TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Biography of Charles W. Gallentine
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Inventory of the Charles W. Gallentine Letters, 1861-1863
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Jane Venanzi 2009. ©2009. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Gallentine, C. W. (Charles W.), d. 1864. |
| Title | Charles W. Gallentine Letters, |
| Dates | 1861-1863 |
| Extent | 0.2 linear feet (1 box) |
| Abstract | Letters home, 1862-1863, by Charles W. Gallentine of the 7th Illinois Cavalry, from Camp Butler, Springfield, Ill., Jacinto and Corinth, Miss., Memphis and LaGrange, Tenn., and Lawrence Co., Ala., regarding camp life, skirmishes, men killed and wounded, Southern guerillas, northern Copperheads and the draft, Southern plantations and slave attitudes, Union and Confederate prisoners, etc. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Vault Case MS 10008 |
| Collection Stack Location | Vault 35 3 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Charles W. Gallentine Letters, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Charles Apfelbaum, purchase, 1994.
Processed by
Jane Venanzi, 2009.
Access
The Charles W. Gallentine Letters are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum, and items in each folder will be counted before and after delivery to the patron (Priority I).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Charles W. Gallentine Letters are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of Charles W. Gallentine
Charles W. Gallentine was a Civil War soldier in the 7th Illinois Cavalry, Company D.
Charles W. Gallentine and his younger brother, William, enlisted together as privates on August 10, 1861 and were mustered in September 7, 1861. Together, they left their farm in Farmington, Illinois at ages 20 and 21 to travel with the 7th Illinois Calvary from camp in Springfield, Illinois through Corinth and Jacinto, Mississippi; Courtland, Alabama; Bolivar, LaGrange, and Memphis, Tennessee. On the way, the Gallentines moved quickly from parading to active service, fighting in multiple skirmishes near Corinth and Coffeeville. Although Charles was soon tired of soldiering, he was committed to the cause and stayed in the war until he was wounded and died in February, 1864 at Okolona, Mississippi. William survived his brother and was mustered out on October 15, 1864.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Ten letters by Charles W. Gallentine to his sister and “Friend Charlie” written during the Civil War from 1861-1863, together with a partial typed transcription of all the letters.
Gallentine wrote mainly to his sister back home to assure his family that he and his brother were still alive and well. He also described camp life, commented on the weather, gave details on skirmishes fought and prisoners caught, as well as reflections on the countryside, a soldier’s funeral, black freedom, copperheads, and the draft. There are also comments on Colonel Robert C. Murphy, who was later court-martialed. His letters were sent from Springfield, Illinois; Corinth and Jacinto, Mississippi; Courtland, Alabama; and Bolivar LaGrange, and Memphis, Tennessee.
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Arrangement
Letters arranged chronologically, followed by transcription.
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Gallentine family
- Gallentine, C. W. (Charles W.), d. 1864 -- Correspondence
- Gallentine, William P.
- Murphy, Robert C., fl. 1862
- United States. Army -- Military life
- United States. Army. Illinois Cavalry Regiment, 7th (1861-1865)
Subjects
- Alabama -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- Brothers and sisters -- Correspondence
- Camp Butler (Ill.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Copperhead movement
- Correspondence -- Mississippi -- 1851-1900
- Correspondence -- Tennessee --1851-1900
- Correspondence -- Alabama -- 1851-1900
- Correspondence -- Illinois -- 1851-1900
- Fulton County (Ill.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Illinois -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- Manuscripts, American
- Mississippi -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- Operational rations (military supplies) -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Pictorial lettersheets -- 1851-1900
- Slavery -- United States -- Public opinion
- Soldiers -- Alabama -- Correspondence
- Soldiers -- Illinois -- Correspondence
- Soldiers -- Mississippi -- Correspondence
- Soldiers -- Tennessee -- Correspondence
- Soldiers' writings, American
- Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Military life
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., incomplete, Springfield, IL (troop movement, horses, pay), patriotic vignette, ca 1861 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Camp Butler, IL (weather, parades), patriotic vignette, Nov. 1, ca. 1861 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Corinth, MI (food, troop movement, skirmishes, pay, hospital, prisoners), May 17, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Jacinto, Tishomingo County, MI (Mississippi dust, illness, funeral, troop movement), July 15, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Courtland, Lawrence County, AL (troop movement, geography, weather, emancipation, black overseers, stealing food), Aug. 4, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Corinth, MI (troop movement, fighting, Murphy, Grant), Oct. 15, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Bolivar, TN (food, recruits, troop movement), Nov. 2, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, LaGrange, TN (troop movement, fighting, Coffeeville, prisoners, food, Murphy’s arrest), Jan. 17, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Friend Charlie, LaGrange, TN (troop movement, Vicksburg, Copperheads), Mar. 9, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Memphis, TN (troop movement, guerrillas, copperheads, conscription law, Memphis), Aug. 18, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Partial Transcripts n.d. | |||||||||