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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Samuel D. Foster Letter, Ms1990-001, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1990.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Samuel D. Foster Letter commenced and was completed in August 2022.

Biographical Note

Samuel D. Foster was a Union soldier, probably serving in an Ohio regiment, during the American Civil War. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war at the Confederate prison in Danville, Virginia, and was released on April 23, 1864. No further information could be found.

John Wesley Johnston, the supposed subject of passages in Foster's letter, was the son of William and Elizabeth Jones Johnston and was born in Ross County, Ohio on December 10, 1842. He enlisted as a private in Company H, 89th Ohio Infantry on August 13, 1862 and mustered in with the regiment on August 26. A year later, he was promoted to corporal. On September 20, 1863, Johnston was taken prisoner at the Battle of Chickamauga. Initially held prisoner at Danville, Virginia, Johnston was later transferred to Andersonville Prison. John W. Johnston of the 89th Ohio died at Andersonville on August 9, 1864 and was buried there.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a single, three-page letter written by Samuel D. Foster, a Union soldier during the American Civil War, to William Johnston and family. Writing from the medical inspector's office at Louisville, Kentucky on August 17, 1864, Foster is apparently responding to an inquiry from the Johnstons regarding a soldier named John (almost certainly Corporal John W. Johnston of Company H, 89th Ohio Infantry). In relaying news of John, Foster describes conditions at the prisoner-of-war camp at Danville, Virginia from which he had been released on April 23. Foster notes the poor quality of the prisoners' rations, including very fat, badly cured, and unwashed bacon; unwashed black beans; and inferior, poorly ground, and unsifted cornbread. He describes the guards as "generally very blasphemous & insulting." Foster writes that when he left the prison, John's health was good but that since his release, the remaining prisoners at Danville have been sent to Americus, Georgia, undoubtedly referring to the Andersonville prison.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Samuel D. Foster Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).