John C. Hallock, Two Battle Letters From the 38th New York

Description

John C. Hallock of the 38th New York Infantry (Second Regiment Scott Life Guard) wrote these two descriptive battle letters from the Virginia Peninsula in the spring of 1862, describing battles at Yorktown and Fair Oaks.

May 4, 1862, Hallock wrote “My Dear Cousins…” from Camp Winfield Scott describing the conclusion of the Siege of Yorktown. The 38th New York, as part of General Phil Kearney’s division of the Union III Corps, was the first regiment to enter the abandoned Confederate works in their sector. They appear to have raised their flag above the same ramparts that were originally built by Lord Cornwallis in 1781 and then rebuilt by John B. Magruder in 1862. The day after John’s letter the regiment was heavily engaged at the Battle of Williamsburg, losing 19 killed. 64 wounded, and 5 missing.

June 5, 1862, Hallock wrote “My Dear Cousins…” from Fair Oaks, Virginia, four days after the bloody battle of Fair Oaks. Hallock gives a detailed account of his regiment’s participation in the action, mentioning the activities of Colonel Hobart Ward and General Phil Kearney. He relates a humorous episode on the evening of May 31, when Colonel Ward loudly commanded the 38th to assemble and receive their whiskey ration. The next day Confederate prisoners related that they had been within 30 yards of the regiment as the Yankees drank their whiskey. The regiment lost 2 killed, 13 wounded, and 3 missing at Fair Oaks.

The typescript of the May 4 letter states that the letter was directed to Adeline Hallock in Norton Hill, Greene County, New York. Census records indicate that Adeline Hallock was the 30-year-old daughter of the prominent Greene County farmer Joseph P. Hallock. A house owned by Hallock still stands in Catskill and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cover with the address information is not present.

John Hallock appears to have been a prolific writer with a strong hand and talent for descriptive imagery. His letter describing the first battle of Bull Run sold at auction for almost $1,200 in 2016.

Hallock, John C. (Private and Quartermaster Sergeant, 38th New York Infantry). 2 Manuscript letters, signed. 4 May, 1862, Camp Winfield Scott (Virginia), 3p., pencil on watermarked lined paper, with typescript; 5 June, 1862, Fair Oaks, Va. 4p., in ink on watermarked lined paper with partial typescript.