This collection consists of original correspondence, typed transcriptions of that correspondence, and a compact disk of digitally scanned images of the same correspondence.
The letters date 1863, except for one, which dates 1898. C.L. Leach wrote the 1898 letter to George Bush, and in it Leach notes that he is married and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Leach mentions people that he and George both know and asks George to write with any news.
Frederick wrote some of the 1863 letters, and Christian, Jr. wrote the others. They’re all addressed to their father, Christian, Sr., and their brother, George. The brothers reflect on the war and describe their experiences. They reveal a disdain for both abolitionists and African Americans and seem to regard the abolitionists as a main cause of the war. The brothers describe some of their combat experiences. Gettysburg is among the battles described by Frederick. (Christian was apparently in the hospital at the time.) The brothers provide opinions about other enlisted men and officers, and on the progress of the war. They seemed to often feel that generals were too slow to attack. The brothers sometimes commented on medical care, their health and the weather, and expressed longings to return home.
Frederick Bush and Christian Bush, Jr. grew up in Charlotte, Michigan. They enlisted into the Union Army together in Eaton Rapids on August 14, 1862. Frederick was 18 years old, and Christian was 25. The brothers were mustered into the Seventh Michigan Cavalry, Company D. They saw action in the war’s Eastern Theatre. Both brothers were eventually promoted to the rank of corporal. Frederick was killed in action at Hawes’ Shop, Virginia, on May 28, 1864. Christian was killed in action at Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864.
