H. L.  Sampson Letter

1865

DAL.SMS.056

Collection Overview
Title: H. L. Sampson Letter
Date: 1865
Creator: H. L. Sampson
Call Number: DAL.SMS.055
Repository: Drew Archival Library Location: Small Collections Box 3 Quantity: 1 folder Language: English

Administrative Information:
Access Restrictions: The collections is open to researchers.  There are no restricted materials in the collection.
Acquisition Information: The letter was purchased, DAL.2013.12
Preferred form of citation: DAL.SMS.055, H. L. Sampson Letter in the Drew Library of the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society.
Related Materials: Horace E. Sampson letters in the Cushman Family Collection
Finding Aid Prepared by: Carolyn Ravenscroft, May. 2013.

Scope and Content:
One letter written by H. L. Sampson (Duxbury, MA) to Horace E. Sampson (Fort Rowan), a soldier in the Union army in 1865, with envelope.

Biographical Note:
H. L. Sampson is most likely Henry Lewis Sampson (b. 1828), the son of shipwright Nathan Sampson and Waity Wadsworth. He was a post master in Duxbury and later became a self-employed musician.  In 1864 he married Mary Janette Sampson.  Together they had four children: Nathan, Henry C., Jennie D. and James W.  Henry L. Sampson died in 1899 at the age of 71.

Sgt. Horace E. Sampson was the son of Eden Sampson and Lydia Soule.  Born in 1845, he was just 16 years old when he enlisted in the 18th Massachusetts, Company E.  After 21 months fighting with McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, he was captured on June 27, 1862 at the Battle of Gaines Mills and sent to Libby Prison and then on to Belle Isle, off the coast of Richmond, VA. His ordeal as a prisoner took its toll on his health.  After he was exchanged, Horace spent three months recuperating at Hampton Hospital.  He was discharged from service and sent home in October, 1862.

By July of 1863 Horace felt well enough to re-enlist, this time with the 2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Company C. Because of his education and previous service, he entered as a sergeant and eventually became a chief clerk in the Adjutant General’s Department.  The 2nd Mass Heavy Artillery spent much of the war in North Carolina, where Horace succumbed to bouts of ague (malaria) that caused him continued health problems throughout his life.  The performance of his duties was commendable and he was twice offered lieutenancies but as these promotions would have required him to leave the 2nd Mass, he declined them.

After the war Horace married Mary Cushman, of Duxbury, MA in 1872.  They remained on the South Shore of Massachusetts, eventually settling in Hull, where Horace operated a livery business.  They had one daughter, Camilla, born in 1878.

Horace E. Sampson died in 1917 and is buried in the Village Cemetery in Hull, MA.  His Civil War letters are part of the Cushman Family Collection at the Drew Archives.

See also: Horace E. Sampson: A Ladies’ Man in the DRHS’ Duxbury in the Civil War blog.