The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 482
568 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
deeply regretted." He was promoted to surgeon on May 31, 1865, and was
mustered out of the Union Army with his regiment on July 31, 1865.6
A prolific and highly literate writer, Gill lucidly described the various
places his regiment visited during the course of the war. Nineteen letters sur-
vive; they show an individual who was quite sensitive to the men around
him and to the usual problems that soldiers have faced in all wars. John C.
Gill died on September 20, I92I, at the age of eighty-five, after completing
a successful medical career in Cleveland.
The original spelling and grammar of the letters have been retained.
Morganza La.' June 27th I864
My dear Sister Anna'
Will the surprise that this letter may give you be detrimental to the entire
recovery of your health? Will it have the least tendancy to throw you into a
relapse? Do you think it will in any way interfere with your growth? If you
think that there will be any danger to you either bodily or mentally, do not
hesitate on my account to inform me immediately. I will not harbor any
hard feelings, but take it all in good part. I was very sorry to hear of your
illness[.] I hope you are rapidly convalescing, and that your health may soon
be sufficiently restored, that you may write me again at no far distant day.
You know that letters from my sister are always acceptable and much grati-
fication is given me in perusing them. Now do not wait for me to write, as
my facilities for so doing are not always convenient.
Write when ever you can spare the time, and often. I know you would,
if you knew what pleasure it gives me to hear from you, to hear from home.
You are now the only one at home that I look to for any communication I
may receive from home. As Charley, Thomas and Henry9 are away, and
5Gill to Mary A. Corlett Gill, Dec. 3, 1864, Gill Letters. Gill sadly reported to his
mother that "Many of the old officers will be mustered out, but I am not one of the
lucky ones. They hold me. I hoped to get out . . ." See also Official Roster of the
Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866 (12 vols.; Cin-
cinnati, 1886-1895), VIII, 263.
6Official Roster of the Soldiers of Ohio, VIII, 107.
7Morganza, Louisiana, was a Union depot and staging area on the Mississippi River,
approximately forty-five miles northwest of Baton Rouge. Gill said it was hot, dry, and
unhealthy. Gill to Mary A. Corlett Gill, August 23, I864, and Gill to Anna Gill, June
27, I864, Gill Letters.
sAnna Gill. As this letter indicates, Surgeon Gill repeatedly showed his frustration with
Anna for her refusal to write him letters.
9Charles, Thomas, and Henry were John and Anna Gill's brothers.482
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974, periodical, 1973/1974; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117148/m1/544/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.