Description
Partial letter written by two members of the 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Both men have used the same letter to write to a man by the name of Wilson Nesburt. The letter was written by John G. Norton of Company F and William Montee of Company K. Both men were obviously friends with Wilson Nesburt. Half of this letter appears to be missing as the letter begins about half way through John’s portion of the writing. John’s portion of the letter speaks of a march to Martinsburg, West Virginia during a blustery snow storm. While this letter is not dated, the march he speaks of was part of Sigel’s Expedition to Martinsburg which began on April 30th, 1864 and lead up to the Battle of New Market. Williams portion of the letter is brief asking Wilson “to take good care of the widows till I come back” and mentioning that there was no need for him to give a description of the march as John had already done so. For John’s part in the war he would be captured at Winchester on June 15, 1863 and paroled the following month. William appears to have survived the war without incident. This is the first letter I have come across written to one single individual by two soldiers sharing the same letter. Accompanying the letter is a silk ribbon for the 123rd Ohio’s 50th Reunion which was held in Monroeville, Ohio.
