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CIVIL WAR LETTER COLLECTION – D.W. BUTTLES, 28th WISCONSIN INFANTRY

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According to available records, Daniel W Buttles resided in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin when he enlisted as a private on August 18^th, 1862.  That same day, he mustered into Company I of the 28^th Wisconsin. The 28th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Washburn in Milwaukee and mustered into service on October 14, 1862.  He was Mustered Out with the regiment on August 23rd, 1865 at Brownsville, TX.

It left Wisconsin for Columbus, Kentucky, on December 2, 1862 and then traveled to Helena, Arkansas. The regiment's service took it through Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. It participated in the campaign against Mobile and its defenses, the sieges of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely and the assault and capture of Fort Blakely.

This collection includes 49 Letters -4 of which are post war.  The letters span his term of service, dating from 1862 through 1865 with the earliest places of writing being Helena and Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  Other locations include Mobile Bay, Alabama (Fort Morgan, Whistler Station), Little Rock, Memphis, Fort Blakley and Spanish Fort, Clarksville (Texas), and Brownsville (Texas).  A great deal of personal information is divulged and discussed, including settling an estate while at war, taking sick for months when first arriving in the deeper South, and elation at the progress of the troops in his orbit.  Battle content is sprinkled throughout as he writes to his mother, brother, sister, and other family members.  He was part of the defense of Helena on July 4^th, 1863 – truly putting the Vicksburg Campaign to rest.  He makes note of troop movements and activity while in Helena and during the defense, says he was still ill and weak but did what his duty to the extent he could. During the campaign against Mobile Bay, the content shifts to the sieges and assaults on Fort Blakley and Spanish Fort, with estimates of casualties, the surrender of Mobile, and the ongoing sights and sounds of active military operations. While there are too many letters to transcribe in a timely fashion, Daniel’s entire volunteer military career can be tracked in his own words – with frontline content from the Civil War’s underappreciated campaigns across the southwest of the Confederacy.

The majority of the letters are in good or better condition, with two showing wear along the top edges – dated July 27^th 1863 and May 28^th, 1864. All but 5 letters are paired with their accompanying covers (but 11 covers are tucked in file sleeves and have wartime postmarks) and while most are written on common lined paper, the sizes vary from 5” x 8” to 7.9” x 12.5”.  The post-war letters are personal in nature, mostly concerning family news.  One letter is not obviously tied to the family and was sent to Pennsylvania – it’s an airing of grievances dated October of 1865 to a former “friend” concerning slights and is paired with a hand-drawn gaming grid on a clipped piece of paper with a note of rules and experiences on the reverse.

A unique and comprehensive collection of the Civil War in the words and hand of a young Wisconsinite soldier.  The perspective and connection afforded by this grouping are scarcely encountered.  It would be a feature of any Civil War militaria or ephemera collection.
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