News release from the Milton Historical Society

A seventeen year old Milton man enlisted in the Union Army 150 years ago – August 2, 1862. George Henry Moulton was 5’ 6”with sandy hair and hazel eyes, by the recruiter’s description. He kept his commitment to “serve out” his “three year enlistment” and over the course of it wrote sixty-one letters to his family. Preserved by his family, the letters were transcribed and donated to the Milton Historical Society by Robert Schaefer, Moulton’s great-grand nephew. The letters chronicle both the experience of a young solder and the 19th century life in Milton which he missed dearly. Moulton often mentions “the Milton boys” in his outfit, including Walter Bradlee, Johnnie Cross, Chas Hunt, Hiram Nye, Charlie Thayer and others. He inquires of the girls back home and asks to be remembered to some and not others “who don’t have the time to return my mail.” His patriotism is constant but his youthful bravado tempers as he experiences the reality and horror of war. The one-to-two page letters are devoid of grandiose and gore, and comment on food, religion, politics and the war. They comprise a uniquely local and personal glimpse into the great conflict.

The Society will be emailing the transcribed letters to interested members and teachers on the 150th anniversary of each letter, starting on September 18, 2012 – the anniversary of Henry’s first letter as a soldier. The letters will be received sporadically as his family received them one hundred and fifty years ago.

You can learn more about the project and how to receive the letters on the Historical Society’s website: miltonhistoricalsociety.org – or by emailing webmaster@miltonhistoricalsociety.org.