#3 John Ryan Civil War Letters ~~ (Undated) Fall, 1862
THE FINAL LETTER!
Direct you letter to John Ryan
36 Regiment Company F
4th Division 10 BrigadeDirect your letter to Mr. John Ryan
36 Regiment Company F Ind. N.M.
4th Division 10 brigade
Nashville, TennesseeDear Father,
Kate Says that your mother Payed all the tax that was due I am very glad to hear that, for it gave me a great deal of uneasiness in regard to it John you must tell me in your next letter all of those I am acquaintance with who joined Bickles Regiment there is a great many things going on there on account of the war fever that I wd like to know John must write to me as soon as get this Kate you Promised me you wd write to me when you would go live in the Country anyhow you must write to me often for I like to read your letters I am glad that Billy is Baptized you did not tell me what name you gave him tell Billy I am glad to hear that he act__ so good at church tell Maggy she must learn how to speak Plain for she is getting too big for not to do so Kate you Say you and Julia is learning to work lace I would like for you to Send me a Small Specimen of your lace the next letter I am Rejoised at hearing that you and Julia are improving yourselfs I have not more to say give my Best Respects to your mother and Elizy Remember me to all the Children tell John he must write soon and you must do the same I hope this will find you all in good health. John Ryan
36th INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY: Service (Cont'd)
March to Nashville, Tenn., thence to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg, August 21-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg to Wild Cat, Ky., October 1-20. Wild Cat, Ky., October 17.
Letter #3 was not dated; but had to be written before John's admission to the Louisville Hospital October 14.
This would mean Letter #3 was written during the famous "Pursuit of Bragg."Letter #3 (because of the completely uninterpretable salutation of "dear father") has been the subject of much speculation and discussion which I feel is unnecessary. At the time of its writing, John was already a sick man. As the final sentences indicate, he was also pressed for time! As far as I am concerned, the final sentence clarifies ALL ambiguity which others have read into the letter. After clearly directing each sentence to various of his children and sending his respects to his wife (in third person again) John "signs off" with a hope that the letter will "find you all in good health." I believe these features of the text and this "closing passage" should put all speculation to rest. The salutation of "dear father" has to be an inadvertency; as there is no documentation or tradition of any kind that John Ryan's father ever came to the U.S. or lived at the same address as John's children.
The letter was written in Nashville, and is undated; but careful research (see the chronologies above) allows us to date the letter within a few days. John's regiment marched to Nashville the last week of August. There they would have been re-provisioned and probably allowed a day or two of rest... during which John wrote Letter #3. Allthough there is some "overlap" in the official chronology, we can be fairly certain the letter was written near the end of August. The regiment then marched "thence to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg." From Louisville, they continued the "pursuit of Bragg" on October 1 and during this "march" or maneuvers, John fell sick! He was admitted to General Hospital #3 in Louisville on October 14. The regimental roll call shows John "absent without remand" during October and November. He died (of Typhoid) November 25, 1862.
When read with the knowledge that John would be dead within a couple of months of writing this letter, John's messages to his family are no less than "tear jerkers" ...and probably brought tears to the eyes of his daughter Sarah many times over the years as we can imagine she would have occasionally brought it out from the collection of treasures where his great grandchildren found it 100 years later.
CLICK HERE to return to "John Ryan Letters"
CLICK HERE to return to John Ryan's Military History
CLICK HERE to return to the main John Ryan Page