Dates: 1863-1864.

Biography:

Hubert A. Stevens

Hubert A. Stevens, son of Lewis (Louis) and Mary (Polly) Watkins Stevens, was born in Alabama around 1841. There were six other Stevens children: Elizabeth (b. ca. 1842), Cicero (b. November 7, 1843), Mary (b. ca. 1846), James (b. ca. 1850), Lucy (b. ca. 1852), and Nancy (b. ca. 1854). The Stevens family moved from Alabama around 1850, eventually settling near Griffith, Oktibbeha County (now Clay County), Mississippi. Hubert A. Stevens was working as an overseer, probably for his father, and living next door to his family in 1860.

Stevens enlisted in Company H, Eleventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army, on April 25, 1861. He was mustered into service at Lynchburg, Virginia, on May 13, 1861. Stevens was wounded at the battle of Gaines’s Mill, Virginia, on June 27, 1862, and sent home to recover. He later rejoined his unit and continued serving in the Confederate army. Stevens died at Petersburg, Virginia, on August 20, 1864, from gunshot wounds suffered in one of the battles of the Petersburg Campaign.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of two letters written by Hubert A. Stevens of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Stevens sent the letters to his parents, Lewis (Louis) and Mary (Polly) Watkins Stevens, while he was serving in Virginia with Company H, Eleventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry.

The first letter was written from Winchester, Virginia, on July 7, 1863. The first portion of the letter is addressed to Stevens’s father. He relates the aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg and expresses regret that, due to illness, he could not be with his comrades. Stevens also names the members of his unit and the officers of his regiment who were killed. The second portion of the letter is addressed to Stevens’s mother. He expresses his thoughts on the possibility of dying in battle but urges his mother not to worry about him.

The second letter was written from Petersburg, Virginia, on August 11, 1864. It is addressed to both of Stevens’s parents. He mentions that he is well despite being in a trench for nine days with “shot and shell flying.” Stevens relates what he has heard about Confederate and Union troop movements in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., and offers his opinions on same. He closes the letter by asking his mother not to worry about him.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Letters. 1863-1864. 1 folder.