10 June 1861

Blanchard, Ira, 1835-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mary (Wright) Kellogg

Blanchard writes to Mary Wright from Camp Goodell. Reflects on the possibility of being killed. Reports his regiment is now part of the U.S. Army under Union General George B. McClellan, and they will be moving to western Virginia. Letter is very faded and largely illegible, with a Union emblem.

GLC03523.31.04

January 13, 1863

Maitland, James M., 1815-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elhanan M. Mast

Relates to his brother that he is very relieved to hear that he has not been killed, as he has received word that Colonel Hawkins was killed and General Horatio Van Cleve's Division "suffered terribly." Tells him that "I think your Commanding Officers should not hesitate a moment in accepting your resignation."

GLC03523.10.057

February 21, 1863

Maitland, Joseph M., 1836-1918

Autograph letter

Title: to [William Grier Maitland] [incomplete]

Informs brother, from Fort Pickering, that three men from his regiment died last night from illness. Reports that there is news of "guerillas" burning a steamboat a few miles outside of Memphis, speculating that everyone was taken prisoner. Tells him that upon hearing this, his regiment fired shells at them from their Gun Boats and the next day he could see Rebel Calvary crossing into Hopefield. Letter incomplete and unsigned.

GLC03523.10.060

8 March 1863

Maitland, James M., 1815-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Joseph M. Maitland

Reports to son about the death of a family friend, Ben Morgan. Writes that "I asked him of his hope of Heaven. He said it was strong, strong enough to bear him over the Jordon of waters." Instructs his son to make himself acquainted with his officers, as it will be helpful later. States, "I am in favor of calling out a sufficient force to end the War at once for we have been having too much of a [temporising] policy. I am in favor also as the War has run into the Negro as strongly drafting every Negro in the North and then let those Ultra abolitionists go with them as officers see what they…

GLC03523.10.061

19 May 1863

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Parents Brothers & Sisters

Writes quickly to tell his family that he has survived "another hard fought Battle." Lists the many soldiers from his company who have been killed. His division has lost a total of 1,300 men. The battle was fought on 16 May and the men have stayed to bury the dead. Postscript from 20 May locates Damuth "on Black River by the Rail Road Bridge."

GLC03523.14.25

29 May 1863

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes of promotions among the men after the battle of Champion Hill. His own feelings on promotion are strong: "I am more ambitious to see this war end so that I can get home once more than I am to get an office." Damuth is the only sergeant left fit for duty in his company. Has allotted $12 of his monthly pay to be sent home for his family. Confides that "I have $28 in my britches now and the reason is that thear is nothing to buy." Many "relics of the Battle field" have been sent to Wisconsin and Damuth urges his family to go and view them. Predicts that no men will be lost in…

GLC03523.14.26

24 June 1863

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Damuth

Describes the daily routine of the soldiers, who "sharp shoot day times and stand picket and dig rifle pits nights." Some men are about to attempt to infiltrate a nearby Rebel fort. The life of the soldiers laying siege to Vicksburg is filled with constant strain, and Damuth describes being woken in the middle of the night to stand guard in the pouring rain. Complains of the alarm, "I wish we could get out of this place for a little while so we could pul our pants off at night I have not had mine off in almost three months." Sends home a half-filled canteen he took off a Rebel soldier at…

GLC03523.14.29

February 2, 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes to his sister. His brother, John, has enlisted and is joining Damuth's company. Damuth promises to make him comfortable, but admits that "it was hard enough for me to leave home but it is nothing compared with leaving a wife and five little ones." Confesses that "the war is a very dangerous undertaking." Twenty-seven men from his company have died since the start of the war. The men have been seeing rattlesnakes in Texas, including one which is six feet long. Writes of the hard work of his captain and says he "ought to be Major but others have rich and influential friends to work…

GLC03523.14.48

3 April 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes that the men are waiting to fight. A battle is going to take place at Pleasant Hill, thirty-five miles from their campsite. Tells a story about some men out on picket the day before who were captured by a plantation owner who "mad his negros tie them he marched them out in the woods to shoot them." One man is dead and the other two escaped. Damuth describes seeing the dead man's body and his anger that the murderer "pretended to be a union man." Reports that Texans they have captured were completely unaware of Northerners coming South. Predicts the war will be over by the summer…

GLC03523.14.52

11 April 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes his sister that the "29 have been in a fight and nearly all killed wounded and taken prisoners 5 companys were engaged and out of 180 men we lost 64." Lists the fates of various family friends. After the fight, the men meet new recruits at Pleasant Hill.

GLC03523.14.53

15 April 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes his sister to describe the battles of the previous few days in more detail, with particular attention to the amount of marching his company engaged in and the specific places where friends died. Writes about the moment of realizing "our Co was all thear was that was not killed or wounded." Damuth's company carries the regiment's colors, which they hoist up before the Confederate soldiers "were on us in overwhelming numbers." He describes retreating from the fight: "I thought my time would come next I could see the Rebs and hear them say Stop you yankee Sons of Bitches Surrender you…

GLC03523.14.54

30 April 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Describes being put on emergency picket outside town two days before. Damuth enjoys standing guard and complains only of the lack of blankets during the night. Tells of his fears during the night, wondering "which one of us had got to fall this time," and writes that his fear of death only grows stronger with each battle. Finds the "big scare" humorous because during the frantic change of camps "they piled every thing up together" and many soldiers lost their belongings. Writes about the surprise of discovering a silk handkerchief in the pocket of one of his shirts while doing his…

GLC03523.14.55

30 July 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Reports the deaths of more members of Company D at a fight against the Confederate Army on the Atchafalaya River. Mourns a friend and writes, "I cant think otherwise than that cotton and whiskey was the cause of Jeromes death… I do know that a great many of the Officers were beastly drunk." The men marched thirty-four miles in the heat after the battle, and "after the funeral I went into my tent and laid there till this morning." The Confederate soldiers have fortifications across the river, and Damuth writes that the Union soldiers will not attempt to fight again soon.

GLC03523.14.63

3 August 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes to his sister with little war news, there has not been recent action, and Damuth says, "I sleep most of my time." There have been rumors that the men will be moved to the Potomac. The men have received information about "the great fight that Sherman had…The Death of Gen McPherson is a great loss to the country he is the best Gen we have lost in this war and I think we have but one better Gen left and that is Grant." Describes seeing McPherson, Logan and Grant during the Siege of Vicksburg. Damuth hopes Lincoln will not settle with the Confederates, but will make them "lay down…

GLC03523.14.64

6 August 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes about the soldiers who died in the skirmish on the Atchafalaya. A few days earlier, a "big scare down to Baton Rouge" caused the officers to load all the men into boats; the men fell asleep and woke up the next morning still in port, and since then "have heard nothing of Rebs." Agrees with his sister on her judgment of young men who have avoided the draft, "I had rather a sister of mine would marry a soldiers old shirt." Writes about the draft that he hopes it will be the least, although "things look rather dark and discouraging but my faith in the wisdom and Patriotism of our…

GLC03523.14.65

16 November 1864

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes to his sister. The men have arrived at Devil's Bluff and will soon move to Little Rock. The colonel is hunting deer, but "evry one cant get out of the picket line." The mail has brought a death announcement about one of Damuth's close friends who was sent home on sick leave. Writes about military gossip: Sherman "has made a brake for Charleston with the most of his army." Things are looking up for the men following Lincoln's reelection and everyone is in good spirits.

GLC03523.14.74

8 January 1865

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes to his sister from a camp outside of New Orleans. The soldiers often go into the city. Damuth is going to get photographs taken. Some of the men taken prisoner the year before at Red River are now in the city. Of one of them, Damuth writes, "he has suffered more than to die." Many of the men in prison died of starvation and exposure to the elements, but some men "found relation in the Rebel army" and were protected by family members.

GLC03523.14.79

January 22, 1865

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maria Damuth

Writes to his sister. Responds to family concerns that he might reenlist and promises this is not the case. He will come home and "take care of you as you intended I would when you gave me a deed of the farm." Warns his brother not to reenlist, since he has served a hundred days in Memphis and "seen a dead rebel and now he ought to stay at home and trot his young one on his knee." Writes about friends of the family. Ends the letter with the warning, "Dont let evryone [sic] see this."

GLC03523.14.81

1861-1865

Damuth, Dolphus, fl. 1839-1913

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Damuth family

Sends a list of the killed, dead, sick, wounded and discharged. Writes about action at an unidentified battle. Letter written some time after "the fight at Champion Hills."

GLC03523.14.82

January 15, 1914

Downing, C. A., fl. 1914

Printed document

Title: to Frank Damuth

Announces the death of Dolphus Damuth on 30 December 1913, written by the "Fort Atkinson Lodge Knights of Pythias, in loving remembrance of the many delightful years he was a member of this lodge."

GLC03523.14.86

12 March 1786

Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

General Nathanael Greene writes, "I thank you for the public attention you are paying to my public Trophies; but I have been so embarrassed and perplexed in my private affairs for a long time past which originated in the progress of the War that I have but little spirit or pleasures on such subjects. My family is in distress and I am overwhelmed with difficulties and God knows when or where they will end. I work hard and live poor but I fear all this will not extricate me." Describes some business losses he has suffered, including poor harvest due to wet weather. Mrs. Greene is about to "…

GLC02437.03251

28 March 1786

Duncan, David, fl. 1786

Manuscript document

Title: Extract of a letter from David Duncan to Tho Hutchins Esqr.

In this letter, David Duncan, a former Indian trader appointed to work at Fort McIntosh, writes to Thomas Hutchins, the Geographer of the United States. After a four-month tour of Detroit and the surrounding areas, Duncan reports to Hutchins about the Indians he encountered. First, he says that evidence indicates the British will not be giving up their post at Detroit any time soon, as they seem to be settling in there. He describes the dispositions of the Indians he encountered, providing detail about the nations he came upon, including the Shawnee, Ottowa, and Delaware. Is highly…

GLC02437.03254

5 July 1863

Maitland, James M., 1815-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elhanan M. Mast

Comments on a 4 July celebration at Urbana, Ohio: "the Orator of the day was Hon. West of Belfontaine. I heard part of the Oration, when a shower of rain coming up dispersed the assemblage for awhile. he was amplifying on the negro and beginning to get into the merits of the sable race. I did not go back to hear the remainder reason why did not think it would pay." Notes that his son, Joseph, stationed near Vicksburg, recently moved to Black River. From the papers, learned that General Peter [Osterhaus] had been attacked by Confederate General Joseph Johnston's troops. Also read a report that…

GLC03523.10.079

17 July 1863

Maitland, James M., 1815-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: To Joseph M. Maitland

Tells his son that "my prayer is daily that you all may be prepared that if the Master calleth you may be received to that Land where there is no more death, no more bloodshed." Informs him that General George Meade was "not quite swift enough to Capture [General Robert E.] Lee and his Army after the Battle of Gettysburg. I think that if the Rebel Army of the Potomac could have been bagged with the taking of Vicksburg and Port Hudson there would seem to be some prospect of Conquering the Rebs. Our state was thrown into a great excitement by the entry of the Rebel Gen Morgan with about 5,000…

GLC03523.10.080

28 July 1863

Maitland, James M., 1815-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elhanan M. Mast

Tells his brother-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel Mast, that he recently received letters from his son, Joseph Maitland, dated 6 and 12 July. Joseph reported that he was near Jackson, Mississippi, where there were ongoing skirmishes (as part of Sherman's corps, he had followed Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's from Black River to Jackson). Describes Joseph's experience at Jackson, including a lack of water and standing for hours in the heat. Of news closer to home, writes, "John Morgan has been captured at last he was captured on Sunday near New Lisbon, Columbiana County, with all his staff…

GLC03523.10.086