Rufus Washburn Carley Civil War correspondence, 1861-1865 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Rufus Washburn Carley Civil War correspondence, 1861-1865

ID: 01/02/02/POST-1650 MS 0567

Primary Creator: Carley, Rufus Washburn

Extent: 16.0 Letters

Languages: English

Rufus Washburn was born in Shelburn Falls, Massachusetts, in 1840. He was a bugler in an army band during most of the Civil War. He initially was part of the Fifth Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteers, later in the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps. His letters home to his mother, Polly Greene Carley, cover the period May, 1861 to April, 1865 with a two year gap between March, 1862 and February, 1864. He was in the "Army of the Potomac" led by Generals Bank and McClellan during his first tour of W. Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

When the letters resume, his VI Corps is part of the "Army of Shenandoah" under the command of General Phillip Sheridan, who was appointed by General Grant in August, 1864. It appears that Rufus spent the period of 1864-1865 entirely in Virginia.

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions:

This collection is the physical property of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, may reside with the materials' creator(s) or their heirs.

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Acquisition Source: This collection was donated to the library by Sarah U. Wisserman

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Rufus Washburn Carley correspondence, 1861-1865

Item 1: Hartford, CT, May 2, 1861

Item 2: Camp of the 3 Regt Near Harper's Ferry, W. VA, August 2, 1861

Item 3: Near Harper's Ferry, W. VA, August 15, 1861

Item 4: Camp Elsworth, MD, September 4, 1861

Item 5: Camp Elsworth near Darnestown MD, September 17, 1861

Item 6: Camp Elsworth near Darnestown, MD, September 25, 1861

Item 7: Camp Pine Grove near Muddy Branch MD?, November 26, 1861

Item 8: Camp of 5C V near Clear Spring, MD, December 21, 1861

Item 9: Camp near Hancock, MD, February 3, 1862

Item 10: Camp near Hancock, MD, February 24, 1862

Item 11: Winchester, VA, March 21, 1862

Item 12: Brandy Station, VA, February 17, 1864

Item 13: Strasburg, VA, October 29

Item 14: Below Petersburg, VA, March 14, 1865

Item 15: Below Petersburg, VA, March 27, 1865

Item 16: Berksoulle Junction, VA, April 22, 1865