" and Matilda Matlack prayed for her youngest son, on the occasion of his twentieth birthday and after an absence of two years, that Samuel should grow "to be a virtuous upright man."
Though small, this group of one family's letters reflects the sweeping historical significance of the war and its impact on American families: the mother was deeply distressed with concern over two sons in service, one of whom died; another relative suffered an amputation after a war wound; and families endured economic hardships but supported soldiers and sailors with boxes of sundries from home. Above all, letters through the mail relayed personal news, with notes about war progress toward cessation of fighting and hopes of family reunions. The Matlacks shared political opinions of support for "the National Union ticket" of "Old Abe" and Andrew Johnson as opposed to the Copperhead candidate George B. McClellan. Samuel Matlack's brother wrote about "the foul murder of our dear president, o such a gloom" and the final letter in the collection, from amputee Mason Murray to Samuel, summed up an opinion of war: "when they get hit like I did it is not much sport in it."
The letters in this collection are organized chronologically. The principal correspondents are Samuel's father, Mason Matlack and his brother, Lewis J. Matlack. Other correspondents include his sisters, Mary, Tillie, and Mollie; his sister-in-law, Clemmie (married to Lewis J. Matlack); his mother, Matilda E. Matlack; and his "nephyou" (or more likely cousin) Mason M. Murray. With the exception of Mason Murray's letter, written from Tilton Military Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, all of the letters were mailed to Samuel from Philadelphia via the USS
This item forms part of MSS 099 Miscellaneous Literary and Historical Manuscripts.
From father Mason: news of his and wife's recent illness and business prospects of family and neighbors; query about son's "fight you had with the nigrow on the forecastle deck."
From sister Mary: news of grandmother's death, receipt of Samuel's money which mother used for bonnet and dress to go to grandmother's funeral.
From father Mason: news of a steamboat from Washington, D.C., which arrived carrying sick, wounded, and dead Union soldiers; relays information about neighbors serving in other theaters of the war.
From sister Tillie: references a failed military expedition which Samuel had been engaged in, and in which one of Samuel's commanding officers was taken as a prisoner of war. Expresses the families relief at having learned that Samuel survived the engagement. Also discusses the death of their brother, Harry, who died while a prisoner of war. The mailing envelope is black-edged.
From brother Lewis: writes that Clemmie gave birth to a daughter, Laura, on November 4, 1863; the infant died of illness when two weeks old. Discusses plans for Christmas festivities and Samuel's Christmas presents.
From father Mason: news of Mason's continuing illness; refers to a letter from Samuel's cousin, Mason Murray, who wrote that his unit of the Army was preparing to march against Richmond.
From brother Lewis: news that Mason Murray lost his left leg to amputation following a war wound, and was subsequently hospitalized.
From father Mason: writes of a visit to Mason Murray in the hospital; refers to a expedition which Samuel participated in, under command of Captain West.
From bother Lewis and sister-in-law Clemmie: both write urging Samuel to vote for Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson on "the national union ticket" in the coming presidential election, as opposed to the Copperhead candidate, George B. McClellan.
From father Mason: writes to urge Samuel to vote for Abraham Lincoln in the coming presidential election, as opposed to the Copperhead candidate, George B. McClellan; refers to economic hardships.
From sister Tillie: mentions the 1864 presidential election of "Old Abe" and General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia.
From mother Matilda: written to Samuel on his twentieth birthday; implores him to look to his spiritual salvation.
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From brother Lewis: references an earlier letter from Samuel, in which Samuel described the Union occupation of Fort Sumter. Also writes of Ves Crossley, a prisoner of war who escaped from a transport carrying him to Charlotte. He subsequently reached Sherman's lines and served there before being transferred and eventually discharged.
From brother Lewis: regarding the birth of his son; references Samuel's account of the Union occupation of Fort Sumter.
From brother Lewis: regarding father's alcoholism, the capture of Richmond, the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Discussion of the assassination includes information on the mourning observances in Philadelphia, and Lewis' hopes that, under Johnson, "the leaders [of the Confederacy] will all get what they deserve the rope for a neck tie."
From cousin, Mason: regarding his war injury, his and Samuel's differing views of warfare.