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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02831.41 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of William H. Alden, F Company, 6th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry |
| Title | William Alden to his mother reporting what happened with the emigrant train surrounded by American Indians |
| Date | 2 October 1864 |
| Author | Alden, William H. (fl. 1844-1865) |
| Recipient | Alden, Charlotte |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Duke died. The emigrant train was surrounded for 2 weeks and they sent out 1,000 men and 200 cavalry as reinforcements. 45 men had been escorting the emigrants through the Indian country. |
| Subjects | Soldier's Letter American Indian History Military History Battle Immigration and Migration Westward Expansion Gold Rush Mining Injury or Wound Death |
| People | Alden, William H. (fl. 1844-1865) |
| Place written | Fort Rice |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Children & Family; Health & Medicine; Native Americans; Westward Expansion |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | The collection comprises forty eight long letters written while on the Sully Expedition to put down the Sioux uprising, under the orders of Abraham Lincoln. Private Alden, a seventeen year old Iowan, wrote this first-hand account mostly to his family. He discusses hand to hand combat with Indians, rescuing immigrants on the overland trail, gold mining, the capture of a Sioux chief's feathered head dress, and the wounding and death of a soldier. The Sully Expedition, led by Alfred Sully (son of the famous painter Thomas Sully), was the largest military campaign against the Plains Indians up to this date, and marked an expansion of warfare with the Sioux. Includes 1 postwar photograph. Most letters written to his mother while on the Sully expedition against the Sioux. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Mother |
| Civil War: Unit | 6th Regiment Iowa Cavalry, F Company |