Series 06: Civil War Correspondence (COLL300)

The ‘Civil War Letters --- 1862–1952’ series contains letters, transcriptions, translations, envelopes, thank you notes, archival resources, and the back of a society form. Almost every letter in this series has been transcribed and translated. The letters follow the Van Raalte brothers—Benjamin and Dirk—throughout the war, tracking them from Kentucky to Tennessee, and finally to Virginia. Dirk lost an arm in battle. These letters also show the experience of 2nd generation immigrants fighting in the American Civil War, as well as the ways the war affected their families and values.