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A Life for the Union:
Before the Civil War, Massachusetts-born James Clay Rice journeyed to Natchez, Mississippi, to teach. Later he became a lawyer, and in 1861 he enrolled in the Union army as a lieutenant. By 1864, he had become a brigadier general. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864 he commanded a brigade -- about 3,000 men -- in the Union Fifth Corps.
On May 10th a bullet shattered his leg. Union surgeons quickly amputated the limb, but Rice soon died. The Governor of New York ordered the flag on the state capital in Albany lowered to half staff. Rice was mourned at funerals in both New York City and Albany.
A Last Letter to his Mother:
We are about to commence the campaign, the greatest in magnitude, strength, and importance since the beginning of the war. God grant that victory may crown our arms; that this wicked rebellion may be crushed, our Union preserved, and peace and prosperity again restored to our beloved country... With much love, and many prayers that, whatever may betide us, we may meet in heaven at last,
I am your very affectionate son, James. |