Sparks family papers, 1856-1897, bulk 1861-1864

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Summary

Creators:
Sparks (Family)
Abstract:
Correspondence and documents of the Sparks and Reed families.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sparks family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Letters from Michael R. Reed, William Sparks, and Clara Jane Cavitt to Minerva Sparks Reed; also documents relating to the Sparks family.

Michael Reed's letters describe the regiment's march through Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, the minutia of camp life, and encounters with Union prisoners. He at length discusses conscription, substitutes, and desertions, and duly reported war news, often rather distorted (thus he reported rumors of a complete Confederate victory at Gettysburg and Vicksburg).

William Sparks' letters were written during the siege of Vicksburg and blockade of Galveston. They contain information about camp life, diseases, (especially the outbreak of yellow fever), conscripts, Methodist preaching in Galveston, war news, and discussion of Confederate politics.

The letters of Clara Jane Cavitt and other papers of the Sparks family document life in Texas in 1850-1860s, including charity and war efforts, reaction to the conscript law of April 1862, and discussion of war news.

Typewritten transcripts are available.

Biographical / historical:

The Sparks family of Bell County, Texas, was founded by William C. Sparks, a native of Mississippi. Having obtained a grant of land from the Mexican government, he settled in Robertson county and moved to Bell County in the early 1850s. He married Jane Alexander (d. 1867), a native of Arkansas. They had six children: Clara Jane (who married Volney Cavitt and lived in Wheelock, Robertson County), John, Elijah (private of Co. I of the 17th Texas Infantry, who died of pneumonia in camp in Dec. 1862), William C. (private of Co. E of 2nd Texas), Minerva (wife of Michael Reed), and Samuel A. (who ended the Civil War with the rank of the Lieutenant, and later was a farmer in Wilkinson Valley and sheriff of the Bell County).

Michael R. Reed, son of John R. Reed and husband of Minerva Sparks, joined the 17th Regiment of the Texas Infantry in June 1862, together with his brothers, Henry and Edmund, and his brother-in-law, Elijah. The regiment, part of Walker's Texas Division, McCulloch's Brigade, took part in the Red River Campaign. In Dec. 1862, Michael Reed was a male nurse at a hospital in Austin, Arkansas. In June-July 1863, he was sent to a convalescent camp four miles north of Monroe, Louisiana. In Dec. 1863 he went home on furlough. In March, when he returned to camp, he was arrested and was about to be court-martialed. He died of wounds in July, 1864 near Alexandria, La.

William Sparks, brother of Minerva Sparks Reed, joined the 2nd Texas Infantry, nicknamed "2nd Texas Sharpshooters." The regiment, one of the best drilled regiments in the Confederate Army, took part in the battle of Shiloh, Farmington, occupation of Juka, siege of Corinth, and siege of Vicksburg. It surrendered with the remainder of the Vicksburg garrison on July 4, 1863. After the surrender of Vicksburg, William Sparks made it back to Texas. The regiment was reorganized at Houston in the fall 1863, and served on the coast of Texas to the end of the war.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Butterfield Butterfield, May 1999.
Processing information:

Processed by Olga Tsapina in 2015. In 2024, Mari Khasmanyan rehoused transcript material into box 3 and updated the linear feet of the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sparks family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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