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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02831.45 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of William H. Alden, F Company, 6th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry |
| Title | William Alden to his mother with an account of his Christmas |
| Date | 12 March 1865 |
| Author | Alden, William H. (fl. 1844-1865) |
| Recipient | Alden, Charlotte |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | There is a lot of illness in the company. Some of their horses died so they had to come 350 miles on foot. He spent his Christmas like any other day except he took a ride on his horse and had an oyster dinner. On reverse is a letter to his sister Hattie. |
| Subjects | Soldier's Letter Military History Death Children and Family Women's History Education Health and Medical |
| People | Alden, William H. (fl. 1844-1865) |
| Place written | Crow Creek |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Children & Family; Health & Medicine; Women in American History; Education |
| 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 |