© The University of Tennessee Special Collections Library

Linear feet: This collection occupies .33 linear feet of shelf space.

Abstract: The Milton Weaver Collection contains a number of letters dating from the American Civil War describing in detail Union military camp conditions and drills, the environment of Tennessee, military operations in Middle Tennessee and Georgia (including Nashville, Stones River, Chattanooga, and Sherman’s campaign in Georgia), opinions about Confederates and Copperheads, family life during the war, and the emotional trauma of conflict. The collection also includes several poems written by Milton Weaver’s father, Richard, and a tintype of Milton Weaver in his Union uniform.

Administrative Information

Provenance: The Special Collections Library purchased this collection.

Copyright statement: Copyright © 2001. The University of Tennessee Libraries. All Rights Reserved. Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute these materials for educational, research, and not-for-profit purposes, without fee and without a signed licensing agreement, is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph appear in all copies, modifications, and distributions. For commercial license to use contact, University of Tennessee Libraries, Office of the Dean, Permissions, 1015 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996-1000.

Biographical Information: The 74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was organized at Xenia, Ohio, between October 5, 1861 and March 27, 1862. Their formal service began with their participation in General Ebenezer Dumont's expedition over Tennessee’s Cumberland Mountains in June of 1862. They then performed guard duty along the railroad route between Nashville and Columbia before taking part in the siege of Nashville from September 12 to November 7, 1862. On December 26, they left Nashville to participate in the advance on Murfreesboro, Tennessee (December 26-30, 1862). They next served in the Battle of Stone's River (December 30-31, 1862 and January 1-3, 1863) and remained on duty in Murfreesboro until June of 1863, when they were assigned to the Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign (June 23-July 7, 1863). They participated in the occupation of Middle Tennessee until August 16, 1863, when they served in Chickamauga (Georgia) Campaign (August 16 - September 22, 1863). They returned to Tennessee for the siege of Chattanooga (September 24-November 23, 1863) and the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign (November 23-27, 1863). After brief furloughs and reorganizations, the regiment was assigned to the Atlanta Campaign from May 1 to September 8, 1864. They then participated in operations against General John Bell Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama (September 29-November 3, 1864) and General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea (November 15-December 10, 1864). They were next assigned to the Siege of Savannah between December 10 and 21, 1864 and then to the Campaign of the Carolinas from January 1864 to April 1865. After the surrender of General Joseph Eggleston Johnston and his army, the 74th Ohio marched to Washington, DC (via Richmond, Virginia) and participated in the Grand Review on May 24. They then served in Louisville, Kentucky until mustering out July 11, 1865.

Milton Weaver of Vandalia, Ohio joined the 74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment when he was only 18 years old. When he mustered in on November 5, 1861 at Camp Chase, Ohio, he signed up to serve a three-year enlistment. Weaver’s correspondence from this period, which forms the bulk of this collection, focuses primarily on his military experiences but also speaks of his feelings for his family and his desire for the war to be over so that he could return home to them. Unfortunately, Weaver did not live to see the end of the war – he was killed in the battle of Jonesboro (Georgia) on September 1, 1864.

Scope and Content: This collection contains letters, envelopes, poems, recopies, and a tintype dealing with Milton Weaver’s experiences with the 74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Milton Weaver and his family, much of which is written on striking patriotic stationary. It deals with camp life, various military campaigns, Copperheads, and Weaver’s “war fatigue” and his desire to return to his family in Ohio. Other letters, most of which are addressed to Weaver’s parents, cover Milton Weaver’s death, condolences on their son’s loss, and the presidential election of 1864. Finally, this collection contains poems, mostly written by Richard Weaver, dealing with the war and a tintype of Milton Weaver in his army uniform.

LCSH
Ohio—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Personal Narratives
Ohio—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Regimental Histories
Soldiers – Ohio – Correspondence
United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 74th (1861-1865)
United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Regimental histories
United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Campaigns.

Keywords
74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Atlanta Campaign
Battle Fatigue
Battle of Jonesboro
Battle of Lookout Mountain
Battle of Murfreesboro
Battle of Stones River
Copperheads
Family history
Occupied Chattanooga
Occupied Nashville
Unionism

Series/Container List

Series I: Correspondence from Milton Weaver

Folder 1: November 1861
The correspondence in this folder deals primarily with guard duty, military drills, and Company F’s Prussian drillmaster.

Folder 2: January 1862 – June 1862
These letters cover Confederate prisons, military camp life and drills, the environment of occupied Nashville, Tennessee, patriotic symbolism, family life, and military operations in Middle Tennessee.

Folder 3: July 1862 – December 1862
This material discusses the condition of occupied Nashville, military operations in Tennessee and Kentucky, guerrilla warfare, foraging expeditions, General William Starke Rosecrans, and finally the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Folder 4: January 1863 – June 1863
This correspondence discusses the battle of Stones River, Milton Weaver’s family history, the environment the 74th Ohio has encountered in Tennessee, life in camp, and Copperheads.

Folder 5: July 1863 – December 1863
The letters in this folder are devoted primarily to two military encounters: the Battle of Lookout Mountain and the Siege of Chattanooga.

Folder 6: January 1864 – August 1864
These letters cover family life, conscription, and General William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous March to the Sea. These letters also show Weaver’s growing weariness in their discussions of total war and war fatigue (later known as shell shock and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Folder 7: Undated
These letters deal with many of the topics listed above, but either were never dated or their dates can no longer be deciphered.

Series II: Correspondence to Milton Weaver

Folder 8: August 1862 – December 1864
These letters, primarily written to Milton Weaver by his mother, Ann, deal with masculinity, life on the Northern home front, Copperheads, and conscription.

Folder 9: Undated
These letters deal with the topics covered in Folder 8, but their dates cannot be determined.

Series III: Correspondence to Richard and Ann Weaver

Folder 10: October 1856-April 22, 1858
This correspondence focuses primarily on a Democratic Convention and sickness in the Weaver family.

Folder 11: September 1864 – February 1866
These letters deal with the period following Milton Weaver’s death on September 1, 1864. They include the letter from Captain Walter Crook, Milton Weaver’s commanding officer, announcing his death, letters of bereavement, and discussions of the presidential election of 1864.

Series IV: Collected Poetry of Richard Weaver

Folder 12: Undated Poetry
These poems discuss the concepts of duty and death as well as Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Series V: Miscellaneous Items of Milton Weaver and Family

Folder 13: Miscellaneous Envelopes (1862-1864)
These envelopes, probably originating with the correspondence catalogued earlier, are particularly notable for the patriotic logos that decorate many of them. Others bear personal messages and miscellaneous doodling.

Folder 14: Invitations and Bills of Sale (1866-1894)
These documents consist primarily of invitations to various parties, but the folder also includes such items as an 1888 bill of sale to Robert Weaver.

Folder 15: Undated Recipes
The items in this folder include innovative recopies for hair wash and toothache medicine.

Series VI: Photographs

Folder 16: Image of Milton Weaver
This image constitutes an undated tintype of Milton Weaver in Union uniform.