Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open in research.

Existence and Location of Copies

The collection has been digitized and is available online .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Lewis Wood Letters, Ms1991-011, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1991.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Lewis Wood Letters was completed in May 1998. Additional description was completed in January 2023.

Transcriptions were produced by Betsy Jones, Volunteer, in December 1997.

Biographical Note

Lewis Wood was a private in Company K of the 2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, possibly serving as the company's cook. He entered service at age 37 as a member of Company K on August 24, 1861, and was transferred to Company H on February 17, 1863. On April 20, 1864, he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps.

Lewis married a woman named Harriet A., and they may have had a daughter named Mary Louisa Wood. He died in 1897. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Geneva, Ohio.

Sources:

Additional information about Lewis Wood is available in the Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in War of the Rebellion , 1861-1866, Vol. XI, on pages 93 and 104.

"Lewis Wood" entry, Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146303587/lewis-wood , accessed Jan. 10, 2023.

"Lewis Wood" entry, the U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1387591:4654 , accessed Jan. 10, 2023.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of eight letters written by Lewis Wood to his wife Harriet A. Wood, in Unionville, Ohio, during the American Civil War. Seven of the eight letters were written in January and February 1862, from Camp Dennison, Ohio; en route to Missouri; and in Hudson, Platte City, and Kansas City, Missouri. The last letter was written on April 9, 1863, from Covington, Kentucky. Wood makes no mention of battles or skirmishes that his regiment might have been involved in, but the letters portray accounts of movements of the company, daily routine activities and items of his personal interest. He writes about purchasing food and other necessary items and mentions points of interest as they travel by railroad cars. Tunnels, rivers, and the prairie fascinate Private Wood, since these are new sights. The February 16, 1862, letter includes an account of an auction in Platte City, Missouri, in which a woman and children were enslaved, and with the information that the latter were the children of the man who sold them. Wood's letters reveal a phonetic use of the English language and a general lack of knowledge of spelling or grammar. He uses combinations of vowels and consonants to acquire the words he wishes to express.

Arrangement

The letters are arranged in chronological order.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Lewis Wood Letters by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).