James E. Morrow Letters to Clara J. Johnson

The collection consists of 27 letters by James Elmore Morrow to Clara J. Johnson written between January 18 and December 4, 1864 while Morrow was a Union officer in West Virginia and Maryland during the Civil War. It also contains one letter to Clara J. Johnson from her father, F.J. Johnson, dated August 23, 1863.

The letters from James Morrow trace the beginning of his and Clara's acquaintance, through the developing courtship, until - by the time of the last letter (Dec. 1) - it is apparent that the couple has come to an understanding about their future relationship.

The letters are primarily courtship letters relying heavily on the conventional language of the time. Nevertheless, the writer also expresses feelings of loneliness and refers occasionally to problems controlling alcohol consumption. Morrow also describes his duties as a mustering-out officer (Union Army, in West Virginia and Maryland) in the last year of the Civil War, commenting freely on the mustering-out process, on the behavior of veterans released, and on the quality (or lack) of leadership among his superior officers. The letters of October 1864, in which he expresses his grief at the death of Col. Thoburn and his feelings about Thoburn’s successor are among the most personally revealing.

The letter by F.J. Johnson, Clara's father, details a multitude of events and personalities in Clara's hometown of Wellsburg, West Virginia, at the time of his writing. It also reveals the closeness and affection between them. He misses Clara, and describes her as "…deeper wound around my heart than I ever deemed you were."