Southern Occupied Homefront

[colorado infantry]

I have been wondering about something for a while and hope some of you can answer my question. During the war much of the South was "occupied" by Union troops. At the same time soldiers from these "occupied" areas were still fighting for the Confederacy as the war dragged on. Were these soldiers able to send and receive letters from their family members in "occupied" areas? Supposedly their pay was also of no help to their family back home who had to use Federal currency.
Could any of you point me in the right direction to find answers to these questions and suppositions?
Thank you,

[john duffer]

Re: Southern Occupied Homefront

It really just covers Nashville but "RELUCTANT PARTNERS Nashville and the Union, July 1, 1863 to June 30, 1865" by Walter T. Durham is an interesting read on the subject. He also wrote"Nashville The Occupied City, The First Seventeen Months, February 16, 1862 to June 30, 1863" but I haven't read this earlier work

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Southern Occupied Homefront

I remember reading something in Bloody Banners and Barefoot Boys about this particular topic.

[CS Ensign]

Re: Southern Occupied Homefront

Don't have written documentation of the process, but I have one example from Kentucky (I'm sure the Confederate soldiers from there considered it the "occupied South") - here is a letter from a soldier in the 4th Kentucky Infantry (CS), passed by truce through the mail exchange at Old Point Comfort, VA. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~or...lindsayltr.htm

From the mention of other letters that Lindsay had sent to and received from Kentucky, evidently the mail-through-truce system worked. I'd like to know more about the process, too.

[Jimmayo]

Re: Southern Occupied Homefront

I have a series of letters from John Beaton of the 9th Va. Inf to his sister in Portsmouth, Va. Portsmouth was occupied by the Union in 1862. These letters continued until John's death in 1864. Unfortunally the letters from his sister to John did not survive.

The Post Office Dept of the US and CS seem to have cooperated to some degree all through the war. Mail and packages were somehow able to be delivered across the lines during the period.

Here is the link to the letters: http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/9va/letters.html

[colorado infantry]

Re: Southern Occupied Homefront

Thanks gentlemen for the information and resources, really helps.