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Wheeler, Lysander (fl. 1837-1903) to his sister Martha [Spohn]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07460.028 Author/Creator: Wheeler, Lysander (fl. 1837-1903) Place Written: Gallatin, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 May 1863 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.5 x 25.5 cm. Order a Copy

Thanks his sister for sending him a letter and food with a fellow soldier. Playfully writes to his sister that as he is writing he is being distracted by a chunk of maple sugar sent to him by his aunt. He writes that while on picket he has found the perfect place to eat his pie and wishes that his family were there to join him as long as they brought their own food. Discusses the furlough of Charles Siedel, a fellow soldier and friend from home. His furlough was granted on the grounds that his wife was very ill and it was necessary for him to return home. Requests that his sister send him a watch, as he has broken the one he had.

Lysander Wheeler, a farmer from Sycamore, Illinois, enlisted in the Union Army on August 7, 1862 as a private. He was mustered into Company C of the 105th Illinois infantry and later promoted to sergeant. Wheeler was mustered out on June 7, 1865.

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