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Letter - 9/24/1862.....4 pages written on a printed advertising circular for Hernan Hamburger's Philadelphia law practice (44 Walnut Street, Philadelphia). A correspondence with his friend John Pugh Green. It notes that he is envious of Puht's new position with the Army and his hope that something similar "will turn up for me." The letter also contains some indication of Hamburger's feelings of adulation for McClellan as being "the hero of the day" with his recent victory in the Maryland Campaign. Of special significance and interest are his thoughts concerning Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. See bio below. Herman Hamburger (1837-1899) studied law prior to his service in the Army; after, he was appointed a Judge, then worked in the coal industry and in the manufacture of elastic webbing. He was first president of the Hebrew Charity Ball association of Philadelphia. John Pugh Green (1839-1924) studied law prior to his service in the Army, but spent his career with the Pennsylvania Railroad, retiring as First Vice President. TRANSCRIPTION as Follows: Sept 24/62 Wednesday My Dear John Your little note was red. Handed to me by Mr. Kane. You do not Know Old Boy how glad I was to hear from you That you were well & apparently enjoying the new life upon which you have entered I am glad too to see that you have not forgotten me & my wants. I am more anxious than ever to get off & I do hope something will turn up for me. I will confess that I have not got the calmness or philosophy of Micawber for I fear that nothing will turn up, not however doubting for a moment My dear fellow but that you will do all you can for me. I sit here in the office chafing a la war horse & co. & I feel very lonely I assure you John! I miss you very much & wish sometimes that you were here again or that I was certainly with you. My habits of study (it no time bragable) have been so completely broken up by the unhappy events of the past year that I find it difficult to put my mind to study. Flanagan two is not Green, so you may well think I have a pretty lonely time of it. The city is as usual dull gloomy. Nothing whatever doing except the everlasting necessity of business. People's faces wear a more cheerful aspect. Since the enemy has been driven out of Maryland. McClellan is the idol of the day & his bitterest enemies have been Compelled to acknowledge his talents and fitness. The President's message announcing emancipation falls dull upon our ears (I believe nothing will excite us now) Even Mr Kane says nothing. It was so unexpected so unlooked for that probably but the message to a great democratic move. I must confess Old boy, democrat as I am I cannot feel greatly shocked. I try to persuade myself that I ought to rave & swear & talk of "unconstitutionality" "outrage" but I cant do it under the existing state of circumstances when I think of the blood & treasure spent on the infernal Rebellion, I am apt to feel if I do not say it in as many words "It served them right. They brought it on themselves. Let them suffer for it. I think however the proclamation was issued at ___ impolitic time for I really cannot see what particular good it can accomplish at this time. While on the other hand it may ____ brand of distraction that may be of much harm. Many who were about to go to war may conscientiously refuse to fight for the abolition of the Negro & may look upon the proclamation of President Lincoln as a distinct avowal on his part as Commander in Chief of the Army of what the real purposes of the war are viz to emancipation of slaves. I must say however that I cannot look upon it in this light but only as a proclamation aimed against the slave property of those persons in rebellion Against the Government Loyal Masters are to be protected by acknowledging their rights he acknowledges that slavery as an institution has all the rights he seemed so will to accord to them in all his public messages & speeches. Enough of this I Know you will have your opinions in relation to the matter for myself I will say in a word that I am sorry the proclamation was ever issued but if it will end the rebellion or tend to do so I shall be satisfied that it is right and for the best. I have not seen my four gentlemen friends since you left. D & S Weir Mitchell met with a sad loss in the death of his wife who died day before yesterday very suddenly of diphtheria. Mr Kane has been continually with him since that time. Poor fellow he takes his loss very hard. If you see Schonemans give them my love & accept the same for yourself. Yours Hamburger Let me hear how you get along. What are your duties &c & c, HH What is your Rank & how shall we address your letters. BIO: First Lieutenant, Company L, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Enlisted on October 25, 1862. Also served as Assistant Adjutant-General of First Brigade, Third Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps in 1862. Discharged to date August 18, 1863. Discharge date also listed as November 20, 1863. Graduated from Lafayette College in 1856 and was admitted to the bar in 1859. Served as a lawyer in Philadelphia before the war. Became a Justice of the Peace and a Judge after the war. Wife Madge Elias Hamburger filed for a widow's pension on May 13, 1908, application number 894,779 from Connecticut. From Biographical Sketches of Montgomery County (PP: 355-356) Hon. Herman Hamburger, a man of wide and varied business experience and president of the Montgomery Web company of North Wales, is the only son and child of Aaron and Henrietta (Furst) Hamburger, and was born on the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 21, 1837. Aaron Hamburger was born and reared in Bavaria, Germany, where he resided until he became twenty-five years of age. He then, in 1835, came to Philadelphia and three years later went to Carbon County, Pennsylvania, where he was a pioneer in the coal business with Pardee and Packer. He operated the Beaver Meadow mines for many years, and then was engaged in supplying five of the largest coal companies with dressed beef for several years. Aaron Hamburger was a Whig in politics, served for fifteen years as a justice of the peace and in various ways was active in political affairs. He was born in 1810, and passed away in August, 1863. In 1836 he married Henrietta Furst, whose father Samuel Furst, was a resident of Philadelphia. Their union was blessed with but one child, Hon. Herman, the subject of this sketch. Herman Hamburger was taken in infancy by his parents to the coal regions of Carbon County, where he grew to manhood. He attended the Beaver Meadow public schools and Vanververe's preparatory school at Easton, Pennsylvania, and then in 1852, entered Lafayette College, from which well known educational institution he was graduated in 1856, with a degree of A. M. After graduation he went to Davenport, Iowa, where he remained one year and taught a private school. He then returned home and after reading law in the office of Furman Sheppard, Esq., of Philadelphia, was admitted in 1861 to the bar of that city. The next year he left practice at the Philadelphia bar to enlist in Company L, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant. He was soon promoted to assistant adjutant general of the First Brigade, Third Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He took part in six engagements including the two days desperate fighting at Gettysburg, where his brigade commander, General Farnsworth, fell dead by his side. Some time after the battle of Gettysburg, he was taken sick and sent to the hospital at Georgetown and before he was fully convalescent, received the news of his father's death. This necessitated his resignation as he was then needed to take immediate charge of his father's affairs. Returning home to Carbon County, he was elected justice of the peace to succeed his father in that office, and in October 1866, before the expiration of his term, was elected associate judge of Carbon County for a term of five years, which expired in 1871. in 1868, in connection with A. L. Mumper, George H. Meyers and Thomas John, Judge Hamburger became a member of the coal mining and shipping company of A. L. Mumper & Co., of Spring Brook, while their collieries were located at Yorktown, Carbon County. In 1869 they established offices at Philadelphia, of which Judge Hamburger had charge until the dissolution of the company in 1884. In that year he came to North Wales, this county, where he organized the Montgomery Web company and erected their present works. In this special line of elastic web manufacturing he has been very successful. Since coming to North Wales, Judge Hamburger has been prominently identified and is now serving as president of the board of health, and as director of its board of trade and improvement company. He is a Democrat in politics and has been active for many years in the councils of his party. On June 15, 1870, Judge Hamburger was united in marriage to Madge Elias, of Charlotte, North Carolina. They have five children: Jennie, wife of E. B. Coopman, Aaron, David E., Maylin, and Eleanor. Judge Hamburger was the first president of the Hebrew Charity Ball association of Philadelphia, and served for eleven years as president of the Mercantile club of that city. He is a member of Merchants Council No. 707, Legion of Honor, Oriental Lodge No. 185, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Tamaqua Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Tamaqua. Aaron Hamburger BIRTH 10 May 1810 Bavaria (Bayern), Germany DEATH 16 Aug 1863 (aged 53) Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA BURIAL Mount Sinai Cemetery Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA

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Physical Location

Arc.MS.56, Box 20, Folder 9