TABLE OF CONTENTS
Collection Summary
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Description of Series
Series I: Letters, 1862, January 10 - December 28
Series II: Letters, 1863 January 4 -1864 January 27
Series III: Undated letters, letter fragments and envelopes, circa 1862-1864
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Guide to the Eseck G. Wilber Civil War letters, 1862-1864
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Creator: |
Wilber, Eseck G., 1840-1864 |
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Title: |
Civil War letters |
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Dates: |
1862-1864 |
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Abstract: |
A collection of letters written by Eseck G. Wilber, a Union soldier, to his family in Cairo, New York. |
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Identification: |
MS 30 |
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Quantity: |
.5 cu. ft. |
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Language: |
Materials are in English |
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Repository: |
Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas |
Eseck G. Wilber (1840-1864) joined Company K of the 120th New York State Volunteers on August 22, 1862, leaving his father (William S. Wilber), mother (Clarissa) and two siblings (Fremont and Julia) in Cairo, New York. His military service would take him to Fredericksburg, the Second Battle of Bull Run and Gettysburg. Eseck was captured on October 10, 1863 and his letters dated January 24 and January 27 indicate he was held at the Belle Isle Confederate prison in Virginia. Belle Isle, located in the James River, was intended to hold 3,000 but would grow to more than twice that number by 1863. Prisoners were given tents to sleep in; a hospital for prisoners and an iron factory were located on the island, but no barracks were ever built for the prisoners. The enlisted men who survivied Belle Isle were later transferred to the Andersonville Prison in Sumter County, Georgia; officers were sent to Libby Prison. Wilber was transfered to Andersonville and died there on September 15, 1864. He is buried in the Andersonville Cemetary.
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This collection of letters were written by Eseck G. Wilber to his parents and family during the Civil War years, 1862-1864. The letters describe army life, pitched battles, inlcuding Fredericksburg, the Second Battle of Bull Run, and Chancellorsville. Also included in the letters are comments or mention of superior officers and other dignitaries, including George B. McClellan, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph Hooker, George Meade, and Abraham Lincoln.
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Arrangement |
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This collection is arranged into the following series: |
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Series I: Letters, 1862 |
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Series II: Letters, 1863-1864 |
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Series III: Undated letters, letter fragments and envelopes, circa 1862-1864 |
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Restrictions on Access
This material is open for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from the Eseck G. Wilber Civil War letters, 1962-1864 must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
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Names: |
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Wilber, Eseck G. |
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Organizations: |
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United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 120th (1861-1865), Company K |
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Subjects: |
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Richmond (Va.) History Civil War, 1861-1865 |
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Virginia History Civil War, 1861-1865 Prisoners and prisons |
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Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va., 1862 |
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Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863 |
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Bull Run, 2nd Battle of, Va., 1862 |
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Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863 |
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Places: |
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Cairo (N.Y.) |
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Richmond (Va.) |
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Document Types: |
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Correspondence |
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See manuscript collections, U.S. Civil War and Slavery, in the Woodson Research Center |
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Eseck G. Wilber Civil War letters, MS 30, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University
Purchased in 1962,1963
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Letters written to Wilber's parents and brother with dates and locations recorded. The letters begin with Wilber's experience in a camp hospital and he later describes battles, skirmishes, pickets, marches, food and other facets of military life, including deaths in battle and from disease.
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Series I: Letters, 1862, January 10 - December 28 |
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In this series of letters, Wilbur begins with two letters from a hospital (January, 1862). His next letter, dated September 3, 1862, speaks of an "awful fight," likely referring to the Second Battle of Bull Run waged in August, 1862. His letter of December 21 describes the fighting at Fredericksburg. |
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1862 January 10, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1862 January 16, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1862 September 3, near Arlington |
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1862 September 5, Chain Bridge, Potomac River |
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1862 September 9, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 September 10, camp near Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 September 16, near Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 September 20, Shooters Hill, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 September 23, Shooters Hill, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 October 8, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 October 13, Upton Hill |
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1862 October 19, Shooters Hill, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 October 21, Shooters Hill, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 October 29, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 November 1, Alexandria, Virginia |
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1862 November 9, Manassas Junction, on march |
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1862 November 10, On march (includes a map of the area around Alexandria, Bull Run Bridge and Bristo Station, Virginia) |
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1862 November 12, Manassas Junction |
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1862 November 17, Manassas Junction |
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1862, November 24, Camp near Fairfax Station, Virginia |
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1862 November 30, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1862 December 7, Camp near Fredericksburg |
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1862 December 8, Camp near Fredericksburg and the Rappahannock River |
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1862 December 21, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1862 December 28, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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Series II: Letters, 1863 January 4 -1864 January 27 |
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In this series of letters Wilber descibes a review by General Hooker and Abraham Lincoln (April 10, 1863), the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Hooker and the death of General Berry (May 7, 1863), the Battle of Gettysburg (July 28, 1863) and in the last five letters, Wilber writes as a prisoner of war in Virginia. A few of the letters do not contain a location; Wilber was usually in the area of Falmouth, Virginia, an area occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863 or on march. |
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1863 January 4, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 January 22, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 January 30, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 January 31, Camp near Falmouth, Virgnia |
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1863 February 6, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 February 11, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 February 19-20, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 February 28, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 March 8, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 March 12, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 March 20, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 March 26, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 April 2, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 April 10, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 April 14, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 April 17, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 April 24, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 May 6, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 May 7, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 May 17, Falmouth, VIrginia |
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1863 May 21, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 May 22, Falmouth, Virginia |
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1863 July 14, On march, near Williamsport, Maryland |
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1863 July 15, On march, heading toward Harper's Ferry, West Virginia |
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1863 July 28, Camp near Washington City, Virginia |
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1863 August 2, Camp near Beveless? Ford, Virginia |
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1863 August 7, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 August 16, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 August 20, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 August 24,Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 August 30, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 September 6, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 September 13, Camp near Rappahannock Station |
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1863 September 20, Camp near Culpepper, Virginia |
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1863 September 24, Culpepper, Virginia |
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1863 September 27, Culpepper, Virginia |
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1863 October 4, Culpepper, Virginia |
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1863 October 24, Prisoner of war, Richmond, Virginia |
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1863 November 20, Prisoner of war, Richmond, Virginia |
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1864 January 9, Prisoner of war, Pemberton Prison, Richmond, Virginia |
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1864 January 24, Prisoner of war, Belle Isle Prison, Richmond, Virginia |
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1864 January 27, Prisoner of war, Belle Isle Prison, Richmond, Virginia |
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Series III: Undated letters, letter fragments and envelopes, circa 1862-1864 |
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| 3 |
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Letter fragments, envlelopes addressed to William Wilber, and a song, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," (lyrics are of sitting in a prison cell and thinking of home), circa 1862-1864 |
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