Abby Howland Woolsey to Georgy and Eliza. May 14. My dear Girls: Since Mother wrote you yesterday the Daniel Webster has come in again. Fred Rankin called last night with a message from Mrs. Trotter, whom he met in the street on the way from the steamer to take the cars for home. He told [...]

From Mother. 8 Brevoort Place, May 13th. My Dear Girls: I have just come up to my own room from breakfast, and from the reading of your most welcome and satisfactory letter, my dear Eliza, written off West Point; and now before anything calls off my attention, or any visitors arrive to “sit the morning,” [...]

Georgeanna to Mother. Steamer Knickerbocker. If my letter smells of “Yellow B.” sugar, it has a right to, as my paper is the cover of the sugar-box. Since I last wrote I have been jumping round from boat to boat, and Saturday came on board the Knickerbocker at Mr. Olmsted’s request, with Mrs. Strong and [...]

Georgy to Mother. “Ocean Queen.” It seems a strange thing that the sight of such misery should be accepted by us all so quietly as it was. We were simply eyes and hands for those three days. Strong men were dying about us; in nearly every ward some one was going. Yesterday one of the [...]

Abby Howland Woolsey to Georgy and Eliza. 8 Brevoort Place, Saturday. My Dear Girls: How little we know where you are and what worlds of work you are doing. It is hard to keep still, I know, where so much ought to be done. . . Yesterday Charley and the Webster were to sail and [...]

Georgeanna’s journal. Lenox Hodge happened to have come over from his hospital station on shore to call on us, just as the first patients arrived for the Ocean Queen, and, being the only doctor on hand at the time, was pressed into the service. He superintended the lowering into the forward cabin of all the very [...]

Eliza Woolsey Howland to Joe Howland. May 7th, ‘62. My dear Joe: Down in the depths of the Ocean Queen, with a pail of freshly-made milk punch alongside of me, a jug of brandy at my feet, beef tea on the right flank, and untold stores of other things scattered about, I write a hurried [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. Wilson Small. The Merrimac is out; and the Monitor and Naugatuck are fighting her. The Galena has run up the James towards Richmond. We are lying along the dock at Yorktown quietly, where four days ago the rebels were ducking themselves in the water. Franklin’s division has moved up to West Point with [...]

Abby Howland Woolsey to Georgy and Eliza. New York, May 7th, 1862. My dear Girls: I hadn’t time to write a long letter, but must send off a note to say that the Daniel Webster came to the dock at dusk yesterday. Charley went down at once, thinking there was a possible chance of your [...]

Eliza’s Journal. On the York River, May 5. Before we were up this morning, though that was very early, the army fleet (including Joe’s transport) was off up York river to cut off the retreat of the rebels. Our last load of sick came on board the Webster this morning early, and by nine o’clock [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. May 4. Mr. Olmsted decided to do it, and the “D. W.” sailed with 190 sick from the deserted camps within a range of some miles–eighteen, the poor fellows say who were jolted down to the shore over corduroy roads. The loads began arriving at 5.30 this morning, and we refitted the state-rooms [...]

Jane Stuart Woolsey to Joe Howland. 8 Brevoort Place, 4 May (letter continued from previous day). Sunday.–A day of great events. At 1 P. M., Cousin William came in to tell us he had seen a man who had seen a man (literal) who had read McClellan’s telegram to his wife, announcing the evacuation of [...]

Georgeanna to Mother. Off Ship Point. It was the Wilson Small (a little steamboat chartered by the Commission to run up the creeks and bring down sick and wounded), that came alongside with our first patients, thirty-five in number, typhoid cases, from Ship Point, who were slung through the hatches on their stretchers. . . [...]

Mother to Georgy and Eliza. New York, Sunday P. M. My Dear Girls: I have an unexpected opportunity of writing, or rather of getting my letter to you. Dr. Gurden Buck was telegraphed this morning, through the Sanitary Commission, to leave for Yorktown on board the “Ocean Queen,” and he is off for Baltimore at [...]

Hugh Lenox Hodge writes: Ship Point, May 3, ‘62. Dear Georgy: The 8th Illinois Cavalry arrived several days ago. They are disembarking today. Cannot the Daniel Webster take the sick off from Ship Point? They will be doing a great service if they can.

Jane Stuart Woolsey to Joe Howland. 8 Brevoort Place, 3d May, Chi Alpha night. So you three have met again, Georgy, Eliza and the Colonel. . . . It must have been a jolly meeting for you all on the floating Hospital, and Eliza says you showed symptoms of illness immediately on seeing the comfortable [...]

Abby Howland Woolsey to Georgeanna and Eliza. New York, May 2nd. My Dear Girls: We have received this, morning your letter of Monday and Tuesday (Georgy’s) written at intervals and mailed off Ship Point. What a strange life you are leading on board a hospital ship, sewing hospital flags, dispensing medicines, etc., etc. You two [...]

From Hugh Lenox Hodge (sent on board the hospital ship to Georgeanna.) Cheeseman’s Landing, Friday. Dear Georgy: I hope to see you and Eliza to-day. . . . We received all the wounded from the assault on the lunette alluded to, except one too badly hurt to move (who has since died, they tell me) [...]

Georgeanna to Mother. May 1, ‘62. We are in sight of the abandoned rebel quarters at Ship Point, now used as a hospital, on low, filthy ground surrounded by earth-works, rained on half the time and fiercely shone on the other half, a death place for scores of our men, who are piled in there [...]

Eliza‘s Journal. Before we were up this morning, Joe came over to the Webster to ask us to go down to Fortress Monroe for the day with him, General Slocum and Colonel Bartlett of the 27th New York. Finding I was not likely to be wanted, I accepted gladly, Georgy preferring to go over to [...]

Abby Howland Woolsey to Georgeanna and Eliza. New York, May 1st, 1862. My Dear Girls: Never were two creatures pounced on and whirled out of sight more completely than you. Fate seems to descend and wrap you from the vision and the reach of your family, and every event only carries you farther off. Do [...]

Abby Howland Woolsey to Joe. April 30. . . . We had a very pleasant visit the other night from Charles Johnson, of Norwich, just returned from Port Royal. He went down as Allotment Commissioner from Connecticut and had pretty good success. He was particularly indignant about the chaplain of the Connecticut __th who had [...]

From Eliza’s Journal. S. S. Daniel Webster. Just before sunset, last night, we passed the mouth of the York River, and could see our gunboats and a fleet of some four hundred sloops and schooners lying a little way up it–among them our fleet, Franklin’s Division, still lying off Ship Point. We made our way [...]

Georgeanna to Mother. Floating Hospital, Daniel Webster. Cheeseman’s Creek, April 30, ‘61. The sail down the Potomac to Acquia Creek, where we anchored for the night, was extremely pretty. Just as we started the little gunboat “Yankee” passed up, bringing, all on a string, five rebel craft she had just taken in the Rappahannock. Late [...]