Information
Sheet
R Eldred, Wellington.
532 Letters, 1862.
One folder,
photocopies and typescripts.
These are letters describing the campaign
against New Madrid and Island No. 10, written by a Union cavalryman in the 3rd
Michigan Cavalry. Eldred described the
damage to the town of New Madrid
and operations against Island No. 10, and reported shortages of rations and an
outbreak of smallpox in camp.
New Madrid
and Island No. 10 became important Confederate posts along the Mississippi
River in March 1862, after the evacuation of the southern stronghold at Fort Pillow
near Columbus, Kentucky.
Led by Gen. John Pope, Union operations by land forced the Confederates
to relinquish the town of New Madrid
on 14 March 1862. Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, was surrendered to federal forces on 7
April 1862.
Eldred’s comparison of New Madrid with Galesburg and his mention of the unit’s horses indicate
that he was a member of a Michigan
cavalry unit. The 3rd regiment
served in the New Madrid/Island No. 10 campaign, and compiled service records
indicate that he was a Private in that unit.
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