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

This collection contains 9 letters, 14 receipts, and 1 document related to Philo B. Hall, a metalworker from Newtown, Connecticut, who later became a farmer in southeastern Michigan. He received 7 personal letters from his sister and acquaintances in the mid-1800s. His son Abiah wrote 1 letter to his brother Cornelius during his Civil War service in the Union Army. Also included are 12 receipts documenting Hall's purchases of professional supplies and payments of land taxes in Michigan in the mid-19th century, and a contract apprenticing him to Liba Blakslee of Newtown, Connecticut. Other items are a note and 2 additional receipts for land taxes.

This collection holds 9 letters, 14 receipts, and 1 document related to Philo B. Hall, a metalworker from Newtown, Connecticut, who later became a farmer in southeastern Michigan. He received 7 personal letters from his sister and acquaintances. His son Abiah wrote 1 letter to his brother Cornelius during his Civil War service in the Union Army. Also included are 12 receipts documenting Hall's purchases of professional supplies and payments of land taxes in Michigan, and a contract apprenticing him to Liba Blakslee of Newtown, Connecticut. Other items are a note and 2 additional receipts for land taxes.

The Correspondence and Documents series consists of 7 incoming letters addressed to Philo B. Hall, 1 note by a man named Edmund Wheeler, and Philo B. Hall's apprenticeship contract. Hall received 3 letters from his sister, Polly Ann Squires; 1 from his brother, Ezra Hall; 1 from an unnamed sibling; and 4 from other acquaintances. His siblings and friends primarily shared personal and financial news. Of interest are a report of the death of a man named "Booth" (January 19, 1841); Polly Ann's letter asking Philo to take custody of a young boy (June 15, 1846); and Joshua Grover's account of his travels in Wisconsin (March 20, 1847). The series also contains a contract apprenticing Philo B. Hall to Liba Blaksee of Newtown, Connecticut, to learn the trades of goldsmithing, silversmithing, and clock repair (November 4, 1818). Also included is a letter Abiah B. Hall, Philo's son, wrote to his brother Cornelius about his experiences as a soldier with the 150th New York Infantry Regiment in Georgia and South Carolina (January 31, 1865).

The Receipts series is comprised of 14 items, dated between April 4, 1823, and December 31, 1870. The first 3 items are receipts for professional supplies Philo B. Hall purchased, such as files and a watch brush, and the remaining 11 are receipts for the payment of taxes. Ten receipts, of which 9 are addressed to Philo B. Hall, relate to taxes on land held in Washtenaw County and Allegan County, Michigan, and the final receipt, addressed to E. Hall, concerns taxes paid in Carthage, Missouri (December 31, 1870).

This collection is primarily made up of letters that brothers Robert and James T. Miller wrote to their parents and siblings while serving in Pennsylvania infantry regiments during the Civil War. They described battles, illnesses and hospital stays, scenery, and military life. The collection also includes additional correspondence and documents related to the Miller family.

This collection (134 items) is primarily made up of letters that brothers Robert and James T. Miller wrote to their parents and siblings while serving in Pennsylvania infantry regiments during the Civil War. They described battles, illnesses and hospital stays, the scenery, and military life. The collection includes additional correspondence and documents related to the Miller family.

The James T. Miller letters (around 80 items) pertain to his service in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia from November 13, 1861-July 15, 1864. He discussed the various camps where he was stationed, soldiers' leisure activities, drills, and many other aspects of military life. He commented on the political atmosphere in Baltimore, Maryland, and the effects of the war throughout the South. Miller sometimes shared his opinions about Copperheads, conscription and men who chose not to fight, Union and Confederate generals, and the Confederate cause. During his service, he participated in (and described) many skirmishes and larger engagements including the Battle of Cedar Mountain, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He also wrote about his experiences while recovering from a wound in army hospitals in late 1863. Miller's letters are addressed to his parents and several of his siblings; he occasionally wrote on patriotic stationery. The final item in this group of letters is a note from H. Allen to the elder Robert Miller regarding James T. Miller's death (August 2, 1864). Letters from Susan A. Miller, wife of James T. Miller, about her everyday life during the war are interspersed with her husband's correspondence.

Robert E. Miller's letters to his parents and other correspondents (about 30 items) relate to his experiences in Company F of the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment from November 2, 1862-July 18, 1863. Though he wrote less frequently than his brother, he provided vivid descriptions of army life and military engagements, also commenting on the progress of the war and political issues.

Additional materials include a marriage license for Robert Miller and Janet Todd (December 28, 1829), letters by the elder Robert Miller, financial records, and documents related to the Miller family.

This collection is made up of typescripts of letters that Thomas D. Willis wrote to his family while serving in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. The letters concern his imprisonment after the regiment's unsuccessful mutiny in early 1863, his hospitalization in late 1864, and daily conditions in army camps in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.

This collection is primarily made up of typescripts of letters that Thomas D. Willis wrote to his parents and siblings while serving in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment between August 1862 and June 1865. The Willis family also received a small number of letters from John McKee and Walter G. Wilson, also of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and a family friend who encountered Willis during his hospitalization in late 1864.

Thomas D. Willis sent letters to his parents and two of his siblings, Julia and Seth, throughout his Civil War service, writing less frequently as the war went on. From late August 1862 to early April 1863, he discussed his pride in the regiment, his close friendships with a group of other soldiers, and life in camps in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Louisville, Kentucky; and Nashville, Tennessee. He described his daily schedule, meals, equipment, and marches, where he noticed the effects of the war and the graves of soldiers who had died along the road. After arriving in Nashville in November 1862, the regiment became involved in a controversy over their expected and assigned duties. Willis reported that he and others had enlisted to serve as bodyguards for General Don Carlos Buell; upon learning that they were to become a regular cavalry regiment following Buell's removal, the members of the regiment laid down their arms and refused to serve, believing that they had been enlisted under false pretenses. In the absence of obvious ringleaders, Willis and several other men were randomly chosen as representatives at a court martial. Willis described the poor conditions during his imprisonment and expressed his growing discontent with Captain William Jackson Palmer and other military leaders, whom he accused of acting as despots.

After his release from prison in early April 1863, Willis returned to the front, where he continued to describe camp life in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. He mentioned several skirmishes and at least one major engagement with Confederate troops. He noted that the civilian population, including both Union and Confederate sympathizers, had suffered because of the war. His letters also refer to health problems, often related to dysentery, and he was hospitalized with a large open sore on his hip in late 1864. Willis described his treatment in hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, and discussed his appointment as a wardmaster for a branch hospital. Willis wrote infrequently between late 1864 and the spring of 1865, when he anticipated his return home. Along with the Willis family's incoming correspondence, the collection includes typescripts of 2 letters that Willis's mother wrote in August 1864; she discussed life at home, Copperhead politicians, and the presidential election of 1864.

The materials were transcribed by Scott Willis, a descendant of Thomas D. Willis, around 1978.

The William V. Rutledge collection is made up of letters that Rutledge, a surgeon, wrote while serving in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.

The William V. Rutledge collection (102 items) contains correspondence and other items related to Rutledge's service in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. Rutledge wrote 98 letters to his wife about his experiences. His earliest letters pertain to his time in camp in Kentucky, where he spent time with a slaveholding family. He participated in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, in April and May of 1862 and was camped on the field of Shiloh on May 4, 1862, when he anticipated an attack that never took place. Throughout the rest of the year, the cavalry headed east, and Rutledge described the scenery in Alabama, including an interaction with "Black and yellow" slaves, all young girls, on a cotton plantation (July 10, 1862). Though his time in the army was primarily uneventful, Rutledge did discuss a brief stint as a prisoner of war (September 11, 1864) and often mentioned his health problems. He frequently inquired about Jennie's health and finances, requested more frequent letters from her, and vowed to visit home.

Also included are a photograph of Rutledge taken in St. Louis and a receipt from the Internal Revenue Service. The newspaper clippings are a reprint from the Mobile Tribune of "Asa Hartz Is Taken Prisoner," and a pair of patriotic poems, "Atlanta" and "On the Chicago Surrender."