In August of 1862 Private Jonas Fuller of Bradford County enlisted  in Company A of the 141st Pennsylvania Infantry. His regiment spent time at Camp Prescott Smith in Arlington, VA., and on the march protecting Washington, D.C. The regiment was organized in August, 1862 and did not see significant action until December, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg, after Jonas had passed away. Jonas wrote several letters home that have…

This final post in the short series of Nathanial Rollins who served in the Iron Brigade (2nd Wisconsin) Chronicles the days after the battle concluded and during which he started his time as a Confederate prisoner. Rollins would refuse to be paroled and spent the rest of the war in various prisoner of war camps. For more on this series see: 1, 2, 3. July 3d: This morning at about…

Captain Nathaniel Rollins of the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry kept a daily diary throughout the Civil War. Parts of the diary are available here at SoldierStudies.org. Rollins diary is informative, at times passionate, and also revealing of the typical Civil War soldier. During his correspondences he provides a comprehensive portrait of the daily life of a soldier in the Iron Brigade. During the battle of Gettysburg Rollins was taken prisoner and…

A new series of letters is being patiently added to the archive. Today the first in what will be many additions from William H. Clark, who was a Captain in the Twenty-First Massachusetts Infantry. Here’s part of the letter: Dear Father, I have received three letters from home since I have been here though two of them were quite old (having made a voyage to Newburn in quest of me),…

Charles L. Harris, born August 24th, 1834 in Bridgeton, New Jersey, was a prominent Madison resident when the war broke out. He immediately enlisted and became a Lieutenant in the First Wisconsin regiment. Three months later he welcomed the rank of Colonel in the Eleventh Wisconsin, at the age of 27. A confident man of medium height (he stood 5’8”), Harris was well educated, having graduated from West Point, and…

The William Beynon Phillips Collection is one of the better ones in the Soldier Studies database for its historical value. Phillips joined the Union cause in August, 1862, near Scranton, Pennsylvania to fill the ranks of Schooley’s Battery; which shortly later became attached to the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery as Company M. [to the right is a drawing by Phillips found in the collection of writings.] Phillips was an educated…

Union soldiers BY FAR marched off to war in 1861 & 1862 to defend the Union, preserve it, and defend the constitution and this is not any more demonstrated than in Civil War era patriotic (Union) letter envolopes. Let the Sword of the Union first subdue the monster Secession, then the Dove of Peace may present the olive branch and the sun of prosperity will shine again. Description: A hand…

We are looking for the person who won the auction for William Boardman Reed collection. We are very interested in the 20 page letter concerning his adventures at Fort Rice. If you happen to have information please contact us. In the last days of the Civil War, William Boardman Reed, a veteran of the famed 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, was commissioned as Lieutenant of Co. I, 50th Wisconsin Infantry, the last…

Some incredible content from a Confederate soldier in the 39th Georgia Infantry near Vicksburg in March, 1863. At this time Grant was flailing as he attempted to get at Vicksburg. He conducted a series of attempts to circumvent the Mississippi or construct alternative water pathways so as to get at Vicksburg. When Grant finally makes it south of Vicksburg and moves in on the fortress city, one can’t help but…