I've spoken about Forgotten Bookmarks before. They are the treasures people leave behind in a discarded book. This one has to be the most special and certainly the oldest.

Prior to the letter being written, the Civil War brought Salem a brief moment of fame. A small detachment of Union soldiers from Rolla was housed in Salem (the letter is postmarked Rolla). At dawn on Dec. 3, 1861, they were surprised by Confederates. A lively skirmish ensued and the Rebels were fought off. This "victory" loomed large since the Confederates had dominated early in the war.

W. also talks of the being "quartered in a log house. Quite a good house with a fireplace. In the end, we woke up to a rousing fire at night which gives light enough to read and to crack nuts by."

"This morning we raised the 'Ala Flag' on a flag staff in the Court House Square. We ran up the colors and fired a salute of three guns from one of our twelve pound howitzers, at sunrise this morning." Interestingly, In 1861, as Alabama left the Union, the Alabama Secession Convention adopted its first official flag. Designed by a group of women from Montgomery, it became known as the “Republic of Alabama Flag.” It only flew for a month before being replaced by the Confederate national flag. I'm not quite sure why Union soldiers would raise the other guys' flag. I have many questions.

W. writes about his quarter mates and where the officers were staying. He tells of harnessing the artillery horses with a full battery and having the field pieces in position just in case but no "Leesh" came in sight.

He ends his letter with "I don't know if this war news will be interesting to you but there is not much else here to write about."

What a tantalizing find. I only wish I could learn more about its author. One never knows what one will find in a book. Makes you want to start hunting, doesn't it?