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27 February 1864
Kellog, James H. (fl. 1862-1864)
to Mary
He talks about the music they practice playing in camp to keep busy during down times. Some of the boys play cards, while he prefers to read.
GLC02415.067
5 March 1864
He saw his old friend General Wood and they had a grand time. He has been practicing on the bugle lately. He has to learn 25 different calls.
GLC02415.068
14 March 1864
He has never been healthier. There is some talk of going to Cincinnati but he thinks they will most likely go to Georgia or Alabama.
GLC02415.069
23 March 1864
He responds to the news from his wife. She has said William and Jane Nickerson might move back to Calhoun. Mary has not decided if she will go to Dester this summer.
GLC02415.070
28 March 1864
He would like William to work the farm so that he could live there with Mary and the children and then she wouldn't have to worry about the milling.
GLC02415.071
1 April 1864
He is sending her a book he thinks she will enjoy.
GLC02415.072
8 April 1864
Benjamin Vasper will bring the book and money to her. He thinks back to 1862 when the Cumberland army left Louisville and who has died.
GLC02415.073
13 April 1864
There is sickness and death lately, mostly among the new recruits. He asks her to tell him the price of produce, so that he can allocate funds appropriately. He warns her that he has become a hard drinker and that is why he has gained weight.
GLC02415.074
18 April 1864
He describes a funeral he attended of a new recruit who died of a heart disease. He will send her more money soon.
GLC02415.075
29 April 1864
He will not be able to get a furlough because all the men were wanted in the field. There has been some bad fighting and the Rebels have captured a cavalry unit. There is heavy cannoning at the foot of Racoon Mountain.
GLC02415.076
1 May 1864
He talks about the current prices of different articles of clothing. He says he is getting lazy and doesn't know how long he will remain in Chattanooga. He still owes his uncle money.
GLC02415.077
6 May 1864
He predicts that Virginia will see a bloody time. The Rebels think they can get Chattanooga again, but he doesn't think so. He describes the landscape surrounding the camp.
GLC02415.078
9 May 1864
He talks about the inevitability of death and the many vices of the army. It takes a very stable mind to reject all the vices of the army. He mentions a friend who wants to enlist because his wife died, but he thinks it would be better if he stayed...
GLC02415.079
12 May 1864
He is anxious for the time to come, when the Rebel capital will fall. It will not be easy becasue there will be many widows and fatherless children.He thinks the Rebels made their own bed and now they must lie in it.
GLC02415.080
25 May 1864
He talks of money matters. Still he owes his uncle money. He goes over his monthly expenses.
GLC02415.081
14 May 1864
Their regiment has not had a chaplain for some time They are thinking of starting a bible class and he is all for it.
GLC02415.082
23 May 1864
He promises to get his picture taken soon. Since he joined the army he has lost 2 back teeth eating hard tack. He says he has become a very rough looking fellow
GLC02415.083
31 May 1864
He tells her to some of the money he gave her to uncle, whom he is still in debt to. He has been prospecting. The regiment is divided into small groups in Tennessee and Georgia. He describes his travels which included mountain climbing.
GLC02415.084
6 June 1864
He responds to the news that Mr. Benson has taken to drinking. He asks how his father and Jerome are doing. He thinks the army was never better than now and they will whip the Rebels.
GLC02415.085
30 May 1864
A View on the Hillside
Dedicated to his wife. A description of his surroundings.
GLC02415.086
10 June 1864
He tell her to take good care of herself and the children. Lately the rations are very good. They have all the food they need. It has been very rainy.
GLC02415.087
13 June 1864
Mr Rollin has been working on their place but he says not to pay him right away. The man is hard to get along with and he may take advantage of women. He talks about the diameter of a cannon ball.
GLC02415.088
He asks what Fletcher is doing on their farm. He doesn't have anything very positive to say about him. They will leave Tennessee tomorrow and go to Georgia. They are going to a healthier place.
GLC02415.089
20 June 1864
They didn't actually go to Georgia, but they are close enough, on Lookout Mountain. He describes the peaks and vallies along with the incredible views. He mentions Abraham Lincoln and hopes he can end the war soon.
GLC02415.090
21 June 1864
Small pox has been going around.They have been picketing in Georgia. One night he was ordered to dine with the Captain and the Lieutenant. They had a big meal.
GLC02415.091
13 July 1864
They bought some potatoes and onions at what he thinks are unfair prices.He warns her to have someone get the wheat as soon as possible or else they will ahve to see what rights the man who worked their farm has.
GLC02415.092
17 July 1864
He thought the people of the South "were the most humain in the world" when he saw their barns. For he thought they ahd no houses, but they in fact had no barns. Their barns did not hold stock, only negroes and mules.
GLC02415.093
23 July 1864
Every time the Rebels make a raid, they are helping the Union. Lee was "badly whipped," and driven back. He mentions Grant, who had a position, but realized it wouldn't work. He predicts the Rebels will soon have to abandon Petersburg and Richmond...
GLC02415.094
24 July 1864
He tells her not to worry about the farm as long as it is worked by men who care more the produce it yields than the government that protects them. Perhaps she will think him a different man when he returns.
GLC02415.095
29 July 1864
He has become very cynical, for he's been a soldier too long to think that anyone would get discharged before the end of the war. They've been having pickets on one side of the mountain but there has been no fight. Some of the boys say the new...
GLC02415.096
2 August 1864
He went down to Georgia to sign the pay rolls recently and draw 2 months pay. He is very positive of the Union's success. Soon the army will have 500,000 men.
GLC02415.097
6 August 1864
He is getting tired of having to write as it is a poor substitute for communication. He prides himself on how well he budgets. If the other boys thought of their families as much as he does they'd have more money.
GLC02415.098
8 August 1864
He talks of money matters. His uncle has been paid off for the most part. He mentions getting clothes for the children and for her.
GLC02415.099
11 August 1864
They wanted to have their pictures taken by Lookout Mountain but there were too many people ahead of them. He describes the scenery of Chattanooga and concludes with a poem.
GLC02415.100
16 August 1864
He says as soldiers they expected to endure hardships and he will face them without fear. To be a coward is worse than anything so he tells her not to worry so much because he is ready for whatever may come his way.
GLC02415.101
22 August 1864
He discusses money matters and how she can run the farm more efficiently. When he comes home, he expects to farm again.
GLC02415.102
5 September 1864
Never has the end of the war looked so promising as it does now. Even if they draft more soldiers, they will be sent home soon if the war ends. David English came by and is doing well.
GLC02415.103
11 September 1864
He has not received any mail lately. He reminds her not to neglect writing.
GLC02415.104
12 September 1864
He says he is not an abolitionist, nor did he enlist under an abolitionist administration Then talks of whether the constitution should be reinstated or reconstruction should take place altogether.
GLC02415.105
20 September 1864
They should leave camp tomorrow morning and join the picket lines but they don't know how long they will remain there. He has two months pay and will send her money soon.
GLC02415.106
25 September 1864
He writes that some men shouldn't go to war and are better off in the kitchen. If they can't stand the sight of blood, then the army is not for them. He praises his wife's competence in running the farm.
GLC02415.107
3 October 1864
They have been on the move since he last wrote. They left Stephenson on Sept. 28th, then camped in Tullahoma and went on picket. They are now in Nashville.
GLC02415.108
28 September 1864
On Sept. 27th, they started for Chattanooga. From there they went to Tullahoma. They are now in Stephenson and he does not know how long they will be there. He was sorry to hear the children are not well.
GLC02415.109
12 October 1864
They have been on the move again. They passed through Franklin, saw Gen. Wood, passed through Columbia, saw Gen. Pillows and some plantations. They passed a battlefield and were very close to the Mississippi line.
GLC02415.110
17 October 1864
They went through the Eastern and middle part of Tennessee and then Alabama and back to Tennessee. He knows she wants to get the house fixed but thinks she should wait until he gets home.
GLC02415.111
25 October 1864
Unexpectedly they left camp and were put on cars going to Georgia. Father is still visiting the family.
GLC02415.112
25 October 1864 - 8 November 1864
They are under marching orders but he does not know where they will go next. He mentions Hood and Sherman. Election day is discussed. He refers to the Old Rail Splitter (Abraham Lincoln) and wonders if he can end the war soon.
GLC02415.113
no date
Unknown
[Description of the collection written by an unnamed nephew of Alexander Shiras]
A short description of the collection of letters in GLC 2429. "These are letters written by & about Daniel & Nancy Hemans - Indians in whom Auntie Shiras & Uncle S were interested[.] Daniel having been educated at the Episcopal Mission House in West...
GLC02429.01
circa 1871-1881
[Name cards for Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Hemans and Nancy Abraham]
Two different name cards, one for Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Hemans and another for Nancy Abraham. The two cards are held together by a small piece of ribbon.
GLC02429.02
circa June 1872
Hemans, Daniel W. (fl. 1872-1881)
[Hand-drawn map of Dakota mission area]
Depicts the missions and Indian agencies along about fifty miles of the Missouri River west of Sioux City. Hemans discusses making the map for Frances Shiras to answer her question about the spatial relationship between the Santee, Yankton, and Ponca...
GLC02429.03
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