Collection number: MS 165
Size:
(18 items)
(0.10 cu.ft.)
About William P. Mason (1842-1867)
William P. Mason, of Canterbury, N.H., enlisted in Company F of the New Hampshire Twelfth Regiment on August 15, 1862 and mustered in as a Private the following month. After seeing action at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal on May 1, 1865, seven weeks before being mustered out. He was born in Alton, N.H. in 1842 and died, aged only 25, in St. Charles, Minnesota in a drowning accident June 30, 1867.
About the William P. Mason Letters (1862-1864)
Twelve letters (with transcriptions) from Mason to his family in Canterbury, N.H., written mostly from encampments near Falmouth, Virginia and at Point Lookout in Maryland. The letters describe troop actions and morale, and one letter (April 11, 1863) records Mason’s impressions of President Lincoln – “he is a thin spare man…a very sober man and caryes an expresion of deap sadness upon his face, and looks pale. I am afraid it will be means of his deth, he is to be pited.” There is also a letter from Mason’s sister “H.” in Canterbury to other members of the family.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], William P. Mason Letters, 1862-1864, MS 165, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Source unknown, date unknown
