Matthias Davis Civil War letters and diary, 1861 - 1933, bulk: 1861 - 1862

File — Box: 3

Identifier: MSS-SM 025

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Approximately 35 letters (1861-1862) that Union soldier Matthias Davis wrote to his wife Jane during the Civil War while serving with the 7th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers stationed first at Camp Dumont in Kentucky, and later at Camp Elk-Water in West Virginia. Davis served from September 1861 until his death from measles and pneumonia in March 1862. He discusses life in the camp, as well as military advancements made during his time in the war. In addition to writing about the marches his unit makes, Davis talks of illness spreading through the camp and the conditions of he and his fellow soldiers. While the bulk of the letters are in good condition, some are faded and transcriptions of these are a part of the collection.

The collection also contains a copy of the diary that Matthias Davis kept from September 3rd, 1861, until March 5th, 1862 (donor holds the original); copies of marriage certificates and pension forms (the originals are in the National Archives); and a variety of other materials, including an anonymous love poem; a May 20, 1864 lottery letter from the Edgerton Brothers agency in Covington, Kentucky; a newspaper clipping about the Battle Among the Clouds; and a copy of “The Harvest is Past,” a poem attributed to Matthias Davis and written on December 6, 1861.

Dates

Creation: 1861 - 1933
Creation: Majority of material found within 1861 - 1862

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. When requesting access to a small collection, please include the File Identifier (eg. MSS-SM ###) in your request.

Biographical Note

Matthias Davis (1836–1862) was born to Eliza Jane Butner and Isaac E. Davis in Southern Indiana. According to John Davis Stegman, Davis’s great grandson, he was orphaned; however, this is unclear, as ancestry records indicate that his mother outlived him by fourteen years. In 1860, Davis married Martha Jane Vankirk in Ripley County, Indiana. They had one son, John Rafferty Davis, in 1861. On September 13, 1861, at Milford, Indiana, Davis enlisted as a private in Company D of the 7th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. His regiment traveled from Indianapolis to Cincinnati and finally to West Virginia, where it established permanent headquarters at Camp Elkwater.

On October 3, 1861, Davis participated in the Battle of GreenBrier River. Soon after, he suffered a series of illnesses that caused him to fall behind his regiment. He stayed with Abraham McDaniels, who lived near Philippi, West Virginia, for three weeks until his health returned. Davis rejoined his regiment in Springfield, Virginia, on December 26, 1861. His health once again declined, and Davis was placed on the sick list on January 26, 1862. Four days later, he came down with measles. On January 31, 1862, he was admitted to a post hospital in Cumberland, Maryland. Matthias Davis died on March 15, 1862, of lung fever (pneumonia) and the measles.

Extent

0.125 Linear Feet (8 folders)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated in 2000 by John Davis Stegman, Ph.D., great-grandson of Matthias Davis.

Related Materials

James Alexander Hanlin Civil War Letters, 1863-1864, MSS-SM 006, Special Collections, Rare Books, and University Archives, Irwin Library, Butler University.

Eaton Family Civil War Letters, 1862-1864, MSS-SM 007, Special Collections, Rare Books, and University Archives, Irwin Library, Butler University.

Bibliography

Ancestry.com. 2012. “Ancestry Family Trees: Matthias Davis.” Ancestry.com. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA:

Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. 2012. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/77804821/person/130149145380/facts.

Ancestry.com. 201. “U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current.” Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2012. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/18798374:60525.

Processing Information

This collection was organized into 16 folders when initially received by the archives; it was later re-processed by then Special Collections Associate Evan N. Miller in April 2020, with duplicates removed and the collection being narrowed down to eight folders. In July 2021, student intern Emma Thom revised the collection guide and added additional information gathered by historical research. In July 2023, student intern Jacob Sherer revised the collection guide as a part of an archival processing backlog project to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.