Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one three-page letter written on a pictorial letter sheet with a full-page illustration of the Battle of Fair Oaks. Harvey Buell wrote this letter to his friend, Jacob Y. Rhods, on December 10, 1864, from Johnston, Ohio.
Harvey Buell (1827-1899) worked as a fur trapper for the Hudson Bay Company in Canada West, modern-day Ontario, before moving to Johnston, Ohio. He lived there with his wife Elizabeth until his death in 1899.
This collection contains a letter written by Harvey Buell to his friend, a fur trapper, in Canada West. Buell expressed his gratitude to be no longer working as a fur trapper and detailed the cost of living in Johnston, Ohio. Buell provided directions from Linden, Canada West to his residence in Johnston, Ohio, and asked Rhods to let him know when he planned to visit next. Buell also wrote of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea and Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 re-election to the presidency “by an overwhelming majority.” The stationery used for this letter includes an illustration of the Battle of Fair Oaks, also known as the Battle of Seven Pines. This battle between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army took place in Virginia on May 31st and June 1st, 1862, as part of the Union’s efforts to advance on the Confederate capital Richmond, Virginia. Near the illustration, Buell added a note: “Down with Treason.”
The Library purchased this letter in 2025 with support from the Dr. Harlan Horner Estate.
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