JOHN'S STORY--Overview

        I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine. I've only been
acquainted with him since 1979, but in that time I've come to know him
quite well.

        I was doing an exhibit of flintlock rifles and powder horns at a
craft show that year, and a little elderly lady came up to my table. She
quietly studied my exhibit for a few minutes, then looked over the tops of
her glasses at me and spoke. "Do you know anyone who collects Civil War
things?" I replied that I did, and she said, "I have some letters that were
written by my late husband's great-uncle who served in the Union Army." She
briefly told me what the letters contained, although she was somewhat
innaccurate and confused, as I was to discover, but nonetheless, I became
interested in what she had to say. She went on to state that she had two
sons: one of whom was interested in the letters, but that he had been
killed in a traffic accident the year before, and the other son had
absolutely no interest in them at all. She also said that she would like to
have them remain together, and not be sold or scattered about. She told me
she had thought about giving them to the local Historical Society,
but..."They don't appreciate or take care of what they are given." The lady
told me what she would like to receive for them, gave me her address and
phone number, and left. I had promised her I would speak to some of my
Civil War friends and let her know if anyone was interested. As the day
wore on, I kept thinking, "How often does this happen?", and decided I
would buy the letters myself.

Some background...

        John Earnest was 20 years old when the Civil War started, the
second of 10 or 11 children of John and Maria Earnest, who lived on a farm
in Franklin Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, having come there from
Columbia, Lancaster County, PA, on the Susquehanna River, when John and his
brother William,(whom you will meet later on) were teenagers.  Although I
have not yet seen a picture of him, I do know from his military records
that he had brown hair and brown eyes, was 5'10" in height, a medium build,
and at the time of enlistment he was a farmer.

        As you will learn as we go along, he played the fiddle, smoked a
pipe enjoyed brandy, and was fond of apple butter and chestnuts. He sent
money home when he could, his favorite sister was Mahala (pronounced
Mahaila), and asks for her picture. For some reason he never mentions his
mother; all his letters are addressed to his father, (who by the way was
illiterate. I have a copy of his will, signed with an X and witnessed by
two men. So who wrote back to John? I do not have a clue.), and as you will
see, John was very nearly illiterate.

Next Time...John enlists in the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and
sets off on his great adventure.