United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons

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...