MEADVILLE, Pa. – July 13, 2009 – A book released this month presents a personal perspective of a Civil War soldier’s experiences as reflected in the letters of Allegheny College alumnus Levi Bird Duff.
Edited by Jonathan E. Helmreich, college historian and professor emeritus of history at Allegheny, “To Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Letters of Levi Bird Duff, 105th Pennsylvania Volunteers” (McFarland and Co.), offers a picture of life in the Army of the Potomac from 1861 to 1864.
Duff, a young Pittsburgh lawyer who grew up in Clarion, Pa., joined the Pittsburgh Rifles in May 1861. From campsites and battlefields of the war, he wrote regularly to his love, Harriet Nixon, who lived in what was then Allegheny City (now better known as the North Side area of Pittsburgh). Many of Duff’s notes contained flowers, leaves or twigs collected from battlefields.
“The messages are unusual for their literacy, descriptions and continuity, the strength of opinions expressed and their source: a private who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, thus a witness of the army at multiple levels,” writes Helmreich. “Leadership, organizational, weather and morale problems that plagued Union troops are made clear. So, too, are the peevishness that develops in long encampments and the effects of alcohol and press rumors.”
Beyond that, Duff’s letters reveal the growth of a love that evolved as pen and pencil drew two lives together. Not surprisingly, they also reflect the tension experienced by many soldiers between the conflicting calls of duty and affection.
The original exchanges between Duff and Nixon were carefully preserved by them and their descendants. In 2007 the Duff papers were donated by the family to Allegheny and are archived in Pelletier Library.
“To Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac” is available at the Merriman Bookstore, located on the second floor of Allegheny College’s Henderson Campus Center, which, during summer months, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
