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Orlando Warner Yowells letters to Mary Yowells
Title
Orlando Warner Yowells letters to Mary Yowells, 1862-1865.
Physical Description
0.20 linear ft. (1 box)
Language
English
Provenance
Purchased from Fred A. Rosenstock on the Walter McClintock Memorial Fund, 1971.
Access and use
This material is open for research.
Biographical / Historical Note
Orlando Warner Yowells and his wife Mary Yowells were farmers in Morristown, Minnesota. From 1862 through 1864, Orlando Warner Yowells served as a corporal in the Eighth Regiment, Company B, Minnesota Infantry. The Eighth Regiment guarded the northern frontier in Minnesota during the Sioux War, 1862-1863, and in 1864 participated in the Northwestern Indian Expedition led by General Alfred Sully in Dakota Territory. The Regiment was sent to Tennessee for Civil War service in October, 1864. Yowells was killed in a battle at Murfreesboro, Dec 7, 1864.
Summary
Sixty-nine ALS, including some fragments, 1862-1864 and undated, written by Yowells while serving in the Sioux War, to Mary Yowells in Morristown, Minnesota. Letters mostly concern family news, their marriage and children, and Mary Yowell's life and farm work in Morristown. Yowells also briefly discusses his guard duties and operations of his regiment, including movements between Sauk Centre, Manannah, Alexandria, Fort Abercrombie, and Fort Ridgely; news of occasional encounters between Ojibwa Indians and United States soldiers and civilians; the possibility of service by the Eighth Regiment in the Civil War; and his health, furloughs, and farm work done in addition to his army duties. Many soldiers were joined by their families; Yowells discusses lives of soldiers' wives and children in the forts and refers to social problems such as drunkenness and infidelity. A few letters, May-Oct, 1864, briefly discuss his experiences during Sully's expedition to Dakota Territory.
Also present are an ALS from Yowells to his parents, with an ALS to them from Mary Yowells appended, 1862; and an ALS and a fragment of an ALS, 1865 and undated, from Lieutenant Miles Hollister to Mary Yowells, reporting the death of Orlando Warner Yowells and discussing his actions in the battle at Murfreesboro, his burial, and disposition of his property. On the verso of the fragment is an ANS written by Mary Yowells to editors of an unidentified newspaper, regarding publication of news of her husband's death, undated. The letters are accompanied by two envelopes.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
June 01, 2002
References
Orlando Warner Yowells Letters to Mary Yowells. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Cite as
Orlando Warner Yowells Letters to Mary Yowells. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Subjects
Occupation
Soldiers Minnesota 19th century.
Bookmark As
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