Image courtesy of Coastal Georgia Historical Society
Caroline Couper
In January 1863, young Robert Couper was far from home. From a military camp near Port Royal, Virginia, Couper wrote to his mother, Caroline Couper of St. Simons Island, to update her on his time in the Confederate military. He likely knew that his mother was anxious to hear from him. When Robert wrote this letter, it had been only six months since his brother, John Lord Couper, had died at Gordonsville, Virginia. Less than a year before that, his eldest brother Hamilton had died at Manassas, Virginia of typhoid. His brothers James and Alexander were also enlisted, leaving parents James Hamilton and Caroline with only letters like these as proof of their sons’ well-being.
Robert wrote to his parents amid a cold, wet Virginia winter. While he wrote that January was “usually the most severe month,” he also assured his family that he was well protected from the cold. “I have a good tent,” he wrote, “and lately I have had a chimney of mud and sticks put up at one end of it; this is far better than sitting by a fire in the open air, where we suffer at the same time from wind, smoke, and cold.”
Robert Couper’s service in the area centered around the Hazelwood Farm, a property on the Rappahannock River that had once belonged to John Taylor, a U.S. senator from Virginia. Couper’s regiment placed their headquarters in the ruins of Taylor’s house and soon began picquet (more commonly spelled “picket”) duty along the southern bank of the river. As a picquet, Couper was to prevent the passage of boats in either direction, observe the movements of the enemy, and refrain from engaging the enemy in conversation.
Courtesy of Coastal Georgia Historical Society
Robert Couper letter
Stationed just across the river, about four hundred yards away from Robert’s regiment, Union troops were easy to observe but perhaps more difficult to avoid. One of the most dramatic moments in Couper’s picquet duty came when a major of a North Carolina battalion tried to pilot a boat to visit nearby picquets along the river. Instead, Robert wrote, “the high wind that was blowing drifted them in spite of their efforts to the other bank of the river, where they were at once captured by the enemy.”
Couper assured his parents that while the Union may try to cross the Rappahannock, he did not think they would succeed. Robert believed that points on the Confederate side of the river were well-protected, and specifically promised his father that “we have great cause for confidence and encouragement.”
This letter, along with others from Robert, are in the Wilbur Couper Collection at the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. Also pictured is a small portrait of Caroline Couper, Robert’s mother.
Coastal Georgia Historical Society presents this article and images from our archives as part of our mission “to connect people to Coastal Georgia’s dynamic history.” The Society operates the iconic St. Simons Lighthouse Museum and the World War II Home Front Museum, housed in the Historic Coast Guard Station at East Beach. To learn more about the Society, its museums, diverse programs, and membership, please visit coastalgeorgiahistory.org.
