Ice Water, Butter, and a Bit of Home: A Soldier’s Story from Louisville

“it is a hard matter to give up the negro but it has got to bee did the negro has got to have his freedom after the thing has gon this far”

Pull up a chair and let me share a little treasure with you today. I am holding a letter written way back on June 29, 1865, by a Union soldier named W. H. Gwinn. It is written on lined, cream-colored paper that has held up remarkably well over the years, though you can see the grid where he folded it up tight to send it off to his friend Laben. The ink has faded to a soft brown, and you can almost feel the nervous energy in his hands—he tells Laben right away that he has just come off guard duty and is feeling a bit shaky.

W. H. was stationed in Louisville, Kentucky, a place he did not have much fondness for at the time. He describes the city as a “secess hole,” feeling that the folks there were still rebels at heart even though the war was winding down. It is a fascinating window into that messy, complicated time right after the fighting stopped. You can hear him grappling with the big changes of the day, noting that while some were having a hard time letting go of the old ways, the end of slavery was an absolute necessity. To him, it was a hard truth that simply “got to bee did.”

But even with all those heavy thoughts of war and politics, W. H. finds joy in the simple things that will make your mouth water. He writes home about “gitting my good grub”—coffee, biscuits, pickles, and even butter sitting on a big chunk of ice! In the sweltering Kentucky heat of June 1865, that ice water must have felt like a miracle. He even invites Laben to “com over and take supper” for a little chat, showing us that no matter how much the world changes, the human heart just wants to sit down with a friend and share a meal.

Reading these words today reminds us that history isn’t just found in dusty textbooks; it is alive in the letters of people who were just like us—worrying about their neighbors, enjoying a cold drink on a hot day, and looking forward to the time they could finally head back to the peace of the hills. It is a heartfelt reminder that even in the middle of great national shifts, it is our personal connections and simple comforts that keep us grounded.

Original Transcription

Louisvill Kentucky Jun The 29th/65
Mr Laben Gwinn Dear Sir it is with
pleasure that I am Seatted to drop you afew
lines I have Just com off of guard and
I am som what nervous I dont know wheather
I can wright a letter that you can read or not
but I will do the best I can I got a letter
from you som tim ago which I was glad
to receive but was sorry to hear that you
was not well I trust that thoes few lines
may find you and yours family well and all
the friends well Laban I got to the citty
of Louisvill a perfict secess hole I beleave
that about two thirds of the citizens of this
plase ar rebbels it would been a god blessing
if Kentucky would of went out of the union
when the rest of the States did She would
of been mor loyal to day than what she
is it is a hard matter to give up the
negro but it has got to bee did the negro
has got to have his freedom after the thing
has gon this far Well I dont know that I have
any thing new to wright I heard this morning
that E. H. Gwinn was musterd out of the service
and had gon hom it looks like som men
are lucky I think the regt will git out befor
long as soon as every boddy els git hom any
how I would like to be at hom very well

but I am doing very well I am gitting my
good grub we live as well now as we would
if we was at hom we git our Coffa Buiskets
patatoes beans pickles Butter with a big chunk
of ice on it and ice watter to drink hant
that nice Com over and take supper with
me som eavning and let us have a small schat
I hant a caring wheather school keeps or not
So the Big Girls coms you said that you was
a going Back to the Mountains after harvest
I would like to git hom before you leave
I think probly I will if don I think I
will go and see you if I can find you
up thair among the rocks and hills I dont
beleve that if it was my case that I would go
back untill times got mor setleled
Well Laban I dont know that I have any thing
mor to wright I will close By requesting
you to wright soon So good By for this tim
you can tell the folks on the hill that
I am Well and still in the army
So no mor
W H Gwinn
Co A 46 regt
Ind Vol
Inft
Louisvill Ky