Two letters were written by Pvt. Peter F. Theroux (1824-1864) of Plattsburgh, Clinton county, New York, who was a 38 year-old shoemaker when he enlisted in August 1862 in Co. H, 118th New York Infantry. Peter was Canadian by birth; his wife Sophia and five children were all born in New York. At the time of the 1860 US Census, Peter’s children included: Margelt (age 10), Simon (age 7), Mary (age 6), Hortence (age 2), and Julia (age 7 months).
When Peter wrote these letters in August 1863, he was at the U.S Hospital at Gloucester Point, Virginia—just across the York River from Yorktown. He died the following month on 14 September from typhoid pneumonia. His body was interred in the Yorktown National Cemetery, grave 288.
The letter's can be read here.