Head Quarters, Co. A, 129th Ills. Vols. Infty.
Bucks Lodge, Tenn. Dec. 31st 1862

My Dear Wife

In a very short time the old year will have passed into eternity & the “New Year” ushered in. Let me say “Happy New Year,” & God grant that it may be a happy one to you.

The night thus far has been beautiful, clear and calm; the moon is shining brightly & the Heavens are dotted with Stars. I feel to-night that had I the assurance that you were well and happy, nothing would be wanting to make me supremely happy. I feel at Peace with the whole world.

I have been unusually busy for the past few days making out Muster & pay rolls. To-day we were mustered for pay, & this evening I finished my monthly reports so that I had but little to trouble my mind.¹

The weather is cool, & we built a large log fire in front of the Quarters where we have been singing & talking for some time. I came into the tent to get something to eat & found some pickeled beef’s tongue & some light Bread just out of the oven with some good Tennessee butter. The bread Capt. Hoskins got baked by a young lady not far from Camp, & the same family promised to let me have some buttermilk & Yeast to-morrow morning. So you see we are trying to live.

We have engaged a new cook, Henry Fisher, who used to live at Mrs. Camp’s at Odell.² Sid [Arnold] will go home as soon as we can raise money to send him. He has got tired &, I think, homesick.

Lieut. Smith is almost well but will not be permitted to go out for several days yet. The measles are almost dried up. We buried Otis Taylor this morning, & I wrote to his Father last night. Kenyon is getting worse & will not probably recover. He is a noble fellow, & I feel exceedingly sorry to lose him.

By the Nashville papers of to-day, we learn that some 18 miles of the Rail Road has been torn up, and it will take several weeks to repair it.³ In the meantime we shall get but little mail, I presume.

The boys are having considerable fun around the Quarters trying to sell each other. I expect all will have a good time to-morrow if we do not get orders to move. I believe nothing has been heard from Pontiac for ten days or two weeks. There are several citizens here from Scott County, Ills. who intended to go home to-day, but are not going till tomorrow.

I hope S. Bennett has got home by this time so that you may have an opportunity of hearing from me. It is now almost midnight, the close of the old year. What the new year has in store for us as individuals, what joys & fears, trials & encouragement remains to us undeveloped. Let us try & prepare our hearts by calling upon God for assistance. We have the blessed assurance that a sufficiency of grace will be supplied.

God has been pleased to bless us abundantly. As far as I know, neither disease or excessive troubles have taken hold upon us. The first half of it [the year] has been replete with pleasure, &, though during the last few months we have had some trials, yet God has abundantly blessed. Let us live then in the hope of usefulness in the future that whenever or wherever our Master may call our work may be done and well done.

I shall live in the hope of hearing from you soon. I half expected E. R. Maples might get here by to-day. Communication is still open by water to Bowling Green, Ky., & from there by Rail Road through this place to Nashville, Tenn., though no mails are sent by that route.⁴ I understand it takes some five days to go by water.

We learn but little of the movement of the Army here. Tomorrow is the commencement of a new era in the History of the War unless Lincoln has modified his proclamation.⁵ I tremble for the results. We have thousands of Tennessee & Kentucky troops in this branch of the service, & should they refuse to fight we might be overwhelmed with superior numbers. I confess that to honestly express myself, I do not like the idea of giving over the reconstruction of the government upon the constitutional basis, yet under my oath I shall fight under any approved policy. I have seen an instance of this new policy to me trying & disgusting, the way is or will be open for large abuses of power. Let us hope God will be with us & control the affairs of the Nation. I should like just now to read the Northern sentiment.⁶

Give my love to all the family & remember me kindly to all our friends. Hoping that the richest of Heaven’s blessings may rest upon you, for which I shall ever pray, I subscribe myself as ever.

Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. Colonel Smith, at 2 P.M. on the 31st, had reviewed and inspected the regiment, when it was mustered for pay. Smith to Case, Dec. 31, 1861, Regimental Papers, 129th Illinois, NA.
2. Mary Camp was the wife of Edgar Camp, a 38-year-old Odell farmer. In 1860 the Camps were living with their three children. It has been impossible to further identify Henry Fisher, other than that he had worked on the Camp’s farm. Eighth Census, Livingston County, State of Illinois, NA.
3. This refers to damage done the Louisville & Nashville Railroad by Morgan’s cavalry.
4. With the Louisville & Nashville Railroad out of operation between Bacon Creek and the Muldraugh’s Hill, lightdraft steamboats were pressed into service and ascended the Green and Barren Rivers to Bowling Green. There they were unloaded and supplies destined for Rosecrans’ army loaded on railroad cars. O. R., Ser. I, Vol. XX, pt. II, pp. 275, 291, 296.
5. The Confederate states having ignored his preliminary proclamation of Sept. 22, 1862, President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, issued his Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that “all persons held as slaves” within certain designated “states, and parts of states, are henceforward” free.
6. J.F.C., as a constitutional lawyer and Democrat, questioned President Lincoln’s use of his war powers to effect such a sweeping economic and social change. Like most people from the “Old Northwest,” Culver was fighting for preservation of the Union, and if slavery was to be abolished it should be done by a constitutional amendment, not an executive proclamation. The Northern press was divided in its views. Pro-administration editors supported the president, while those in the opposite camp agreed with the New York Herald, “While the Proclamation leaves slavery untouched where his decree can be enforced, he emancipates slaves where his decree cannot be enforced. Friends of human rights will be at a loss to understand this discrimination.” Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years and the War Years, pp. 345-346.

Dec. 30th 1862

Dear Wife

Amid the cares & business surrounding me, I did not write yesterday, but, as I shall have an opportunity of sending my letter by a gentleman going North to-morrow. Otis B. Taylor died this morning about three o’clock, & by intelligence from Bowling Green just recd. I learn that Uriah Springer of our Company died on Christmas.¹ E. A. Kenyon is rather better but still bad. Lieut. Smith is getting well fast & is, I think, beyond danger.

Mrs. Blackburn & Mrs. Fitch are still here but are heartily tired of their visit. There is no knowing at present when they will be able to go home, while their accommodations are very poor.

Quite a number of letters have been received, but I have not been so fortunate. I hope, however, to receive one as a New Year’s gift. I wrote to you & sent by Bennet. I understand he did not get from Bowling Green until this morning. My letter will not reach you in time to wish you a “Happy New Year,” but I will hope that it may be so.

I almost dread to hear from Pontiac for fear some of you have been infected with the Small-Pox, yet I pray God for better things. I have never received the promised letter from Johny, but hope he is entirely well.

We have no news of Maples yet. I was hoping he would arrive before New Year’s so that I might have my budget of letters. I am wholly at a loss what news to write without any letter to answer. The last is dated Dec. 8th. I shall commence to read the old ones over soon.

I shall try & write to Mr. Taylor to-night and scarcely know how to tell them of his death.² I know they will be almost disconsolate. Otis was among our best boys, exemplary in conduct & died in a hope full of immortality beyond the grave. His was truly the Christian’s death; he was much beloved by all. And now Dear Wife, I most earnestly pray that God continue to be with you, protect & preserve you from harm & disease. Give my love to all, &, if Maples has not yet started, send me letters by mail.

With much love, I remain, as ever

Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

Kiss baby for me.

1. Uriah Springer, a 27-year-old farmer, was mustered into service Sept. 8, 1862, as a private in Company A, 129th Illinois Infantry. Private Springer died on Christmas 1862 of measles in Hospital No. 5 at Bowling Green, Ky. Compiled Service Records of Union Soldiers, NA.
2. The deceased’s parents were George and Uretta Taylor. In addition to Otis, they had two other sons—John and George. The father was a 45-year-old Pontiac Township farmer. Eighth Census, Livingston county, State of Illinois, NA.

Hd. Qrs., Co. A, 129th Ills. Vols. Inft.
Bucks Lodge, Tenn., Dec. 28th 1862

Dear Wife

I see but little prospect of this communication reaching you for some time, but as soon as opportunity offers, will ford. it. This is Sunday & a beautiful day, though for the past two days it has been raining hard & is yet quite damp.

My health is quite good, all thanks to a kind Providence. We are rather sorely afflicted. Otis Taylor is very low with scarcely a hope of recovery.¹ He has had the measles & was doing well, but the dampness has driven them in, & they have settled in his lungs. I wish it was possible to send word to his family, but all communication is cut off.² I hope to be able to tell of his recovery soon, but it is at present highly improbable. Lieut. Smith has the measles but is doing well, & if nothing happens will soon recover. Earl H. Kenyon is very low with typhoid fever & congestion of the brain;³ he may recover. He was married while our Company was at Kankakee & lived in Dwight. I am informed that J. Wood is getting better; he is back at Mitchellsville.

3 o clock P.M. Kenyon is better but Taylor worse. Smith is still doing well.

The Chaplain of the 79th Ohio preached for us to-day. How often I have thought of home. Quite a large pack of letters are awaiting the mail. We have no late news concerning the amt. of damage done to the Rail Road. The last we heard was that two miles of track & two bridges were destroyed. It will take at least a week to repair. We may have telegraph communication in a few days.⁴

We have a very pleasant place for camp, but are almost out of provisions. We have depended on the R. Road for supplies, & I presume will have to forage soon unless the Road is repaired.

We have had no papers for ten days, consequently no news. I expect S. Bennet will get home before New Year’s Day. We are still most anxious to hear from home & know to what extent the Small Pox is raging. As I intend to write each day until the mail goes out, I will close for the evening.

Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. Otis Taylor, a 22-year-old Pontiac Township farmer, was mustered into service Sept. 8, 1862, as a private in Company A, 129th Illinois Infantry. Private Taylor died of measles on Dec. 30, 1862, in the regimental hospital at Buck Lodge, Tenn. Compiled Service Records of Union soldiers, NA.
2. General Morgan and his horse-soldiers between Dec. 26 and 29 wreaked havoc on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. A number of weeks would pass before there would again be through traffic between Louisville and Nashville.
3. Earl H. Kenyon, a 22-year-old surveyor, was mustered into service on Sept. 8, 1862, as a sergeant in Company A, 129th Illinois Infantry. Sergeant Kenyon died of pneumonia on Jan. 6, 1863, in the regimental hospital at Fountain Head, Tenn. Ibid.
4. Morgan’s Confederates had destroyed four trestles— the two long Muldraugh’s Hill structures and the ones spanning Bacon and Nolin Creeks. Several miles of track had been torn up at Upton and the rails warped and twisted. The telegraph also had been cut. O. R., Ser. I, Vol. XX, pt. I, pp. 154-156.

Pontiac Ill. Dec. 27th 1862

My Dear Husband

Yours of the 22nd I rec’d this afternoon I mailed you a letter yesterday, that makes the third this week. After this I will mail as regularly as possible Monday Wednesday & Saturday In my letter of yesterday I enclosed one dollars worth of Postage stamps & a five dollar bill which I hope you will receive

I am truly sorry to hear of the danger to which you are exposed at the present time May God protect you in every time of danger. Simon Burker has returned on a furlough I have not seen him yet but hope to before he leaves, he goes next week. There is so much sickness I am afraid he will not enjoy his visit much We heard this morning that Augustus Groswell was not expected to live he was taken with the small pox before his father got well Minta Robinson has been quite sick with it but is now better also Ella Roberts Mr. Collins Mr. McCleery Miss Blanton & Mrs. Strevell. Mrs Strevell has had it very hard. I suppose this very damp weather has helped to spread it It rained incessantly Christmas day & today the river is higher than it was ever known before It has cleered off tonight & I hope will be pleasant to morrow Sunday Eve. I have spent this day much as I did last Sabbath I am at Maggie still but think I will go home to morrow

We have just been singing “There is an hour of peaceful rest” How soothing the words are I never appreciated good hymns as I do now. I think there was no Sabbath school this morning nor preaching either in the M. E. Church In the other church there were both but very poorly attended. How glad I am that I did not go to Michellsville If you had given me the least encouragement I would have started With her baby sick & trunks lost I dont see what Mrs. Blackhorn could do Probably if I had gone I would have been in the same situation Does Mr. Smith keep always well? I hope I shall hear from you very often I saw by the paper of yesterday that it was supposed the rebels were trying to cut off communication between Louisville & Nashville Do you think they can do it? If so what will become of our mail [matter?] the thought of it is heart sickening, but we will hope for the best. My last thought at night my husband & my first in the morning are of you & with those thoughts is prayer for your protection & I feel that you are praying for your wife & baby Hope is strong within me & I feel that our prayers will be answered May our lives henceforth be pure & more devoted to the honor & glory of our Redeemer Your own wife

Mary M Culver

Letter No. 2
Hd. Qrs., Co. A, 129th Ills. Vols. Inft.
Buck Lodge, Tenn. Dec. 25th 1862

Dear Wife

I commenced [a] letter hastily this afternoon & closed it this evening, & as I have still a few leisure moments I will try & give you a short description of our present situation.

We left Mitchellsville rather hastily last Saturday evening [the 20th] having learned that Morgan with a large force was intending an attack here.¹ We were well fortified & felt quite secure. We have just fairly commenced our fortifications here. Bucks Lodge is nothing more than a tank which supplies the Rail-Road with water. There are two bridges & over 3/4 mile of trestle work under the road which if destroyed would take a long time to repair, hence the importance of the place.

It is a wild country all around & a few years ago a favorite haunt for deer, hence the name Buck Lodge. Our Camp composed of the 79th Ohio & 129th Ills. occupy three hills, one north, South, & west, all of which we are fortifying. The little valley is not more than a mile either way.² Our main camp is on the west side & commands the tank & bridge, the other two command the R. Road. When our fortifications are completed, we will be able to cope with much more than an equal force unless they bring Artillery upon us.

We are all hard at work. Last night we lay in readiness to fight all night, & the entire forces were in line of battle from 4 o’clock till after day-light. Our company was stationed about 1 mile north of camp, & we were in the woods near the road all night, but no enemy came. Tonight all is quiet; rumor says the enemy has fled.³

The country about 2 miles west & South of this, I am informed, is very thickly settled. I have never had an opportunity of seeing it as yet, however. All around Camp it is quite romantic. Quite a number of the Officers were invited out to dinner to-day & talk very largely of the good things. I am not one of the fortunate ones, however. They tell me there are quite a number of Union families in the neighborhood.⁴

It has commenced to rain a little, but we are located so high & dry that I do not feel much uneasy[iness] but what we will be comfortable.

We organized a Regimental Church tonight & were pleased to receive 30 names. I think by Sunday it will reach 100. A very good feeling prevails, & the nightly meetings are well attended. There has been one conversion this week, a young man from Scott County. I do not recollect his name. We hope for a general revival soon. Pray for us.

The health of the Regt., with the exception of a number of cases of measles, is quite good. None of the latter cases have proven fatal. I rather think Lieut. Smith is getting them. He feels much like it to-night, but you need not mention it. As it is growing quite late, I will close with [a] kiss for yourself & baby & much love to all.

Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. On the 19th General Granger had telegraphed Colonel Smith to “hold yourself in readiness to march, if required, at a moment’s notice. Meantime fortify strongly to resist a superior force, be vigilant. Keep pickets out to the east and southeast.” Granger to Smith, Dec. 19, 1862, Regimental Papers, 129th Illinois, NA.

   This alert had been triggered by a message from General Rosecrans warning, “John H. Morgan started today from his camp, below Lebanon, with between 5,000 and 6,000 cavalry . . . and a few small batteries, for the purpose of breaking up the railroad.” Orders soon followed for the force at Mitchellville to reinforce the regiment at Buck Lodge. O. R., Ser. I, Vol. XX, pt. II, pp. 200, 202, 212.

2. The 79th Ohio had been posted at Buck Lodge previous to the arrival of the 129th Illinois. On Dec. 21 Colonel Smith had notified General Rosecrans that when his regiment reached Buck Lodge the previous evening he found the 79th Ohio, “with only about 200 men fit for duty, and no fortifications.” To hold the area, he needed a section of artillery. Ibid., p. 214.
3. On Christmas Eve, while J.F.C. and the soldiers of the 129th Illinois guarded the approaches to Buck Lodge, General Morgan and his raiders camped six miles south of Glasgow. As Glasgow is 50 miles northeast of Buck Lodge, this demonstrates that Morgan, as he drove toward the Louisville & Nashville Railroad on his Christmas Raid had hoodwinked Rosecrans and his subordinates. O. R., Ser. I, Vol. XX, pt. I, p. 154.
4. Private Dunham, on Dec. 23, had written his parents, “Thare is some good Union people heare. Thare is one good old lady that brings something in every day for the sick.” Through the South with a Union Soldier, p. 50.

PROSPER ALPINI (1553-1617). De medicina Aegyptiorum. Paris: Apud viduam Gulielmi Pelé, & Joannem Duval, 1646.

Alpini, an Italian physician and botanist, graduated from Padua and traveled through Greece, Crete, and Egypt from 1580 to 1583. Following his travels, he returned to Padua where he remained as professor of botany and director of the botanical garden until his death. This work was one of several books that resulted from his travels and is a comprehensive account of medicine as it was practiced in Egypt.

While in Egypt  Alpini studied its plant life ; his work, De plantis Aegypti  liber, includes over seventy full-page illustrations of Egyptian plants, among them the earliest representations of the coffee and cotton plants. Also included in this work is Alpini’s, De balsam, which sets forth, in the form of a dialogue between an Egyptian and a Hebrew physician, the merits and uses of balsam.

Alpini illustration

Bucks Lodge, Tenn., Dec. 25th 62

My dear Wife

Sixteen days have elapsed since the date of your last letter,¹ & with the news of the prevalence of the Small-Pox all around you, I feel unusually anxious to hear. I have lived in hope for the past ten days expecting Maples by to-day at farthest. This morning we received the unwelcome news that on account of the Small-Pox, he has indefinitely postponed his coming.

Letters were received here today announcing his intention, & I feel alarmed because I believe if you were well you would be among the first to write. I shall be under apprehension of the worst news I can learn until I can hear from you. May God take care of you.

By late advice from Pontiac, we are informed that Wm. J. Russell, J. P. Garner, Dr. Croswell, Mrs. Strawell, Mrs. Stevens & others have the Small-Pox² & that it continues to spread. I am sorry that I did not advise you at the earliest intimations of the disease to sell all & go east to Father’s until Spring; now I fear it is too late. If you think not, go if possible. If we only had received our pay, you now might have sufficient money to go on.

I have but little more to say save that I am well. I am just informed that S. Bennet will go home to-morrow.³ I shall therefore wait until after the evening mail & finish to-night.

Christmas Evening!

The day has passed & no mail. I am informed that communication is cut of[f] by the Rebels some place North of Bowling Green. If it be so, it may be a long time before this reaches you, or before I hear from you.⁴ Rumors are so plenty[iful], however, that I do not credit it.

Mrs. Blackburn & Mrs. Fitch go home on Monday [the 29th] if they can get through, but as they will not risk going to Pontiac or seeing any one from there I shall not send by them.

We have but little news here, a few of the Companies regaled themselves of the good things from home today. I am indebted to Mrs. Blackburn for a piece of very nice cake. We had a can of oysters for supper to-night, making quite a palatable fare.

I wrote to you a few days ago, soon after our arrival in this place.⁵ I cannot boast of being mentally very bright to-night. Our company were up all night last night. The weather is very pleasant. We scarcely ever have fire unless to cook for the past week. It looks a little like rain just now & a prospect of its getting colder.

I should have been happy to have been present at the S. School gathering to-day, yet have feared that but few could assemble under the circumstances [the small-pox epidemic]. Tell me all about it.

I have not recd. the letter from Bro. Johnie yet. I should have written sooner & now feel sorry that I did not. I must now close with the hope that I shall soon hear from you. May God in his infinite mercy keep you from harm. If you can save yourself & babe by leaving, do not hesitate to sacrifice everything & go.

Give my love to all. I commit all unto the hands of God believing all is for the best & shall ever pray,

Your affect Husband

J. F. Culver

1. The reference is to Mary Culver’s letter of Dec. 7 and 8, 1862.
2. Jerome P. Garner was a 48-year-old Pontiac lawyer. In 1860 he was living with his
   wife, Mary, and his three children by a previous marriage. Thomas Croswell was a 40-year-old Pontiac druggist. In 1860 Thomas and Martha Croswell were living with their two children, Augustus and Henrietta. Mrs. Elizabeth Strawell was the wife of Jason W. Strawell, owner and operator of a hardware store. Mrs. Sophia Stevens was the 22-year-old wife of Pontiac carpenter William H. Stevens. Eighth Census, Livingston County, State of Illinois, NA.
3. Seymour Bennett was a 32-year-old Pontiac clerk. In 1860 he was living with his wife, Polly, and their two-year-old son Eddie. Ibid.
4. John Hunt Morgan, having been promoted to brigadier general by the Confederate Congress in recognition of past successes, had left Alexandria, Tenn., on Dec. 22 with 3,100 Rebel cavalrymen. Striking north into Kentucky by way of Glasgow, Morgan’s raiders on Christmas Day, threatened the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Munfordville. Next day the Confederate horse-soldiers struck the railroad, capturing stockades at Bacon Creek and Nolin. Vital bridges and trestles were destroyed. Morgan’s column on the 27th and 28th advanced up the Louisville & Nashville Railroad through Elizabethtown and destroyed the two long Muldraugh Hills trestles. O. R., Ser. I, Vol. XX, pt. I, pp. 154-156.
5. This reference is to J.F.C.’s letter of the 22nd.

photo by Larry Krause

The Hardin Library will be closed Satuday, December 29 and Sunday, December 30.

The library will be open from 7:30am-6pm on Monday, December 31.

The library will be closed on January 1 for the New Year’s holiday and reopen on January 2.

Bucks Lodge, Dec. 22nd 1862

Dear Wife

We left Mitchellsville on Saturday [the 20th] about 3 P.M. & arrived on the ground about 1/4 mile from here after dark & camped.¹ Yesterday (Sunday) we moved to where we now are encamped & pitched our tents which occupied all the day. We are in the woods on a high hill.² I have not yet been out of the timber to see what view is afforded from our position.

Mrs. Blackburn & Mrs. Fitch of Fairbury arrived in Mitchellsville on Friday evening. I feel truly sorry for them. Mrs. Blackburn’s baby was quite sick, & in the excitement of Saturday, they must all have suffered severely. They were brought through in an ambulance, but as we have been threatened with an attack every day they cannot enjoy themselves. The probability [is] that we will fall back from this point very soon to some other place. I understand the ladies will start home immediately, &, as they came with the intention of staying all winter, they must be sorely disappointed. They lost their trunks & all their clothes on the way, & no one here has any opportunity to look for them.

My health is much better. I feel almost as well as ever though the Jaundice has not entirely left me.

I recd. a letter from Duff Saturday with Saul’s letter enclosed. I find C. J. Beattie has gone to Chicago without paying as he promised. Employ some one to attend to it immediately. If Mr. Utley goes to Chicago, he will perhaps attend to it. I believe the amt. is $29.21. M. E. Collins has his receipt given to me for the note. Something must be done immediately. The money I am under bonds for & must be paid. It should have been paid the 1st of August & is due the heirs of J. H. Dart, decd. The Amt. to make up the balance is in the hands of M. E. Collins, & I fear has never been forwarded. I feel alarmed as it is a matter of more than ordinary urgency, & I must know if there is any possibility.³ Please do all you can.

Mrs. Smith & Maples are expected soon.

Give my love to all. It seems a long time since I have heard from home. Write soon

Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. The 129th Illinois had been ordered from Mitchellville to Buck Lodge on Dec. 20. There they would guard the Drakes Creek railroad bridges and the water tank.
2. There were several high hills, both over 900 feet, on either side of the railroad at Buck Lodge. USGS—Fountain Head Quadrangle—7.5 Series.
3. J.F.C. had been bonded as an executor of the Dart Estate. Duff had been his law partner, while Beattie and Collins were other Pontiac attorneys.

If you have not noticed it yet, type a drug name into Google search box and you will see a quick information box on the right side of your results page. Google announced this new feature on Dec 11, 2001 on Google +.

At the bottom of the box, sources are acknowledged and a link for reporting errors provided. A prominently placed disclaimer states “Consult a doctor if you have a medical concern.”