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Head Qurs., 1st Brig., 1st Div., 11th A.C.
In the Field March 3rd 1864
My Dear Wife

We are as far as Cowan Station at the foot of the mountains;¹ we will cross to-morrow if nothing happens. We are all well. We will receive no letters till we get to Stevenson, two days more. I shall anticipate a letter there.

I hope you are well. Give my love to all. May our Father in Heaven keep you.

Your Affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. The sky having cleared, the brigade broke camp on March 2 and travelled ten miles, halting after crossing Elk River. On the 3d a similar distance was logged. Grunert, History of the 129th Illinois, pp. 46-47.

Alexander Graham Bell is known as an inventor, scientist, and engineering.  He is well-known for his invention of the telephone and was involved in many other inventions.

His invention of the telephone came from his desire to help the deaf hear and had done research into speech articulation following his father’s work.  The patent was issued on March 7, 1876.  The telephone itself is clouded with controversy of who invented it first and lead to a series of lawsuits.  This includes lawsuits with such people as an Italian inventor, Antonio Meucci.  The most famous conflict is with Elisha Gray , who visited the patent office the same day as Bell had submitted his patent application with a claim on a similar design.  Bell eventually came up on top in these cases and, with in a year of patenting, set up the Bell Telephone Company.

 

After the telephone, Bell went on to completely different experiments and inventions.  Many of these were related to the areas of medical science.  He worked extensively on creating a mechanical breathing apparatus, the predecessor of the iron lung. He had hope to save the lives of drowning victims and premature babies. Bell also conducted research into heavier-than-air flight and founded the Aerial Experiment Association.

Bell sought to advance scientific knowledge and was one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society.  He was the president from 1898 to 1903.

Learn More: 

• Videos:
  • Davis, Rick. 2005. Alexander graham bell: Voice of invention. New York, NY : A&E Television Networks
  • McInerney, Michael, Entertainment Network Arts and, Edelman Productions., and History Channel (Television network). 2006. Man, moment, machine. alexander graham bell & the astonishing telephone. New York, N.Y.: A&E Television Networks
• Books
  • Bell, Alexander Graham,. 1881. Proof from alexander graham bell’s own mouth: That he never contemplated a speaking telephone in his 1876 patent and that he never transmitted speech with any instrument mentioned in said patent, but on the contrary made a complete failure in every effort to do so. United States : s.n.  Law Electronic Resource.
  • Dickerson, E. N., James Jackson Storrow , Chauncey Smith , A. E. Dolbear, Telephone Company Molecular, Telephone Company Clay Commercial, Telephone Company American Bell, Telephone Company People’s, Overland Telephone Company of,New Jersey, and United States. 2007. The telephone appeals. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein & Co. Law Electronic Resource.
  • Eber, Dorothy. 1982. Genius at work : Images of alexander graham bell. New York : Viking Press TK6143.B4 E23 Main Library.
  • Evenson, A. E. 2000. The telephone patent conspiracy of 1876 : The elisha gray-alexander bell controversy and its many players . Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland  TK6018.B4 E94 2000 Main Library.
  • Gray, Charlotte,. 2006. Reluctant genius : Alexander graham bell and the passion for invention / charlotte gray. Vol. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Arcade Pub. : Distributed by Hachette Book Group USA  TK6143.B4 G73 2006 Engineering Library.
  • Grosvenor, Edwin S., and Morgan Wesson . 1997. Alexander graham bell : The life and times of the man who invented the telephone. New York : Harry Abrams  FOLIO TK6143.B4 G76 1997 Main Oversize.
  • Schils, René. 2012. How james watt invented the copier: Forgotten inventions of our great scientists. New York, NY : Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Electronic Resource
  • Shulman, Seth. 2008. The telephone gambit : Chasing alexander graham bell’s secret / seth shulman. Vol. 1st ed. New York : W. W. Norton & Co.  TK6018.B4 S58 2008 Engineering Library.

 

References: 

• Bell, Alexander Graham, Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed March 3, 2014,  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/76302/Alexander-Graham-Bell
• Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “Alexander Graham Bell,” accessed March 03, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/59564/Alexander-Graham-Bell.
• Davis, Rick. 2005. Alexander graham bell: Voice of invention. New York, NY : A&E Television Networks
• Schils, René. 2012. How james watt invented the copier: Forgotten inventions of our great scientists. New York, NY : Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Electronic Resource
• Shulman, Seth. 2008. The telephone gambit : Chasing alexander graham bell’s secret / seth shulman. Vol. 1st ed. New York : W. W. Norton & Co.  TK6018.B4 S58 2008 Engineering Library.
• telephone: Bell inaugurating the telephone link between New York City and Chicago on Oct. 18, 1892, Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed March 3, 2014,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/120540/Alexander-Graham-Bell-who-patented-the-telephone-in-1876-inaugurating

Are PDFs scattered all over your computer with names that you cannot pronounce? Want to create an organized, clearly named, and internet-accessible personal library? This hands-on session will show you how using free tools such as Mendeley and Dropbox as well as commercial tools such as EndNote and RefWorks. Attendees are encouraged to bring a selection of PDFs with them.

All Hardin Open Workshops are free for UI students and affiliates. There will be time for questions at the end.

Our next session is:

Thursday, March 6 from 3-4 pm

Location: Hardin Library East Information Commons

Register here. To learn more, call us at (319) 335-9151 or email us at hardin-lib@uiowa.edu

 

Head Qurs., 1st Brig. 1st Div. 11th A.C.
In the Field near Tullahoma
March 1st 1864
My Dear Wife

We reached this place yesterday evening amid one of the worst rain storms I ever was in. It rained very hard from noon yesterday until noon to-day. It has been so cold that we almost perished. The ground is all mud, & in mud & water we are encamped. It was impossible to march to-day. Part of our train has just got in, some 15 wagons together with the rear guard were in the mud all night. I went out with Col. Harrison to bring them up. In coming the last 2-1/2 miles, five of our mules died in the wagons. Several died last night.

All are in good spirits, & the boys are cheering each other up. Since it has quit raining, we are beginning to get dry.

I recd. your letter this morning, dated the 22nd, but mailed the 21st [sic]. I am most happy to learn that you are well. I would rather you would not engage in teaching if you can otherwise content yourself.¹ I will try hard to keep my pledge to protect & provide for you while my life & health is spared. Yet as I cannot be with you, I wish you to use your own pleasure in the disposition of your time. You have not been a dead weight on my hands. You are all the world to me, and the thoughts of you comfort me amid all the trials of life. May God bless you and spare us.

I recd. letters this morning from Bro. Johnie, H. C. Cheston, J. M. Barr & Cordelia Dunmire. All are well. I will enclose some.²

My hands get so cold I cannot write. I will try & write every day. We will leave here to-morrow. I have not seen the Company to-day but last night all were well.

Give my love to all. Write as often as you can. We have collected $600 for the Band. I do not know whether I will be sent home or not, I think it doubtful. Pray for me. May our Heavenly Father keep you in health & happiness.

Farewell,
Your Affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. Mary Culver’s letter of February 22 is missing from the Culver Collection. In this letter, Mary had raised the subject of securing a position as teacher in the Pontiac school system.
2. The letter from Sergt. John Murphy was dated February 19 and mailed from Loudon, Tenn. Sergt. Murphy had written of his surprise at learning that Brother Sammy had enlisted. When Sammy had raised the subject, John had told “him to go to school two or three years, and then if necessity required it, to get into the army.” John Murphy to J.F.C., Feb. 19, 1864, Culver Collection. H. C. Cheston’s letter was postmarked Carlisle, Feb. 20, 1864, and Cordelia Dunmire’s (illegible), Feb. 15, 1864.

Head Quarters, 1st Brig., 1st Div., 11th A.C.
In Camp on Big Flat Creek, 5 miles South of Shelbyville
Febry. 28th 1864
My Dear Wife

Though this is [the] Sabbath, we have marched 16 miles.¹ It rained sufficient to lay the dust & marching is very pleasant. The Post Office in Shelbyville was closed, so that we had no opportunity to mail letters.

To-morrow we will reach Tullahoma, if nothing happens, where we can send our letters back, & I hope we will get some mail. Everything passed off very pleasantly. The men are tired. The roads since we left Shelbyville are not good. We will have no more pike & may expect some bad roads.

My health is good. The country through which we passed to-day north of Shelbyville was very fine; on this side, it is very broken. I should have been pleased to call & see Bro. Johnie’s lady friends there [at Shelbyville], but I have forgotten their names.² We got into camp about two o’clock.

Write to me often. May God bless you with health and happiness. Be cheerful; all things work to gether for our good. Give love to all & accept the most ardent for yourself.

Your Affect. Husb.
J. F. Culver

1. On the 26th Harrison’s brigade broke camp at sunrise, and by 10 o’clock halted on the Stones River battlefield. The soldiers visited the graves, paled at the sight of bleaching bones, and shook their heads at the way the storm of canister and exploding shells had shredded the cedars near Round Forest. The march was resumed and, passing through Murfreesboro, the troops halted and camped alongside the Shelbyville Pike south of town. A 13-mile march was made on the 27th, but it was fatiguing because several streams, the bridges of which had been destroyed, had to be forded, and the road “was either covered with several inches of dust, or led through a rocky, hill country.” Grunert, History of the 129th Illinois, pp. 45-46.
2. Sergt. John Murphy had been stationed at Shelbyville from June 29 to September 6, 1863. While there he had courted several local girls.

Do you use Web of Science in your research? The UI Libraries provide free access to Web of Science, an excellent multidisciplinary citation database. Join us for a Web of Science Workshop and learn advanced techniques that will help you conduct your research more efficiently and effectively.

Lunch @ the Sciences Library
Web of Science Workshop
12:30-1:20pm, Wednesday, March 5th
102 SL (Sciences Library Classroom)

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Access Web of Science from off-campus;
• Use Advanced Search to retrieve more relevant search results;
• Analyze search results by author, organization, publication year, etc.;
• Save citations from Web of Science to citation managers;
• Set up Saved Searches and Citation Alerts to keep up with the literature in your field;
• Find the full-text of citations retrieved in Web of Science;
• Get help when you need it!

This workshop is free and open to all UI students, faculty and staff. There is no need to register. You may bring your lunch if desired. Free coffee will be provided. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Scheib at sara-scheib@uiowa.edu or (319) 335-3024.

NCBI provides a list of tips for common problems when using their website: Browser Advice for NCBI Web Pages.