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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC08914.020 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Peter E. Rifenburgh and Louis Brooks |
| Title | Peter E. Rifenburgh to his brother and sister reporting that one thousand African American troops have been enlisted to protect Union levees |
| Date | 17 April 1863 |
| Author | Rifenburgh, Peter E. (1843-1863) |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Glad to have received their letter. Is healthy; hopes this letter finds them in a similar condition. Has orders to head up the Mississippi River with 140 rounds worth of cartridges each. Thinks he is heading to battle. Is taking blankets and his knapsack with him. Cooks have received orders to cool extra rations for them to bring on the march. Is not afraid of death, and "if I get shot then I die in a good cause, but I don't think that gun even was made to shoot me." One of the guards shot a Rebel earlier in the week. He approached the camp, was ordered to stop, did not, and was shot. The Rebels have been trying to halt Union progress by destroying levees. Over 1,000 blacks have been enlisted to plug the hole in the levee. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Soldier's Letter Union Soldier's Letter Union Forces Death Confederate States of America Military Rations Military Provisions Ammunition Weaponry Military Law Death Penalty Infrastructure African American History African American Troops Battle |
| People | Rifenburgh, Peter E. (1843-1863) |
| Place written | Camp Parapet, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana |
| Theme | The American Civil War; African Americans; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Brother Sister |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Main Western Theater |
| Civil War: Unit | 128th New York Infantry, K Company |