Description
This collection contains papers of Clemens L. Clendenen and his family, chiefly consisting of correspondence from the 1850s-1860s
and including sentiments about
the American Civil War and the life of the common soldier, as seen primarily in letters from Clendenen to his wife in Beverly,
Ohio.
Background
The Clendenens were a farming family in Beverly, Ohio. In the mid 1850s, Hyram Clendenen, son of James Clendenden, moved to
a Gold Rush town of Iowa
Hill, California. In August, 1863, his brother, Clemens L. Clendenen, an Ohio farmer, enlisted in the 4th West Virginia Cavalry.
This one-year
regiment was on duty at Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Grafton, New Creek and other points on Baltimore & Ohio Railroad till June
1864, guarding railroads
and operating against guerillas. Clemens L. Clendenen served as a cook and barber. Captured during the action at Williamsport,
January 30, 1864, he died in the
Andersonville prison in summer of 1864. Willard Lambden Clendenen was a farmer and laborer in Kansas in 1880's. Col. Clarence
Clemens Clandenen,
a prominent military historian and grandson of Clemens L. Clendenen, was curator of special collections, Hoover Institution
on War, Revolution and Peace.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.