Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The George Martin Trowbridge papers contain Trowbridge's description of his military service with the 19th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War, including religious, medical, and social aspects of soldier life.

The George Martin Trowbridge papers contain a total of 238 letters, 47 of which are written on earlier letters in order to conserve paper. Trowbridge wrote 191 of the letters to his wife, Lesbia ("Lebbie") during his Civil War service with the 19th Michigan Infantry. When his supply of stationery ran low, he reused incoming letters, interlining them with his own writings, and thus 42 letters from Lebbie and 5 from George's friends are also preserved with the collection. The letters span October 9, 1863, to June 22, 1865. Trowbridge apparently intended his wife to preserve these letters for posterity, because he wrote exceptionally detained accounts of the latter part of the Civil War, totaling 1,089 pages of correspondence.

Early letters in the collection describe camp life in McMinnville, Tennessee, which the 19th Michigan occupied for six months from October 1863 to April 1864, with very little to do. Trowbridge was considerably anguished at being separated from his wife, and his long answers to her letters included attempts to govern his household from a distance of several hundred miles. Trowbridge's relationship with his wife emerges with great complexity in their correspondence. George repeatedly discussed the place of women and proper parenting, and he appears to have harbored a nagging suspicion during the first several months of his service that his wife might have been unfaithful to him. His frequent condemnations of adultery, pointed comments concerning infidelity on the part of soldiers' wives, and assertions that he would personally drop a wife who was guilty of infidelity, eventually brought Lebbie to exasperated protests; by the opening of the Atlanta Campaign, references to the subject ceased completely. An evangelical Christian, Trowbridge wrote letters during the occupation period that revealed his interest in the spiritual lives of his fellow soldiers; he described prayer meetings and theological debates. He also frequently criticized the military's secular treatment of the Sabbath, especially in a letter of November 22, 1863.

After the spring of 1864, the unit began its participation in the Atlanta Campaign and in his letters, Trowbridge increasingly discussed military engagements, medical work, duties, and the places and people that the regiment encountered. Of particular note is Trowbridge's 36-page account (November 11-December 17, 1864) of Sherman's March to the Sea, detailing the Union army's destruction of plantations, railroad tracks, and cotton storage facilities. It also provides an excellent description of slavery in Georgia, including working conditions of half-clothed young slaves, the sexual advantage that masters took with their female slaves ("there is white blood in most"), and the illegality of slave literacy. Other topics mentioned include the historical significance of the march, Confederate resistance near Savannah, and the production of "Sherman ties" made by winding heated railroad track pieces around trees. Trowbridge also wrote a 56-page narrative of the March through the Carolinas, dated February 2-March 26, 1865. In this, he gave an account of further destruction of homes, cotton, and infrastructure; of Sherman's reputation as a fighter; of the capture of bank safes in Charleston and Camden; and of the battles of Averasboro and Bentonville.

Toward the end of the war, when stationery got scarce, Trowbridge began writing on letters which Lebbie and others had written to him. Thus over 40 of her letters are preserved. Lebbie's letters, which are still largely legible in spite of the fact that George wrote between the lines of her letters, provide ample family news and many details of life on the homefront. Of particular interest is her description of reactions to Lincoln's assassination in Michigan (on George's letter of May 23, 1865), as well as her discussion of alcohol use by her neighbors (August 28, 1864). Both George and Lebbie comment upon the failed love life of Lebbie's sister, Gertrude A. Fox (b. 1843), who for a time was engaged to her first cousin.

This collection is made up of letters that Henry R. Partridge, a merchant ship captain, wrote to his wife Salista during voyages to Europe and the Caribbean in the 1870s. He commented on his loneliness, the loading and unloading of cargo, other crew members and vessels, and ports of call. One additional letter concerns Henry Partridge's suicide in 1880.

This collection is made up of 13 letters that Henry R. Partridge, a merchant ship captain, wrote to his wife Salista during voyages to Europe and the Caribbean on his brig Salista in the 1870s. One additional letter concerns Partridge's suicide in 1880.

Henry Partridge wrote to his wife between April 17, 1871, and September 15, 1879, while in port at Alicante, Spain (2 items); Naples, Italy (2 items); Marseille, France (1 item); Messina, Italy (2 items); Beirut, Lebanon (1 item); Gibraltar (2 items); Saguá la Grande, Cuba (1 item); Cádiz, Spain (1 item); and Bilbao, Spain (1 item). Partridge commented on recent sailing experiences; discussed cargo purchasing, loading, and unloading; noted food purchases; and reported on other crew members and other vessels. In his letter of January 21, 1872, Partridge told his wife about the Salista's steward, who had recently discovered that he was not the father of his favorite daughter. In another letter, Partridge told his wife of a man who had left in the company of two women after his family had returned home (July 1, 1873). Partridge occasionally wrote about food, salt shipping, and consignment agents; his letter of November 13, 1876, contains penmanship practice by his daughter Ada. Partridge frequently commented on his loneliness and desire to meet with his wife upon his returns to Boston and New York.

John Zittlosen, a commission merchant in New York City, wrote a letter to L. M. Partridge on January 27, 1880, concerning Henry Partridge's suicide by gunshot in Gibraltar. Zittlosen copied the text of a telegram he had received, shared his condolences, and requested that the recipient first inform Salista Partridge that her husband was sick, "so that the shock will not come to[o] hard on her at once."

This collection is made up of letters that Robert Pate wrote to his wife Fern about his United States Army service in Wyoming, the Hawaiian Islands, and Saipan during World War II, as well as a newsletter. Most of Pate's correspondence concerns his love for Fern and their relationship.

The Robert Pate correspondence is made up of 34 letters that Pate wrote to his wife Fern while serving in the United States Army during World War II, and a newsletter. Pate wrote 4 letters from Fort F. E. Warren, Wyoming (November 29, 1942-January 25, 1943); 5 letters from Oahu, Hawaii (February 21, 1944-April 21, 1944); and 25 letters from the Pacific Theater, mainly Saipan ([June 28, 1944]; November 12, 1944-September 20, 1945). Pate's love letters primarily concern his romantic feelings for his wife and his thoughts about their relationship. He expressed his doubts about Fern's fidelity to him in a letter of January 25, 1943, but later chastised himself for his feelings of jealousy; he also discussed his own needs, though he assured his fidelity to his wife. He briefly referred to his living conditions, health, and optimism about the war, and encouraged Fern not to worry about his safety. The collection includes an issue of The Daily Target, a newsletter for United States servicemen in the Mariana Islands (May 25, 1945). The newsletter contains articles, one-panel comics, photographs, and a map of Allied progress in the Pacific.