Handwritten Letters Book, 1862-1865

This letters book belonged to John Rowe of Port Stanley and Hamilton, Ontario. The book consists of handwritten duplicate copies of correspondence sent by Rowe from 1862 to 1865. He writes to a variety of people including business associates, family members and friends. Rowe discusses romance, commerce, and war, specifically Canada’s attitude and involvement in the American Civil War. He regularly travelled for business, and this is reflected in the letters he wrote, which are dated from Amherstburg and Brampton. His correspondents include his cousin, Sergeant Ford, 2nd Battalion, Scots Fusilier Guards, Montreal; his sister in Devonport, Devon, England; Schell of Campbellton; and Grace Rosevear of Guelph.

RG 818  Handwritten Letters Book, Canada West, 1862-1865

Handwritten Letters Book, Canada West, 1862-1865

In this entry Rowe writes about how the Civil War affected Canada, noting that  "the Canadian government have called out 3 Battalions of our volunteers to guard the frontier in all about 2500 men--it is in order to prevent organized bands of Southerners from making raids into the northern States from Canada.  2 Companies are stationed here at Amherstburg , none of the Hamilton volunteers have been called out yet".