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- Taken from letters Herman sent home to his young wife Mary Mollet,letters were kept by their daughter Mrs. David Wedgewood:
Herman Grunert married his wife, Mary, on Thanksgiving Day, 1861 while she was a resident of the town of Ellington,Stephensville,Wisconsin. They later made their home in Oconto, where Mr. Grunert enlisted in the Civil War, serving with Company D, 9th Wisconsin Infantry. He saw action in the vicinity of Little Rock,Ark.,where he spent much of the time while he was in service. It was at this time that he wrote a number of letters to his youthful bride, all of which have been kept by their daughter,Mrs. David Wedgewood.
The letters,though they carried little of the terrible conflict in which her husband was engaged, were deeply solicitous about the welfare of his wife and children. One entry, dated March 12, 1866, told of the disaster that had befallen the 3rd WisconsinCavalry, when they were surprised by the , Bushwackers, many being cut down, including the captain and a number of his men. He also wrote of the trials of army life, of the very infrequent visits of the paymaster, who didn't come around more then once every six months.
A second letter, written April 17,1865,began with the happy news that the war would soon be over and that again he would see his dear wife and children, one of them that had just learned to walk, and from whom he had been seperated almost a year. Richmond had been taken and General Lee had surrendered and every where the Union forces were pushing forward at a mad pace from one triumph to another. Following the surrender,Mr. Grunert wrote; that the celabration was noiser then the actual battles in some cases there being a continuous thunder of cannon, while riotous celbrators took possessions of towns and villages.
Lincoln's Assassination
And then he told of the news of Lincoln's assassination, while entire encampments went into mourning for thirty days and soldiers and officers were very dispondant over the loss of their beloved president. But his death but the entire union army into a fever heat of battle lust to avenge his death, which they attributed to Southern intrigue.
All the letter were highly romantic, telling of his courtship, of the high esteem in which he held his wife and of his anxiety for her welfare.
When he returned from the service they made their home on School Street in the city of Onconto. Retranscribed by his Great-grand nephew...LHG
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1834 - 1881 (46 years)
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