Bates, George Henry

Papers, 1862 September 19-1865 June 29
150 items

Bates, George Henry
Rank:	Pvt., Cpl. (1865)
Regiment:	19th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. Co. D (1862-1863) 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment (1863-1865)
Service:	1862 September 11-1865 July 7

Biographical information:

George Henry Bates was the eldest of four children of William Bates of Terryville, Conn. As a teenager, Bates enlisted in the 19th Connecticut Infantry, which was reoutfitted as the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery in November, 1863. His motives for enlisting remain unclear, but the financial pull of military employment appears to have played a part in his decision, as did a sincere and abiding patriotism.

Over six feet tall, he was an unusually sensitive young man in love with song-fests and religion, and he was deadly serious about maintaing his high standards of morality. During his service, Bates evinced a concern with the lack of Sabbath observance in the army and was highly offended by the open prostitution he witnessed in Alexandria, Va. He regularly sponsored weekly prayer meetings in his tent, undaunted by the jeers directed at the "Terryville Pious Squad."

The 19th Connecticut Infantry was stationed in Virginia throughout its enlistment, but never engaged in battle until it had been reorganized as the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Artillery. Bates' first encounter with heavy fighting was at Cold Springs in June, 1864, and thereafter, the regiment entered into six further battles in the Shenandoah Valley and Petersburg theaters. Wounded at the third Battle of Winchester in September, 1864, Bates missed two of these engagements while recuperating in a hospital, but was present at Cold Harbor, Hatcher's Run, and Petersburg, as well as at Winchester.

Scope and Contents:

George H. Battes's letters provide an insight into army life as seen by a soldier still in his teens, and away from home probably for the first time. He provides vivid descriptions of four important engagements: Cold Harbor, Winchester (where he was wounded), Hatcher's Run, and Petersburg. fond of decorating his letters with sketches and red-and-blue ink designs, and he possessed of an exurberance that is illustrated by his breezy style. Although he evidently does not get along well with his mother, his letters to his siblings are especially tender.

For George Bates, the first two years of his service are more than anything else uninterrupted boredom. He complains constantly of having nothing to report, yet is not in any hurry to be done with the war for fear of unemployment. Yet through these pages emerges a fascinating depiction of daily life in the military camps: the quality and quantity of food, foraging for provisions from local residents, the invaluable services given by the Sanitary Commission, and the diversions and amusements that diverted the soldiers. Bates appears not to have understood the true implications of war until his first battle, after which he wrote, "I shant reenlist." The series of letters written aftre his wounding at the Battle of Winchester afford an inside look at military hospitals.

Regimental history:

Vaill, Theodore F. History of the 2d Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery originally the 19th Connecticut Vols. (Winsted, Conn., 1868).

Recat. 5/96 rsc

Link to subject index to the George H. Bates Papers

Alphabetic index to the Schoff Civil War Collections

Return to:

Homepage	Manuscripts	Collections	Staff	Hours and policies