Col. Patrick Guiney Letters
Patrick Guiney was born in Ireland in 1835 and immigrated to the United States, settling in Maine. He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts for one year, and later studied law and opened a practice in Boston. In 1859, Guiney married Jeannette "Jennie" Margaret Doyle, with whom he had two children. When the Civil War began he left his practice and enlisted as a private with the 9th Massachusetts Volunteers, a regiment organized from Boston. He was eventually promoted to Colonel and led his regiment in campaigns fought primarily in Virginia. At the Battle of the Wilderness, he was seriously wounded in the eye and was soon after discharged from service. After the war he unsuccessfully ran for Congress, but served as Assistant District Attorney and Registrar of the Probate Court in Suffolk County Massachusetts. He died in 1877.
During the war, Col. Guiney wrote a series of letters to his wife Jennie, dating from June 4, 1861 to April 7, 1864. As historical documents, these letters provide details of various campaigns as as well as descriptions of everyday life in the regiment. They are also a poignant testimony of the tenderness and love expressed by a man for his family during wartime.
The Guiney letters make up a significant portion of a collection donated to the College of the Holy Cross by Patrick Guiney’s daughter, the poet and scholar Louise Imogen Guiney. The original letters are currently located in the Special Collections of Dinand Library at the College of the Holy Cross and are available to researchers.
Letters from 1862
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 March 19, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 March 25, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 March 30, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 2, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 3 (1), Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 3 (2), Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 8, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 9, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 12, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 18, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 23, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 April 25, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 1, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 12, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 18, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 20, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 22, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 May 31, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 June 21, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 June 22, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Patrick Guiney, 1862 July 17, John Mahan
Letter to Patrick Guiney, 1862 July18, John Mahan
Letter to John A. Andrew, 1862 July 31, Timothy O'Leary, et al.
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 August 6, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 August 9, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Patrick Guiney, 1862 August 18, John Mahan
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 August 24, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 September 4, Patrick Guiney
Recantation, 1862 September 19, John Tobin, et al.
Letter to Louise Guiney, 1862 September 24, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 October 2, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 October 5, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 October 18, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 October 25, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 October 28, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 November 25, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 November 30, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 December 4, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 December 15, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1862 December 18, Patrick Guiney
Letters from 1861
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 June 4, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 June 28, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 2, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 9, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 14, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 15, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 16, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 21, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 22, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 24, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 26, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 July 31, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 1, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 3(?), Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 7, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 8, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 9, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 15, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 20, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 21, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 August 29, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 September 1, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 September 4, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 September 5, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 October 1, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 October 7, Patrick Guiney
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 October 22, Patrick Guiney
Letter to P.R. Guiney, 1861 December 4, Thomas Cass
Letter to Jennie Guiney, 1861 December 27, Patrick Guiney