Scope and Contents:
This collection contains a letter writer on January 22, 1865, by William M. Durell. The recipient of the letter is unknown, but may have been government officials, since Durell addressed them as, "your Honourable body." Durell wrote about his opposition to raising taxes in order to buy substitutes for a military draft. He mentioned that he had two sons enlist in the Civil War of their own volition who were injured, and he incurred the cost of their care humbly. Durell ends the letter pleading with the recipient to disavow the "unlawful" tax on him and his community.
Biographical/Historical Context:
William M. Durell (1810-1891) was a carpenter in Vermont, a small town in northwestern Illinois. He married Margaret Ann Terry in 1838. The Durells had two sons that fought in the Civil War, Edwin Palemon and William Frank [known as Frank]. Both sons were injured in battle.
Abstract 
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