511 Lima Drive, Potomac Sycamore PA

August 4, 1861

Ms. Elizabeth Van Lew

2301 East Grace Street

Richmond, VA

Dear Elizabeth Van Lew,

I feel I owe it to you to tell you my story, for without your help I would’ve stayed in jail for a long time, or even worse, died. On July 3rd, I was a carpenter visiting Washington D.C. where I wanted to move my family, buy a lot, and set up a shop. When they were offering bounties to enlist, my offer was too high to pass up; that money might have even been enough for me to buy the shop. 

I went to the military office and signed up to enlist. They told me that I would get the money after serving time. Soon after, they shoved the other soldiers and me in a humid and gross train. Some soldiers had to ride on the top of the train due to a lack of room. It was July 17th. Everyone got out, got situated with their mismatched gear, and started marching from the Capital to Fort Sumter. I didn’t know what I was getting into since the war had just started. The walking was getting tiring. When we arrived, I split into a group of  20 people trying to get a close-up of the battlefield before the Confederates came. We wanted to notify the commanders about the terrain. 

Suddenly, a group of Confederates surrounded us. They tied us up and put us on wagons, tossed on top of each other. After what felt like days tied down and blindfolded, they unblindfolded us and cut the rope around our feet. When I got to my cell, there were 15 people already there. When they cut the rope around my hands, they almost cut a bit of skin off. They threw me in the cell, and we started telling stories. I told them about the war and they butted in with some information a person had heard from another inmate. He said that the Union lost the war and 3,000 people died that night. I realized then that I could have gotten killed that night. The next morning, one of the guards handed me a book as a gift, with a bookmark on one of the pages. I opened that page and 12:00 p.m. was circled on it. On the bookmark, the word kitchen was written. I connected the two and knew what to do. At 12:00 p.m., while I was eating lunch in the dining room, I looked at the kitchen and saw the guard at the back door leave shifts so I went out the door. 

If you hadn’t given that book to the guard, I couldn’t have escaped. I realized now that no amount of money is worth what I went through. This experience helped me realize what is truly great in life. It’s family. So thank you Elizabeth, because of you, I’m on a train to see my family. I am forever grateful for you and the good deed that you have done. 

Blessings, 

George Jamerson