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Battle of Gettysburg
A translation and original letter, in French, from Union soldier Francis Deleglise to his father about his wounds and imprisonment at Gettysburg, August 14, 1863.

A translation and original letter, in French, from Union soldier Francis Deleglise to his father about his wounds and imprisonment at Gettysburg, August 14, 1863.

Born in Switzerland, Francis Deleglise immigrated to the United States in 1848 and settled in Wisconsin. During the Civil War, Deleglise served in the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was badly wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. This letter is written in French (pages 2 and 3) but an English translation is provided in the first page and below.

Translation:

To his father from Baltimore, August 14, 1863.

Dear Father,

I received your letter of the fourth yesterday. At the battle of Gettysburg I was a prisoner of the enemy from the first of July to the fourth, and I was in the same place up till the sixth, during which time I was given no attendance, and had nothing to eat, except such as I asked for and received of the soldiers. But everyday I kept the full length of the wound wet with very cold water. This kept my thigh as natural as if it had never been hurt. I did the same thing for two days at Gettysburg. On the eighth I was brought to a good bed in a fine room. Here I was given a bath. On the eleventh I was put on a railroad train, and, although I was comfortably tucked up in a bed, yet, because of the jostling of the train, I was in a worse state when I arrived here than I had yet been, and that for more than a week was not able to write at all. At present, I change from one hand to the other. It is very slow, but I am getting better at it.

Ward A. West Building Hospital

Baltimore

Md.

Lately Ward B has been filled with Confederates, and the Federals are assigned to Ward A.

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Citation Information
Deleglise, Francis, “Francis Deleglise letter from Baltimore, Maryland to father, August 14, 1863,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/56ae20ecda7b56fdf5fd732121ca8701.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Langlade County Historical Society via Recollection Wisconsin.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 9 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Battle of Gettysburg

Previous ItemNext Item
A photograph of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in early July 1863 by Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan.
A photograph of the headquarters of General Meade, commander of the Union Army, by Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan, July 1863.
A map of military action during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863.
A map of military action, graves, and local landmarks during the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863.
A letter from Union soldier Samuel Hodgman to his brother about his experience during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 16, 1863.
A letter from Confederate soldier Edwin Kerrison to his sister about his experience during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 7, 1863.
Excerpts from the diary of Union soldier Nathaniel Rollins about being taken prisoner during the Battle of Gettysburg, June 30-July 6, 1863.
A letter from Confederate soldier George Franklin Robinson to his wife describing army morale and movements after Gettysburg, July 18, 1863.
A translation and original letter, in French, from Union soldier Francis Deleglise to his father about his wounds and imprisonment at Gettysburg, August 14, 1863.
A letter from Confederate soldier John Futch to his wife about the death of his brother during the Battle of Gettysburg, August 6, 1863.
A list of soldiers of the Nineteenth Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment who died at Gettysburg, July 1863.
(Warning: graphic material) “Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter,” a photograph of a Gettysburg soldier by Alexander Gardner, July 1863.
(Warning: graphic material) A photograph of Union dead at Gettysburg by Timothy O’Sullivan, 1863.
A box of relics collected at the battlefield at Gettysburg.
Handwritten copies of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address given at the Gettysburg National Cemetery and letter to Mrs. Bixby, 1864.

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