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Guide to the Henry Clay Russell Civil War letters

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Collection Overview
Date Span: 1861-1902
Creator: Russell, Henry Clay (-1902)
Extent: 20.00 items.
Collection Number: MSC0546
Repository: University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary: Russell's correspondence to his sister, Mary, of Crawfordsville, Iowa.

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: Purchased in June, 2002. Funds generously provided by the Homer L. Calkin Memorial Fund, created by Mary K. Calkin.

Preferred Citation: Henry Clay Russell Civil War Letters, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository: University of Iowa Special Collections
Address: Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: 319-335-5921
Curator: Greg Prickman
Email: lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/

Henry Clay Russell was a member of Comany H, 2nd Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. After the war, Russell became a member of the United States Police in the West Tennessee District, and then was a state legislator in Nebraska. There he held the positions of Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings, Department Commander of the Nebraska G. A. R., and postmaster of Schuyler, Nebraska, in Colfax County.

The Henry Clay Russell collection primarily contains manuscript letters, written by Russell to his sister, Mary E. Russell (Miles) of Crawfordsville, Iowa. Letters describe his military activity, his wounds and living situations, and ask for information about family and friends in Iowa. The majority of the letters are written from Memphis, where Russell spent the final years of the war and then joined the United States Police for the West Tennesee District. Though the stream of letters ends in Memphis in 1865, Russell made his final home in Nebraska, and the collection includes a mourning resolution by Nebraska's G. A. R., issued at Russell's death, and a copy of the Schulyer Sun of July 9, 1902, in which there is a long article about Russell's funeral service.

Browse by Series:
Series 1: CORRESPONDENCE
Series 2: GENERAL

  • Series 1: CORRESPONDENCE
  • Box 1:
  • All items
  • [Cameron?], June 29 - 1861
  • No location, November 3 - 1861
  • Camp Benton, November 15 - 1861
  • [Fight?] Hosp[ital], September 8 - 1862
  • [Rienzo], Mississippi, November 23 - 1862
  • Pulaski, Tennessee, February 23 - 1864
  • Pulaski, Tennessee, March 23 - 1864
  • Memphis, Tennessee, January 3 - 1865
  • Memphis, Tennessee, January 31 - 1865
  • Memphis, Tennessee, February - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, April 6 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, August 10 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, September 7 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, September 14 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, October 12 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, October 25 - 1865
  • Office of U. S. Police, Memphis, Tennessee, November 30 - 1865
  • Series 2: GENERAL
  • Box 1:
  • Miscellaneous
  • "We, the undersigned members of the Grand Army of the Republic…" manuscript, undated
  • Memorial and Eulogy, Schuyler Sun, vol. 31, no. 50, July 9 - 1902

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Personal Names:
Miles, Mary E. Russell
Russell, Henry Clay, d. 1902

Corporate Names:
United States. Army. Iowa Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1864). Company H

Dates:
19th century

Topics:
American Civil War, 1861-1865

Occupations:
Soldiers

Geographic Names:
Iowa
Nebraska
Tennessee

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Eulogies
Clippings (Information artifacts)
Manuscripts (Document genre)
Sources
Correspondence

Browse:
Civil War