Edgar W. Johnson Correspondence

Union soldier in the 50th New York Engineers during the Civil War. Collection consists of six letters from Johnson written January to April, 1864, from Elmira, New York, and Rappahannock Station, Virginia, to his father. Also includes three letters from Johnson's friend Thomas A. Blyth, written April to August, 1864, to Johnson's father. Blyth's letters refer to the circumstances involving his friend's illness and subsequent death, and urge the father to inquire after his son's back pay and bounty. Blyth later describes a scam that resulted when someone tried to steal Johnson's pay. Collection includes one letter from Harry Wakeman of the Johnson's corps, offering condolences to Johnson's father and describing Johnson's last hours.