Information Sheet

R Stewart, Goah W., -1879.

699 Letters, 1864.

One folder, typescripts.

These are transcripts of two letters by Capt. Goah W. Stewart of Company K, 1^st Missouri Infantry (CSA), to his sister in Pemiscot County, Missouri. The letters briefly note his escape from Gratiot Prison in St. Louis, and the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, in which he was wounded.

Goah W. Stewart was a scion of an old family in southeastern Missouri. Before the war, his family owned a plantation and Mississippi River steamboat landing in Pemiscot County known as Stewart’s Landing.

Stewart became Captain of Company K of the 1^st Missouri Infantry (CSA), a regiment initially commanded by Col. John S. Bowen and later consolidated with the 4^th Missouri Infantry (CSA). The unit became a part of the famed Missouri Brigade and spent its entire term of service east of the Mississippi River. Stewart served with the regiment at Vicksburg, where he was captured when the garrison surrendered on 4 July 1863. After being paroled, Stewart attempted to visit his home but was captured in New Madrid County. Confined at Gratiot Prison in St. Louis, Stewart escaped on 4 February 1864. He wrote his sister, Sallie, on 8 February advising her of his escape and noting his refuge with a Mr. Fowles.

Stewart was with his regiment again by the time of the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, on 30 November 1864. Stewart sustained gunshot wounds to both thighs and spent the following month in a hospital. He wrote again to his sister on 27 December 1864 to advise her of his whereabouts, well being, and kind treatment by a Dr. Waldridge at Franklin.

The Stewart letters were transcribed from originals that are no longer available. The typescripts include genealogical information on Goah Stewart and the provenance of the letters by the donor.

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