Dear Friends, Here I am on the sacred soil of the FFV within 8 miles of the rebel pickets, and expecting to move 6 miles further on every hour...
Sandra A. Turgeon and the East Providence Historical Society are proud to present this compilation of wartime correspondence from Lt. Peter Hunt. These intimate letters provide insight to the human cost of one of America's bloodiest conflicts. Peter is not merely another faceless Union soldier but an eager eighteen-year-old recruit-his story exemplifies the courage of the many men who went to war.
Not until after the catastrophic First Battle of Bull Run did Peter receive his mother's blessing to join the Union army. Peter's regular letters back to his mother, sister, and three brothers evidence the alternating boredom and brutality of the war, chronicling a frustrating winter spent waiting at Miner's Hill and the shock of seeing the carnage wreaked at the Battle of Hanover Court House. Peter's own horse was once shot out from under him as his comrades beside him fell.
Peter experienced the violence of the war firsthand, but through it all, he kept his faith in the cause. Turgeon's collection celebrates his bravery, honor, and humanity.
About the Author: Sandra A. Turgeon is an avid amateur historian and member of the East Providence Historical Society. Her collection of letters from Civil War soldier Lt. Peter Hunt, All Quiet on the Rappahannock Tonight, is a project undertaken for the society.
Turgeon is a graduate of Rhode Island College, and she has made her career as an elementary school teacher. She lives in Rumford, Rhode Island, with her husband, Brian. She is the mother of two daughters, Fia and Kellyn, and the grandmother of two-year-old Michael, the best little boy in the world.
