These letters and diary were written during the Civil War by Thomas L. Evans to his family in Ohio. He joined the 96th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Co. K, in August 1862, and was elected 2nd Lt. A member of the Western Army, Evans participated in the siege of Vicksburg during the summer of 1863. The following April, 1864, Evans was captured by Confederate troops during a battle near Mansfield, La. and taken to a prisoner of war camp at Camp Ford near Tyler, Texas. He remained there until he was exchanged in October, 1864. After his release, Evans returned to military action and was eventually sent to Alabama where he participated in the siege of Mobile in April, 1865. The fall of Mobile brought an end to the fighting and Evans anticipated being sent to Texas until his enlistment ended in the summer of 1868.
The collection includes Evan's letters to his parents, brother, and sisters between August, 1862, and June 17, 1865. Included in these are his descriptions of daily life in the Union Army, comments on the conditions in the South during the war, first hand accounts of major battles and descriptions of life as a prisoner of war. The diary contains most of the information about the POW camp since Evans wrote few letters during this period. It also contains a list of supplies, etc., issued to his company. This personal narrative sheds light on the attitudes and conditions in the Union Army in addition to giving a first hand account of major battles.
Letters and diary organized into three series: I. Original Letters. II Diary. III. Book: Typed Copies of Letters; Chronological arrangement of letters.
The original letters are arranged chronologically. A xeroxed copy of the diary and the letters which had been compiled as a book are also arranged by date.
Note that there are parts of letters, without dates, which appear in the original but not in the copied form. These are arranged in a separate folder.
The letters have been digitized and are available as part of the
Also available on microfilm.
Collection is open to the public.
Use of this collection is subject to the rules concerning access to archival and manuscript collections at Eastern Washington University. For more information, see: http://www.ewu.edu/Library/Services/Archives.xml
Copyright restrictions may apply. For more information or permission to publish, contact Eastern Washington University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at (509) 359-2475, or archives@ewu.edu.
Thomas Evans Letters and Diary; SPC 972-0007; box number; folder number; Archives & Special Collections, Eastern Washington University.
Mrs. F.M. Dickie; 1972.
Previous accession number: 72-6.
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