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Charles W. Gallentine Letters

Descriptive Summary

Title
Charles W. Gallentine Letters
Identifier
Midwest.MS.Gallentine
Repository
The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
Language
English
Size
0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Dates
1861-1863
Collection Stack Location
1 19 2
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.
Creator
Gallentine, C. W. (Charles W.), -1864

Provenance

Charles Apfelbaum, purchase, 1994.

Conditions Governing 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.

Cite As

Charles W. Gallentine Letters, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Processed by

Jane Venanzi, 2009.

Processing Information note

This collection was surveyed as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium's Survey Initiative on 2011 April 12 by Andrew Steadham.

Biography of Charles W. Gallentine

Corporal in the 7th Illinois Cavalry, Company D, 1861-1864.

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, to travel with the 7th Illinois Cavalry from camp in Springfield, Illinois, through Corinth and Jacinto, Mississippi; Courtland, Alabama; and Bolivar, LaGrange, and Memphis, Tennessee. They 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 served until he was wounded, probably around Feb. 22, 1864, at Okolona, Mississippi. He died March 20, 1864, of gunshot wounds at the Washington General Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and was buried with a government headstone at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Farmington, Illinois. The U.S. Census lists his age as 20 in 1860.

William Gallentine survived his brother, and was mustered out of service on October 15, 1864.

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.

Arrangement

Letters arranged chronologically, followed by transcription.

Catalog Record

https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/nby/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v1=1&BBRecID=173716

Indexed Terms

Indexed Terms

Inventory

Box 1
Folder 1
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., incomplete, Springfield, IL (troop movement, horses, pay), patriotic vignette,
Dates
ca 1861
Box 1
Folder 2
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Camp Butler, IL (weather, parades), patriotic vignette, Nov. 1,
Dates
ca. 1861
Box 1
Folder 3
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Corinth, MI (food, troop movement, skirmishes, pay, hospital, prisoners),
Dates
May 17, 1862
Box 1
Folder 4
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Jacinto, Tishomingo County, MI (Mississippi dust, illness, funeral, troop movement),
Dates
July 15, 1862
Box 1
Folder 5
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Courtland, Lawrence County, AL (troop movement, geography, weather, emancipation, black overseers, stealing food),
Dates
Aug. 4, 1862
Box 1
Folder 6
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Corinth, MI (troop movement, fighting, Murphy, Grant),
Dates
Oct. 15, 1862
Box 1
Folder 7
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Bolivar, TN (food, recruits, troop movement),
Dates
Nov. 2, 1862
Box 1
Folder 8
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, LaGrange, TN (troop movement, fighting, Coffeeville, prisoners, food, Murphy’s arrest),
Dates
Jan. 17, 1863
Box 1
Folder 9
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Friend Charlie, LaGrange, TN (troop movement, Vicksburg, Copperheads),
Dates
Mar. 9, 1863
Box 1
Folder 10
Title
Letter, Gallentine, Charles W., to Sister, Memphis, TN (troop movement, guerrillas, copperheads, conscription law, Memphis),
Dates
Aug. 18, 1863
Box 1
Folder 11
Title
Partial Transcripts,
Dates
undated