Annie Hayden Hyde - 1841-1915

Annie Hayden was 21 years old when she wrote this letter to her close friend Tom Hyde (also age 21) after hearing he had been injured at Antietam the week before. (Hyde earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day.) Hayden and Hyde were married in 1866. Hyde went on to found Bath Iron Works in 1884.

Primary Source Analysis

1. Original Letter (Read a transcript of the letter)

Below are images of the original 9/25/1862 letter from Annie Hayden to Thomas Hyde. Note: Letter refers to events Hyde experienced a week earlier at the Battle of Antietam, 9/17/1862.

2. Photo (Wait! Do you want to see a photo now? Or after the discussion? You decide.)

Photo of Annie Hayden Hyde, Thomas Hyde, Mary Hyde (Thomas’s sister)
Annie’s Diary and the actual entry for the same day she wrote this letter