P0036 REUBEN FARNUM: An Inventory of His Civil War Letters at the Minnesota Historical Society Finding aid prepared by Dennis Meissner Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by Dennis Meissner November 27, 2001Finding aid written inEnglish August 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society Farnum, Reuben, 1835-[ca.1918]. Reuben Farnum Civil War letters. 1864-1865. Farnum's letters to his wife Roxanna during his Civil War service with the First Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery, in Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, describing military and camp life, maneuvers, and battles. 2 folders, containing 82 items. P36 BIOGRAPHY OF REUBEN FARNUM

Reuben Farnum was born in Essex County, New York on October 8, 1835. He married Roxanna Hale, who was born September 24, 1840 in Canada East. Together they located in the vicinity of Plainview (Waseca County), Minnesota prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Farnum was mustered into the First Battery of Minnesota Light Artillery on December 31, 1863. He served in the Mississippi, Georgia, and Carolina campaigns, and was a member of the forces under Sherman's command at the Battle of Atlanta and on the march from Atlanta to Savannah.

After the war Farnum was a farmer and blacksmith in Plainview, Janesville, Faribault, and Correll, all in Minnesota. In the early 1900s he and his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he may have worked in a steel mill.. He died around 1918 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Birmingham. Roxanna Farnum died in April 1919.

 SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The papers consist of about 75 letters written between February 1864 and May 1865, most of them addressed to Roxanna in Plainview. Farnum describes the routine activities of army life and includes many comments on food rations, illnesses, and medical care.

Correspondence from February-March 1864 contains descriptions of Cairo, Illinois and Vicksburg, Mississippi. On March 13, Farnum comments on African Americans serving in the Union army. The remaining correspondence discusses the campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas, including descriptions of the battles of Atlanta and Savannah.

 CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: African Americans. Persons: Farnum, Roxanna Hale, 1840-1919. Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891. Organizations: United States. Army. Minnesota Light Artillery Battery, 1st (1861-1865). Places: Atlanta (Ga.). Cairo (Ill.). Savannah (Ga.). United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865. Vicksburg (Miss.). ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Reuben Farnum Civil War Letters. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

 Accession Information:

Accession number: 9631

 Processing Information:

Processed by: Dennis Meissner, November 2001

Catalog ID number: 09-00038440