A Grand Haven, Michigan man has donated one of the nation's largest collections of Civil War-era letters to the state archives. State Archivist Mark Harvey says the collection consists of correspondence between Wallace Ewing's great-grandparents sent from 1856 through 1865.
Henry McKendree and Nancy Ewing of Hillsdale sent each other 291 letters during that time. Many were written while McKendree was fighting in the Civil War, which ran from 1861 through 1865. All the letters are in their original addressed, stamped and canceled envelopes.
The donation to the Archives of Michigan also includes a notebook kept by McKendree and a scrapbook made by Ewing during the war. The gift was announced Tuesday.
I would be interested in knowing what unit this gentleman was with during the civil war. My ancestor, Leander Willard Kennedy was with the fifth Michigan Cavalry and was bugler, I believe. Thank you....Sharon Croft
Posted by: Sharon Croft | January 01, 2009 at 09:42 AM
According to the National Park Service Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ there is only one Henry McKendree in their data. He served for the Union forces as a member of Company I, 69th Ohio Infantry, [Private in; Corporal out].
Posted by: Jerry Jacobs | January 01, 2009 at 10:48 AM
One of my favourite web sites covers letters to and from the homefront in the U.S. Civil War. It reveals the human side of our national conflict and the trials that the wives and children had to undergo. Both Confederate and Union correspondence can be found at http://BitsOfBlueAndGray.com.
Happy Dae.
Posted by: Dae Powell | January 01, 2009 at 11:52 AM
My great grandfather was with the Second Michigan Infantry. His name was Henry McKendree Ewing, but he went by the name of Mack. He married Nancy Hank, also of Hillsdale County, Michigan (Woodbridge Township).
Posted by: Wallace Ewing | January 01, 2009 at 03:15 PM