Civil War - veterans - Union.

Overview Photostat copy of a letter written by Charles W.D. Smitley of Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio, a Civil War veteran, to former Union General Franz Sigel, dated 6 January 1887. Smitley, a veteran of the 2nd West Virginia Infantry and the 5th West Virginia Cavalry, had his pension claim rejected for want of evidence and wrote to Sigel, his former commanding officer, to petition for his help. Smitley provides a detailed account of his service as a scout and the conditions under which he...

Overview

Papers of U.S. Senator Howard Sutherland of West Virginia regarding the military pensions of Civil War veterans James Forsyth Harrison and Joseph E. Inscoe, and Spanish-American War veteran Thomas Ingram. Collection includes correspondence between Senator Sutherland, pensioners, and others. Includes typed copies of letters, House and Senate bills, petitions, pension claims, and other material.

Overview Stephen Benton Elkins (b. 1841) represented West Virginia in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1895-1911. Prior to his Senate service, Elkins served in the Union Army during the Civil War as a captain in the Kansas Militia. He practiced law in the Territory of New Mexico in 1864 and served as a member of the Territorial House of Representatives, 1864-1865. He was the district attorney for the Territory from 1866-1867, and the United States district attorney for the Territory from...

Overview Typescript autobiography of Dr. Todd Gilliam probably transcribed in association with his son Robert Lee Gilliam whose name also appears on the volume cover. Dr. Gilliam, an Ohio native, mentions his Civil War service in the WV 2nd. Cavalry in great detail including the exact dates for his experiences in that regiment. He mentions (p. 222) that this portion of his memoir is based on a pocket diary kept during the war. The rest of the manuscript contains few definite dates but does mention...