Information Sheet

 

 

R         Hellis, S. P.

656                                    Letter, 1862

One folder.

 

 

 

This is a Civil War letter from Patterson in Wayne County, Missouri, by S. P. Hellis of the 1st Nebraska Infantry.  Hellis discussed camp life and some of the officers, and expressed his dis­satisfaction with the war.

 

The 1st Nebraska Infantry was organized at Omaha in 1861.  The regiment served in the De­partment of the Missouri until February 1862, served with the Army of the Tennessee and at He­lena, Arkansas, until October 1862, and then moved back to Missouri to become part of the Army of Southeastern Missouri.  The regiment encamped at Patterson during most of November 1862.  Returning to Pilot Knob with the army in February 1863, the 1st Nebraska took part in operations against John S. Marmaduke in April and May, then returned to garrison Pilot Knob through Au­gust 1863.  The regiment moved to St. Louis at the end of August.  In November, it was reor­gan­ized as a cavalry unit.

 

In his letter to his brother, Hellis wrote of his unhappiness with some of the officers, and de­scribed army life as “driling from hel to breckfast.”  He also wrote that only the folks back home kept him from leaving the service.

 

 

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