Frank Wicks, the creator of the Civil War play Soldier, Come Home, based on his ancestors’ letters to each other during the Civil War, has graciously allowed me to reproduce some of those letters here at the Siege of Petersburg Online. Frank’s great-grandparents were Philip W. and Mary Pringle, and their letters to each other while Philip was a soldier in the 102nd Pennsylvania form the basis of his play. Some of Philip’s letters written during 1864 and 1865 were penned while he was present at the Siege of Petersburg, though as a member of the Union 6th Corps he was away for a few months in the Shenandoah Valley. The letters which appear below mostly pertain to the Siege of Petersburg as observed by a 6th Corps Pennsylvania soldier. All of these letters are the property of Frank Wicks and may not be reproduced without his express written consent.
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Letters and Diary Entries of Philip W. Pringle (102nd Pennsylvania)2:
- DI: June 18-19, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: June 19, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: June 25, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: July 3, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: July 9, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: October 5, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: December 29, 1864 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: January 20, 1865 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: March 28, 1865 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: April 4, 1865 Philip W. Pringle
- LT: May 9, 1865 Philip W. Pringle
Source:
- This image was provided by and is used with the permission of Frank Wicks and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of the owner. All rights reserved. ↩
- Soldier, Come Home – by Frank W. Wicks A play based on family civil war letters. 2010-2012. 2 August 2012 <http://civilwarplay.com/>. These letters are used with the permission of Frank Wicks, and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of the owner. All rights reserved. ↩