[1]    The Chief of Detectives in Little Rock in 1863 was Capt. A. T. Margraff. This military police unit worked under the general direction of the Provost Marshal.

[2]    The letter from “home” [Owego, New York] was the first that Goodrich had received since the suspension of mail service between the North and the South shortly after Arkansas seceded from the Union.  The envelope actually contained two letters – one from Goodrich’s sister, Sarah, and one from his mother. They read as follows:  

October 18, 1863    Owego [New York]  

Dear brother Ralph.  I am so glad that we can write to you again with something of a feeling of certainty that you will receive it. We have written to you often within the past two years but it always seems that you would not get them. Now I hope there will be no trouble, but we hear the Confederates are gathering around Little Rock. We were so glad to hear from you again and that you had seen [our brother] Jim. I do not wonder that you were almost wild after going through so much. Write us more particulars about the taking of the city… I was afraid Jim was not well enough to start off on an exploration, and were you not glad to see each other? Did he know you as readily as you did him? We had quite a scene here when we received your letter sealed with black. Ma almost went into hysterics before she could open it but it was such good news to know that you were again under our protection in the Union once more.  

I am glad you heard of Pa’s death so soon. I wish you could have all seen him. We have a very good photograph of him taken just before he was taken sick in the spring. There is one for each of us. We have sent one to Augusta. Pa took a very hard cold in April by being out one wet day with the hired man cutting down those two Balm of Gilead trees at the back of the house and was not well afterwards. The doctor was afraid of congestion of the lungs. He was a long time getting up and was very feeble. He used to take his cane and walk slowly about the yard. He walked over to Mr. Bristol’s twice and out to the barn two or three times. He looked feeble but we did not think he was to die so soon. I think he knew he would not live long. We miss him so much. He had a great deal of pain in his head. Sometimes he said it could not hurt worse if someone was driving a nail into his head. With all his suffering, he was cheerful and pleasant [and] was always so glad to hear from us all. He is gone from us and I feel that he is happy for he was a good man. It was good to hear what some of the poor said of him after he died. We are a lonely house.  

George Berry lives here now. I do not know for how long. George and Ed Stratton are both in the store. It is now Truman, Stratton & Company. George boards at Aunt Lucy [Fiddis]’s. He was in the army over a year. He went in the first company that went from here & was promoted to Lieutenant. [Your cousin] Lucy Stratton went west to Cleveland some time ago with her father. He left her there and she is there still visiting friends of her mothers. The Stratton boys hardly ever come here now and George does not seem at all as he used to – only at times he gets in a funny fix.  

Mr. [William] Smyth used to ask [your sister] Mary if she heard from her rebel brother. Lawyer [Benjamin F] Tracy is in the army as Colonel, and Mr. [Willoughby] Babcock also went as Captain but has been promoted – I have forgotten to what rank. He was a long time [at Fort Pickens and Pensacola] in Florida. Nat Davis went in the first company and nearly all the young men about here. Austin went as Captain last fall. He wrote to Lucy & sent his photograph with his regimentals on, but she never answered it. Johnson is raising tobacco at Pipe Creek. He called at Aunt Lucy [Fiddis]’s a short time ago & enquired about you. Tom Page & Will Ellis always enquire about you. They are both married now. All your friends have been anxious to hear from you.  

[Your sister] Mary comes home quite often. [She and her husband Gurd Horton] live in the Broadhead house. I suppose [your brother] Jim told you Lee [Goodrich] was married. Charley Nealy was married two weeks ago to Adaline Janes – his second wife died last summer. Did you know that Uncle Elizur [Goodrich’s business] had failed and [his son]  Fred had to teach last winter to pay his way through college. And [his other son]  Jamie is in a Jeweler’s store. They lost the two little boys with Diptheria a year ago. Aunt Betsy Tryon’s oldest son Goodrich died at Shreveport more than a year ago. Aunt Rachel Goodrich, Uncle Ralph’s wife, died a few weeks ago. Lewis Moss sent you his wedding card a year or more ago. The lady’s name is Elizabeth Mashall.  Frank Platt has been very sick. They do not think she can live long. Ed Platt was in the army but was sick all the time and got discharged. Since then he has married Emma Ketchum & he has turned into a respectable man. Janett McCallum was married last fall to Cal Patch & lives in Towanda. Angelo [McCallum] is Captain in the army, and Will has just gone to West Point .

I hope you are having a larger school and trust times will be brighter with you. I wish you might be at home this winter. Why have you given up being a lawyer? If you are to be a teacher through life, I hope you can get a professorship in some college. I feel as if I had not written half I wanted to but as Lucy says, you ought not to have too large a dose of news at first. If we had known that you was in the army, we should have felt even worse than we did about you. What a horrible thing this war is. And now we hear there is to be another draft in December. I fear it will last years yet. It is hard times here. Everything is very high, but it is not half so bad as it is with you. Will it be safe for us to send you a package? If so, what would you want us to send most?  

Have you written to [your sister] Augusta?  She has her hands full with three children now. What an awful thing that raid of Quantrill’s at Lawrence was. I sincerely hope it is not so bad with you as you feared. Write soon again. I hope you will receive this. Do you have the chills much? All send love. Hope you will see Jim again and now goodbye. May God bless you, my brother. Ever your affectionate sister, -- Sarah [Goodrich]  

I would write another sheet but will send it for you to write home. I want to ask so many questions. I am glad Mrs. Adamson is so kind to you. She has our thanks for all the kindness she renders you. I do hope things look brighter to you by this time. Write often.  

Dear Ralph. We was glad to hear from you and hope that you will always be in the Union now. I have written a number of letters to you and directed them as you wrote to have me to Mr. Cox of the International Hotel, Memphis, and if he would _______ or on other words send you what belongs to you, would hear considerable news and get a few stamps. I wrote to you about your father’s death and after that sent a letter and cut the obituary notice on his death out of the Gazette and sent that. Did [your brother] James get the [Owego] Gazette I sent him? He had left Helena when we sent the paper. What had been the matter with James and was he able to go off? I hope he is back and that you can see him again. He is very saving or he could not save so much. I hope you will see better times now and that you will have more scholars. About your father’s will, I did not know as you knew anything about it but when a man makes a will, it has to be proven by law or if there are none but own children and if all agree to it, it can be settled without going to law. If each one will give each one a kind of quit claim deed that they agree to have go just as the will says. This paper that you sent us is of no use. I do not think it is but Stephen can enquire. I think we may have to have it settled by law and it will cost 40 or 50 dollars now. If we can hear from you and James, if you can get up this kind of quit claim deed, we may try to that way if we do. Stephen must go to Mr. Madill and get one and send you so that you can know how to do it. I want to hear again from you and James too before we do anything about it. Sarah is writing all the news. I send you one stamp. It is all I have left. Goodbye my darling boy. – [Mother]

[3]   Probably Jacob Orcutt, 5th Kansas Cavalry.