A Handful of Providence: The Civil War Letters of Lt. Richard Goldwaite, New York Volunteers, and Ellen Goldwaite

The long-silent voices of Richard and Ellen Goldwaite, a newly married couple separated by Richard’s service in the Union army, come to life in this collection of their wartime correspondence. Seemingly forgotten for years, tucked away in a burlap sack, these letters provide a first-hand account of the effects of the Civil War on one couple and chronicle the separation and loss, sorrow and despair, loneliness and fear, and longing for peace and happier times that war brings—and the conflict between disillusionment and loneliness, duty and honor that Richard’s longing for his young bride forces him to confront.

These 132 letters, written from 1861 to 1863, chronologically follow Richard’s service throughout the war: his voluntary enlistment; his service on a Union ferry; time spent in the "Union Coast Guard"; postings in Virginia and North Carolina; and his return home. A brief explanation introduces each group of letters. An introduction details the Goldwaites’ lives before the war, and an epilogue tells of their life together afterwards. The text is illustrated with more than 40 photographs. Appendices include a history of Goldwaite’s regiment and an account of his company’s service in the Mexican War; newspaper accounts of events described in the letters; orders for Goldwaite’s postings; details about the deaths of colleagues in the war; and military communications between Richard Goldwaite and other servicemen. There is a preface and a bibliography.