Civil War Letters of John W. Derr: November 2018

Monday, November 12, 2018

Veterans Day 2018 - Thank you again.

This is a repost of my original from 2013. I am honored to be part of this great American family.

THANK YOU!

I am fortunate to live in this great country and to have had ancestors who fought in the various conflicts to keep all of us free. My tribute today is to my Father, Grandfather, Great Great Grandfathers and my Mother...all of whom contributed directly to supporting our freedom.

Here's my Dad, Donald J. Derr in 1945...A World War II Navy Veteran:

Here's my Grandfather, Robert V. Price...a World War I Army Veteran:

Here's my Great Great Grandfather, John W. Derr...A Civil War Veteran (48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Co. D):

Here's my other Great Great Grandfather, John Z. Wagner... A Civil War Veteran (55th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Co. E):

And here' my Mom, M. Jane Price...a World War II Victory Farm Volunteer as a teenager:

My mom always wanted help the effort during World War II and so as a teenager in High School, she volunteer to work on a Victory Farm in Connecticut for the Summer of 1944. This quite an adventure for a teenage girl from the coal regions of Pennsylvania.

Victory Farm Volunteers was an organization which recruited teenage boys and girls to work on various farms in support of the war effort during World War II. My mom, like many teenagers of the time, volunteered to work on farms around the country to provide the "man power" lost when the young men went off to war. It provide both a level of farm continuity as well as a morale boost on the home front. My mom would later recount how she worked on a tobacco farm in Connecticut...which later in life she regretted due to the type of crop she helped farm. However....many troops enjoyed the tobacco produced at that farm and her efforts are...in my opinion...very heroic!

Thanks,

Jim D.

Welcome

With 2011 being the 150th year since the start of the American Civil War, I thought it would be appropriate for me to share letters written by my great-great grandfather, John W. Derr during the course of the war. I have completed posting each letter on the 150th anniversary of their creation (mostly!). Since Private Derr did not write his letters in a consistent pattern...sometimes there are gaps in time better one letter and the next...This blog includes gap filler with other information relevant to him and his regiment. As I posted each letter, I created a corresponding link on the right side of the webpage to provide easy access and reference as you read each posting. I hope you enjoy the history of this common soldier during the most tumultuous time in our nation's history.

Additionally, I recently completed a long anticipated project by publishing a book "A Widow's Due" in June of 2020. This book is primarily about the life of my Great-great grandmother, Magdalena Diehl Derr, the widow of John W. Derr. It is based on years of research and much documentation, and whereas it is a work of "creative non-fiction", it is accurate and true to the documents and records I was able to find. Please visit my other website relating to the book as well as other upcoming projects at: www.jamespderr.com. Thank you.

Biography of Private John W. Derr

John W. Derr (JWD) was born in Barry Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania on October 7, 1839.

He enlisted in the Union Army in September of 1861 and was mustered into the 48^th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company D at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg Pa, in that same month. From Harrisburg, the 48^th PVI transitioned through Baltimore, MD and then down the Chesapeake Bay to Fort Monroe in Virginia. From there, the 48^th PVI was attached to the larger Burnsides Expedition to North Carolina (Hatteras/New Berne area). After the North Carolina expedition the 48^th PVI was moved north and participated in the 2^nd battle of Bull Run, where JWD was wounded on August 29^th, 1862 and taken prisoner. He was paroled by the Confederates, and was transported to Georgetown College Hospital in Washington, D.C. After staying in Washington and missing the battles of Antietam and South Mountain, he was transferred to the Cherry and Broad Street hospital in Philadelphia, Pa in December of 1863. He was subsequently furloed home for further recuperation.

His unit was then detached for guard duty in Kentucky and Tennessee, where his unit re-enlisted in December 1863 at Blains Crossroads, TN. In 1864, the 48^th PVI was involved in Grant’s campaigns of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor, etc…and eventually the Petersburg Campaign. JWD, as part of the 48^th PVI was integral in the digging of the Mine Crater. Documentation of his participation in the actual mining activities and subsequent illness from the damp/cold conditions are documented in his post mortem pension application by his widow, Magdalena Derr. Pension affidavits by his fellow soldiers indicate that his participation in the mining activities, along with his wounding at 2^nd Bull Run were the primary cause of his early death in 1876

In addition to his participation in the Petersburg Siege, JWD participated in the 1863 Army review by President Lincoln in Washington, D.C., the Grand Review of 1865 in Washington, D.C.

He was mustered out of the Army in July of 1865 and returned home to live out his remaining short life, dying on January 12, 1876 at age 37.