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No restrictions. Open for research.

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Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the William B. Alexander Letters #5197, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Historical Collectible Auctions of Graham, N.C., in February 2005 (Acc. 100007).

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Processed by: Jessica Tyree, March 2005

Encoded by: Jessica Tyree, March 2005

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Alexander, William B., d. 1900.
• New Bern (N.C.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• New Bern, Battle of, New Bern, N.C., 1862.
• Roanoke Island (N.C.)--History--Capture, 1862.
• Roanoke Island, Battle of, 1862.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
• United States. Army--Military life.
• United States. Army--Officers--Correspondence.
• United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 23rd (1861-1865).

William B. Alexander was born in Plymouth, Mass., around 1832. He worked as a carpenter in Boston before enlisting with the Union Army as a second lieutenant in Company B of the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, April 1861. He mustered out in July 1861, but returned to service in December of that same year as a captain in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, Company E. On 8 February 1862, the 23rd participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island (N.C.), which ended in a Union victory. In a letter written nearly one month later, Alexander mentioned a cheek wound that he likely incurred in the battle. Shortly thereafter, he was more seriously wounded in the left arm while engaged in the Union capture of New Bern, N.C., 14 March 1862. On 28 December 1862, he resigned his post and joined his wife, Mary F. Alexander, and daughter, Ida, in Boston. By 1890, the family had moved to Plymouth. William Alexander died 5 February 1900.

A series of four letters, March-May 1862, written by William B. Alexander, a captain in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, Company E, during the Civil War, to his wife, Mary F. Alexander. The first two letters, dated 3 and 8 March 1862, were written from the gunboat U.S.S. Hussar, anchored at Roanoke Island, N.C. Bemoaning the lack of provisions, Alexander called the island, recently captured by the Union Army, "the most Godforsaken place I ever saw." He further expressed hope that news of an unspecified "important victory" meant the war was soon to end. Other topics include his participation in the seizure of a Confederate schooner and confusion over the fate of an ailing soldier who had been transferred out of Alexander's unit. The last two letters, 25 March and 2 May 1862, were written in New Bern, N.C., newly occupied by the Union Army. Alexander, wounded during the battle for the town, 14 March 1862, noted the return of New Bern's residents to their homes and shops; began planning his departure from the Army; and related the story of one Union soldier killed and three taken prisoner in a surprise encounter with Confederate soldiers.