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Title: Letter from Catherine Ann Battle Lewis to Emma Speight, May 5, 1865: Electronic Edition.
Author: Lewis, Catherine Ann Battle, 1809-1879
Funding from the University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supported the electronic publication of this title.
Text transcribed by Bari Helms
Images scanned by Bari Helms
Text encoded by Sarah Ficke
First Edition, 2005
Size of electronic edition: ca. 11K
Publisher: The University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2005

No Copyright in US

The electronic edition is a part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.
Languages used in the text: English
Revision history:
2005-10-21, Sarah Ficke finished TEI/XML encoding.
Source(s):
Title of collection: John Francis Speight Papers (#3914), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title of document: Letter from Catherine Ann Battle Lewis to Emma Speight, May 5, 1865
Author: Catherine Ann Battle Lewis
Description: 3 pages, 2 page images
Note: Call number 3914 (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Editorial practices
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Originals are in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Lewis finishes her letter on the first page, writing her conclusion perpendicular to the opening text. The image of the first page has been repeated so as to be parallel with the text, but the page image has not been reoriented to match the text's orientation.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.

For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions, see the section Editorial Practices.
Letter from Catherine Ann Battle Lewis to Emma Speight , May 5, 1865
Lewis, Catherine Ann Battle, 1809-1879



Page 1
Chapel Hill May 5th 1865

My dear Sister

As Mr Redman leaves here to day for your village I will try to write to you to let you know we are still living, although the Yankees have been in quiet possession of our village for the past two weeks. A company of them are still here guarding the college buildings & the village generally — all except this company left day before yesterday. Yesterday 11000 passed through on their way to Greensboro to take the cars there for their homes. We all had guards for our houses during the two weeks they were here consequently we were not robbed or our houses ransacked, but all around the village for miles around the country is laid waste & everything taken — every horse, & a few old broken down ones were left in their places. What people are to do for support this year or next no one can see.
And to crown it all the negroes are all turned loose to ramble about & do what they please & that you know is generally nothing at all.
Now added to all this we have been very very anxious about Gaston who was wounded 4 weeks ago yesterday. We hear vague & unsatisfactory accounts from him, the latest was the 20th of April he was then at Farmville & doing well. Capt Jordan assures me that is certainly true. Mitt is & has been

Page 2
very anxious to go to see him but the times are so out of joint she can't get off. Tomorrow if nothing prevents Lum will start to look for him.
You my dear Sister can sympathize with me in this doubt & uncertainty. I have fallen off 15 or 20 lbs & have but little sense left me. Mitt poor child grows paler & sadder as day after day passes & no certain tidings from Gaston nor any way is opened for her to go to him. Lum came home two weeks ago — walked about 400 miles, had quite a serious attack of sickness produced the Dr said by prostration. He is just recovering from it.
I had a one armed soldier too to nurse for two weeks, until Lum broke out with eysifelus & we were all afraid he would get it in his wound so he had to leave us. He is a poor man, lives in DeKalb Co Ala , belonged to Wheeler's Cavalry, was shot in the arm near Morrisville . He is a good Christian man & I was glad to have him to attend to, for I could hope my own dear wounded one would find somebody to nurse him.
Ma was quite sick when I got home & is still in bed, she is better though & we hope will be well again soon. Love Battle looks very badly — so does Laura Phillips in fact it seems to me ever body looks ten years older than they did three weeks ago. Anna & Mitt join me in much love to your Mother & the girls. This is a miserable pen. I do not whether you can read it.

Page 3
Mr & Mrs Elliot are still here. She desired me to send her love to your Mother & yourself. Mr R has come & I must say goodbye. God bless you my dear Sister.

As ever truly your aft sister

C