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Nathaniel Wheeler correspondence
mssHM 81470-81546
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Title: Nathaniel Wheeler correspondence
Dates: 1865-1867
Collection Number: mssHM 81470-81546
Creator:
Wheeler, Nathaniel S., 1832-1904
Extent:
77 items in 2 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: manuscripts@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of 76 letters, the majority addressed to Nathaniel S. Wheeler at various "Wild West" duty posts such
as Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Craig, New Mexico.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
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 permission rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item], Nathaniel Wheeler correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Cowan's Auctions, November 21, 2014
Nathaniel S. Wheeler served three years in the New Hampshire 11th Infantry in the Civil War, being discharged on April 24,
1865, to become a lieutenant in the 125th Regiment, US Colored Troops. After the war, the 125th was sent west to fight the
Plains Indians. Promoted to captain of Company "G," he mustered out on October 3, 1867, shortly before the regiment was disbanded.
Wheeler's wife, Nellie F. Stanley, writes mostly about the health of friends and family, the weather, and daily life in Enfield,
New Hampshire. She often mentions Mrs. Day, whose husband is also a captain, serving along with Wheeler. The difficulty of
a long distant marriage is expressed in one letter dated April 12, 1866: "I don't know what I want to live for. Natt have
I got to give you up...Dear Natt leave me I can't be happy. Oh! Natt what made you enlist again..." Based on the contents
of Stanley's letters, Wheeler is hunting buffalos, chasing Indians, and writes often about his adopted pets named Pinky and
Fanny. Also, Wheeler's portrayal of the American frontier is probably not favorable because Stanley writes "...don't think
I should care to go so far to see the Country don't think it can be pretty by your description. I never should want my home
in Mexico" (Oct. 28, 1866).
There are a few letters from friends, possibly family, updating Wheeler on politics. In one letter concerning the Copperheads,
W.C. Clough writes, "Well Nat I suppose the whole Copperhead party would vote for the d m d old Cuss to day. But what few
there are here do not dare to advocate his policy. What a damnd old fool the old Cuss has made of himself...if he don't mind
his eye he may get kicked out of his box next Dec..." (Oct. 19, 1866).
While most of the letters are from his wife, there are a few from colleagues manning other frontier forts. Writing from Fort
Craig, New Mexico, a fellow soldier encounters a blizzard in Rio Puerco, New Mexico: "When we got to the Rio Puerco we had
a bitterly cold storm with snow and a heavy north wind, so that I laid there two nights and a day, during the whole time every
one staid in bed to keep warm as there was no wood and what little fire could be raised was needed for cooking" (April 11,
1867). The hardship and frustration in the southwest desert is described in another passage by A.K. [Kepurr?]: "Isn't this
a horrible country-I cannot express myself to my satisfaction if I were a swearing man...I am getting more tired of it every
day. What trouble these infernal Indians are" (July 26, 1867). On May 11, 1867, Wheeler is regaled with the tale of Lt. Clifford:
"Lt. Clifford of the 2nd Cav halted through here a short time ago on a seven day leave, after his wife who again left him
whilst he was kept under guard. He did not catch her though, at Albuquerque he drew a revolver on Col. Duncan and demanded
his wife from him or something else to that effect, doing the same towards several other officers, for which he suddenly found
himself in the guard house." In another letter written by William Langley Seran from Leavenworth, Kansas, Seran describes
lonesome life in Kansas and the farming opportunities. In one passage, he proposes "...it would be a good idea to form a Colony
of the Officers of the 125th then we could have a good Society to commence with and inviting" (Nov. 24, 1867).
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Wheeler, Nathaniel S., 1832-1904
United States. Army. Colored Infantry Regiment, 125 (1865-1867)
Copperhead movement
Farmers--Kansas
Frontier and pioneer life--Kansas
Frontier and pioneer life--New Mexico
Husband and wife
Indians of North America
New Hampshire--Politics and government--1865-1950
New Hampshire--Social life and customs
Letters (correspondence)--United States--19th century
Postmarks--United States--19th century