When William Day joined the 54th North Carolina Infantry in the spring of 1862, he left behind his wife, Rebecca, and four young children. He would think often of his family during the next year. But he would never see them again.

Day was a simple, illiterate farmer, yet he managed to send over a dozen letters to his wife by dictating to his comrades. These letters, full of errors in spelling and grammer, reveal the thoughts of a loyal Confederate who loved and missed his family. In response to his wifes plea that he return home, Day wrote, "I would like mity well to cum home__but there is no chanc with ut I am running away an thers not a chanc of that...".

Private Day himself was not eager for combat. On April 28, 1863 he wrote,"...I hope this war will pas over without any more fighting...I want to come home as bad as you want me to come..."Days after writing those words, he fought on the Fredericksburg front of the Battle of Chancellorsville. He survived that fight, but died that May of typhoid fever.


SERVICE RECORD: 1862--enlisted in YadkinCo., N.C. company called the Western Rangers (March17); Company designated Co. H, of 54th N.C. Inf. (May 10);Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. (Dec 13).
1863--Chancellorsville Campaign (Apr & May);Fredericksburg fron at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va.(May 3-4);hospitalized for typhoid fever(May 24);died(May 29).∼Served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
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Military Record:
Enlisted in Yadkin County, North Carolina, 1862. Enlisted into Company called Western Rangers March 17, company designated Company H of 54th N.C. Infantry March 10. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. December 13, 1863. Chancellorsville, Campaign April & May. Hospitalized for Typhoid Fever May 24. Died May 29, 1863.
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THANKS TO ODIELION for sending along the following information:

I WENT TO ANCESTRY.COM AND FOUND A WILLIAM DAY WHO DIED ON THE SAME DATE 29 MAY 1863 IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. HERE IS THEIR SOURCING:

Source Information
Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Deaths [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Name: William Day
Spouse: Rebecca Kimbal Day
Parents: Thomas Day, Nancy Elizabeth
Birth Place: Yadkin, Jonesville, NC
Birth Date: 1834
Death Place: Richmond, VA
Death Date: 29 May 1863

HERE IS THIS SOURCE
Source Citation
Birth year: 1834; Birth city: Jonesville; Birth state: NC

Source Information
Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
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