New-found interest in the 137th NY at Gettysburg

The best-kept secret of the Civil War is getting out!
The quiet heroism of Col. David Ireland and the 137th NY, holding the right end of the Union Line at Gettysburg's Culp's Hill on the night of July 2, is beginning to be noticed.
In the past two weeks I've gotten unexpected requests for copies of my collection of letters of men of the 137th, "In Their Own Words - Col. David Ireland and the 137th NY"

The first request was from a student in a college at Ohio, whose art/history course has chosen to make a bronze plaque commemorating the 137th's defense of Culp's Hill.
The latest is from a member of a New Jersey Civil War Roundtable whose recent tour of the Gettysburg battlefield opened his eyes to the singular importance of the 137th NY in saving the battle on the night of July 2, and their crucial contribution in the renewed battle on the morning of July 3.

Comments in their recent books, by eminent historians James McPherson, Noah Trudeau, and Ed Bearrs, noted that the heroism of the 137th on the right at Culp's Hill was just as important as that of the 20th Maine at Little Roundtop earlier that evening. Now we hope that this new-found recognition of the 137th will encourage Civil War buffs to learn more about this remarkable regiment, and their equally brave and important action at Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, Ringgold Gap, Atlanta, and Savannah. And recognize the fortitude of a band of men that uncomplainingly marched over 2000 miles in the course of their war.
Certainly those who take the time to read The Fighting 137th will gain a detailed understanding of these ordinary men, with a remarkable leader, that became an extraordinary regiment.

Pvt Ira Jeffers letters

Today I received an email from Eugene Mongello, a Long Island NY re-enactor, who has 70 letters from Pvt. Ira Jeffers of Co. F, 137th NY.
It will be interesting to see how his collection compares to the collection of Jeffers' letters transcribed by Charlie English, of the Stone House Museum in Windsor, NY ( home of the Jeffers family).
Ira was a good kid, a good writer, and his letters give good first-hand insight into the life of the men of the regiment.

Plagiarism in the ranks?

While writing the chapter on the 137th's December march from Bolivar Heights to Dumfries,
I re-read the diary of Zuri Wellman, Sgt, Co. F. His December 162daily entry had a phrase "slovenly homes" to describe the houses they passed on the way struck a chord in my memory. I'd see it before.
Sure enough, in the letter Capt. Henry Shipman, Co. F, wrote in late January to the Binghamton Republican, appeared that same phrase. As I checked further, many of the episodes in Catp. Shipman's letter were borrowed directly from Sgt. Wellman's diary. Of course, Shipman may have asked his sergeant for permission to include the daily entries in the letter written for the folks at home. Still, one wonders.
In any event, as a historian wanting to describe as faithfully as possible the events in the life of a regiment that occurred 145 years ago, it is reassuring to have not just almost primary sources (Shipman's letter written one month removed), but ultimate primary sources - entries written on the day things happened.
My thanks to the Brown County Museum, Green Bay Wisconsin, for transcribing Zuri Wellman's diary in the summer of 2006, and sharing the resulting material with me.

Writing the book

So far, I've completed the first drafts of key chapters, dealing with the battle of Gettysburg, the impact of the 137th NY in holding Culp's Hill against heavy odds the night of July 2, 1863.
I've gone back to the beginning - writing chapters covering :
-the early war experience of David Ireland as adjutant of the 79th NY at 1st Bull Run, his experience as Capt. 15th US Infantry training Sherman's new regiments from Ohio and Indiana at Newport Barracks, KY
-the recruiting of the 137th NY in upstate New York (Ithaca, Owego, Binghamton) in the summer of 1862
- training of the regiment by Col. Ireland at Camp Susquehanna in Binghamton, Sept 1862
- with McClellan in Maryland in October 1862
- camped at Bolivar Heights (Harper's Ferry) in Nov 1862
I'm now working on the details of the regiment's march with XII Corps thru Virginia to join Burnside's army at Fredericksburg, Dec 1862.
My sources are letters and diaries of the men themselves, augmented with a plethora of sources that provide broad context of the war situation in which the regiment found itself, from respected historian/authors such as James McPherson, Noah Trudeau, and Ed Bearss, and enriched by family history provided to me by descendants of men of the 137th NY, and from collectors of Civil War memorabilia who shared material with me.
To anyone who has information on men of the 137th NY - I'd be grateful to you for sharing your info with me, to add to the robustness of the History of the 137th NY.