John Beach’s correspondence from Jun. 20, 1862 through Aug. 31, 1865, written from La Grange and Memphis, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), Georgia to his mother.

The letters describe everyday camp life as being very monotonous. Beach makes few references to any military action except picket duty, and seems more concerned with receiving letters and packages from his girlfriends, Mary Anne and Jennie, and his family back home. He regularly sends money to his mother, and in a September 24, 1862 letter asks that she send him his overcoat, a pair of buckskin gloves, and his watch, which he figures he can sell for ten or twelve dollars. A letter of October 2, 1862 contains Beach’s request for a new pair of shoes or boots, which he wants “to be made of fine kid.” He promises to send his measurements so that the shoemakers in Ottawa, Illinois can make him a pair. A long letter of October 31, 1862 describes an outing he made with a few fellow soldiers to harvest sweet potatoes; and mentions that they have a “little darky boy” in camp, and “have a great deal of fun with him.” The following year, in June 1863, Beach is still in Memphis, but is now at the smallpox hospital. However, he has just sent home $100, and all is well. In Big Shanty, Georgia (now Keenesaw, on the outskirts of Atlanta) on June 22, 1864, Beach writes that “the Rebs fought harder today then ever before.” Fighting is intense, with continuous shelling, although only one man in their regiment has been killed. The Union soldiers have not yet captured Atlanta. The last four letters are from 1865—March 17, May 22, June 13, and August 31—and contain little war news. Beach mentions that his box has not come on the express from Cairo, and that his girlfriend, Jennie, has a new melodeon from her father. He is also hoping for a furlough.