Letter from Opelousas

In October 1863 General Nathaniel Banks began his Overland Campaign to march from the New Iberia-Franklin area to reach Texas by land. The plan was to march to Opelousas and from there take the Opelousas-Lake Charles Road to Lake Charles, then to the Sabine River. Once his column reached Opelousas, the advance stalled. One of the regiments on this advance was the 26th Massachusetts Infantry. One of its members, William B. Reed, wrote a letter home while his regiment was camped near Opelousas. Please follow this link to the Acton Memorial Library Civil War Archives. They have posted his letter online (with scans of the original available).

• History of the 26th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.