This letter was written by William S. Watson (1839-1900), the son of William Watson (179901870) and Sarah Ann Kennedy (1807-1846) of Marshall, Clark county, Illinois. He wrote the letter to his friend, Lydia Jane Waller (1839-1879) of Marshall, Illinois. On 20 July 1861, William enlisted in Co. D, 11th Indiana which was under the command… Read More 1861: William S. Watson to Lydia Jane Waller

This letter was written by George W. Thompson (1842-1919), the eldest son of Aaron Thompson (b. 1809) and Nancy Chapman (b. 1826) of Darwin, Clark county, Illinois. He wrote the letter to Lydia Jane Waller (1839-1879) of Clark county. George identified himself as a farmer when he enlisted on 14 June 1861 as a private… Read More 1864: George W. Thompson to Lydia Jane Waller

This letter was written by Lt. James W. Morgan of Co. K, 4th Cavalry Missouri State Militia, who was serving as the Asst. Provost Marshal General at Marshfield, MO. in September 1862. James was commissioned a lieutenant on 22 May 1862 and resigned his commission on 16 September 1863. He wrote the letter to Lt.… Read More 1862: James W. Morgan to William M. Albin

This incredible letter was written by John Randolph McBride (1842-1912) prior to his enlistment in September 1861 as corporal and later as commissary sergeant of Co. C, 33rd Indiana Infantry. He eventually served as 1st Lt. & Adjutant for the regiment and authored the regimental history that was published in 1900. John was the son… Read More 1861: John Randolph McBride to Lucas Folsom Smith

This letter seems to have been written by a member of the 49th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) who is yet to be identified. The content pertains to the Rebel shelling of Ft. McCook located near the mouth of Battle Creek on the Tennessee river by Rebel General Samuel Maxey on the 27th of August 1862.… Read More 1862: Unidentified to Mother

This letter was written by Ossian E. Alexander (1846-1922), the son of Harry Alexander (1809-1860) and Phebe Bullock (1813-1880) of Jefferson county, New York. “Ossy” enlisted in Co. B, 186th New York Infantry in August 1864. Ossy wrote the letter to his sister, Emily (Alexander) Burnham (1834-1922), the wife of Emory Burnham (1833-1904) of Henderson,… Read More 1864: Ossian E. Alexander to Emily (Alexander) Burnham

This letter was written by Sgt. Samuel Dunnan (1832-1922) who served in Battery B, 1st Light Artillery of the Pennsylvania Reserves (a. k. a., 5th Pennsylvania Artillery or 43rd Pennsylvania Regiment). The Battery was commanded by Capt. James Harvey Cooper (1840-1906) and was most commonly referred to as “Cooper’s Battery” throughout the war. Samuel enlisted… Read More 1863: Samuel Dunnan to Hugh Dunnan