Introducing the main character...

Thomas Emmor French was born in Goshen, Ohio on March 28th, 1844 to Thomas French and Martha Bryan. Martha was Thomas French's second wife, and Thomas Emmor was the youngest of their 6 children. He was raised a Quaker and attended local public schools. By the age of 17, Thomas Emmor was the last son at home, helping his mother run the family farm.

In 1861, the war was barely underway, and the Union Army had suffered several embarrassing defeats. The government was very eager to recruit more soldiers and train them better, and the propaganda machine was in full swing by the end of the year. Thomas Emmor was not any more immune to the patriotic pleas for help than any other young man who believed in his country.

So, in December 1861, Thomas Emmor snuck off to enlist in the war -- against his mother's wishes, against the tenets of his faith, and three months shy of his 18th birthday. Taking a family horse, he rode to Camp Hutchins and told the recruiters that he was 18 so that he could join the hundreds of other young men who were racing to respond to the call of war.

His mother and sister were left alone to run the farm by herself. His Quaker congregation did not condone war of any kind and "shunned" him as a result of his joining the conflict. He left behind his sweetheart, Esther, and all his brothers and sisters. Over the course of the next 3.25 years, Emmor had 3 horses shot out from beneath him, became the company clerk (due to his literacy), and served several general officers as private secretary. His service to the Union Army took place entirely in the Shenandoah Valley as a member of the 6th Ohio Cavalry. Throughout his experience, he wrote to his mother, his sweetheart Esther, and his brothers and sisters, and those letters were preserved by his descendants.

This blog will trace the steps of Thomas Emmor from enlistment in 1861 through his discharge in 1865. Sometimes our posts will be one of the many letters he wrote home, and sometimes they will be pertinent information about what was going on around him.