Civil War Letters and Diaries

Overview

These letters and diaries chronicle the experiences of five Batavia soldiers from two Illinois infantry regiments (52nd and 124th Illinois Infantry), as well as the experiences of their family and friends, who wrote to the soldiers during the Civil War.
This collection contains the Civil War letters or diaries of these Batavia soldiers:

Fred Morris (124th Illinois Infantry) G. W. Young (124th Illinois Infantry) D. C. Newton (52nd Illinois Infantry)

James P. Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry) Jason R. Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry) Legore Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry)

This digitization project was a collaboration among the Batavia Public Library, Batavia Depot Museum, and Batavia Historical Society.
The original diaries and letters are held by the Batavia Depot Museum.

Preservation and digitization supported in part by an award from the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National Archives and Records Administration; and supported in part from an Illinois Public Library Per Capita Grant

Fred Morris (124th Illinois Infantry)

Fred Morris, circa 1900, from a GAR group photo (photo courtesy of the Batavia Depot Museum)

Frederick V. L. “Fred” Morris (1844 – 1918), of Batavia, Illinois, enlisted as a Private in the 124th Illinois Infantry, Company B, in September 1862, at age 29. He was promoted to Corporal. He was mustered out in August 1865. After the war, he lived in Batavia and worked for many years at the U. S. Wind Engine & Pump Company. He died on October 24, 1918, and is buried in West Batavia Cemetery in Batavia, Illinois.

Diaries of Fred Morris This collection contains Fred Morris’s diaries, which cover January to October 1864, when his regiment, the 124th Illinois Infantry, saw action near Vicksburg, Mississippi and Montgomery, Alabama.

Fred Morris’s diary

Diary of Fred Morris (January – April 1864)

Diary of Fred Morris (September – October 1864)

Diary of Fred Morris (July 1865)

G. W. Young (124th Illinois Infantry)

Gilbert W. Young (1843 – 1882), of Batavia, Illinois, enlisted as a Private in the 124th Illinois Infantry, Company B, in August 1862 at age 19. He was promoted to Sergeant. He was mustered out in August 1865. He died on May 30, 1882, and is buried in East Batavia Cemetery.

Diary of G. W. Young

This collection contains G. W. Young’s diary, which reports his experiences from January to December 1864, when his regiment, the 124th Illinois Infantry, saw action near Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Diary of G. W. Young (January – December 1864)

Letters of G. W. Young This collection contains G. W. Young’s letters to his mother, Maria L. Ball Young (1820 – 1892), and his sister, Celia S. Young (1841 – 1913), both of Batavia, Illinois. G. W. Young’s letters describe his experiences during and after the Siege of Vicksburg.

Letters written by G. W. Young to Maria L. Ball Young and Celia Young (May – September 1863)

D. C. Newton (52nd Illinois Infantry)

D. C. Newton, in 1862, at Camp Montgomery in Corinth, Mississippi (seated on left side of porch).
Some of his letters were sent from this camp. (photo courtesy of the Batavia Depot Museum)

Don Carlos Newton (1832 – 1893), of Batavia, Illinois, was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Company D, in September 1861, at age 30. Newton was promoted to Captain in December 1861. He served in the same regiment as his brothers-in-law James P. Prindle, Jason R. Prindle, and Legore Prindle . D. C. Newton took part in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (Battle of Shiloh), the battle of Fort Donelson, the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Corinth, the Atlanta campaign, and Sherman’s March to the Sea. He was mustered out in December 1864.

D. C. Newton worked with his father, Levi Newton, who founded Newton Wagon Company in Batavia, Illinois. Upon his father’s death in 1879, D. C. Newton became President of Newton Wagon Company, and served in that role for the remainder of his life. D. C. Newton died on October 8, 1893, and is buried at West Batavia Cemetery in Batavia, Illinois .

For more Civil War letters by Don Carlos Newton, please see the Cpt. Don Carlos Newton, 52nd Illinois website.

Letters of D. C. Newton
This collection contains letters from D. C. Newton to his wife Mary M. Prindle Newton (1835 – 1913), of Batavia, Illinois.

Letter written by D. C. Newton

Letters written by D. C. Newton to Mary M. Prindle Newton (February 1861 – November 1864)

Letters of D. C. Newton and Mary M. Prindle Newton

Mary M. Prindle Newton and her daughter May
(photo courtesy of the Batavia Depot Museum)

This collection contains letters written between D. C. Newton and his wife Mary M. Prindle Newton (1835 – 1913), of Batavia, Illinois.

Letters written by D. C. Newton to Mary M. Prindle Newton
(August – October 1862)

Letters of Mary M. Prindle
Newton Letter written by Mary M. Prindle Newton

This collection contains letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton (1835 – 1913), of Batavia, Illinois, to her husband, D. C. Newton.

Letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton to D. C. Newton
(December 1861 – March 1862)

Letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton to D. C. Newton
(March – November 1862)

Letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton to D. C. Newton
(July 1862 – April 1864)

Letters of Levi Newton and Rachel Newton

This collection contains letters written by Levi Newton (1810 – 1879) and Rachel Newton (1814 – 1900) of Batavia, Illinois, to their son, D. C. Newton.

Letters written by Levi Newton and Rachel Newton to D. C. Newton (May 1862 – October 1863)

Letters of Mary M. Prindle Newton, Mary A. Newton, and Helen Newton

This collection contains letters written by various Newton family members to D. C. Newton. The collection includes letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton (1835 – 1913) of Batavia, Illinois, to her husband D. C. Newton; as well as letters written by Mary A. Newton (1843 – 1892) and Helen Newton (1840 – 1916), both of Batavia, Illinois, to their brother D. C. Newton.

Letters written by Mary M. Prindle Newton, Mary A. Newton, and Helen Newton, to D. C. Newton
(April 1862 to April 1864)

Letters of Jane Gammon, Helen Newton, Elisha Foote, and Benjamin F. Stephens

This collection contains letters written by, or addressed to, members of the Newton family. The collection includes letters to D. C. Newton written by his sisters Jane Gammon (1833 – 1892) and Helen Newton (1840 – 1916), both of Batavia, Illinois; letters written by Elisha Foote (1826 – ?) to his sister-in-law Jane Gammon; and letters written by Benjamin F. Stephens (1st Illinois Light Artillery, Battery B) to D. C. Newton.

Letters written by Jane Gammon, Helen Newton, and Benjamin F. Stephens, to D. C. Newton; and letters written by Elisha Foote to Jane Gammon
(January 1862 to February 1864)

James P. Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry) Jason R. Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry) Legore Prindle (52nd Illinois Infantry)

James P. Prindle, circa 1890, from a group photo of the Newton Wagon Company employees (photo courtesy of the Batavia Depot Museum)

James P. Prindle (1841 – 1916), of Batavia, Illinois, served as a Sergeant in the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Company D. He enlisted in September 1861 at age 21, in the same regiment as his brothers Jason R. Prindle and Legore Prindle, and his brother-in-law D. C. Newton. He took part in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (Battle of Shiloh). He was discharged an invalid in July 1862, after falling ill with measles, mumps, and fever. Following the war, James Prindle worked at various farm implement companies in the Chicago area. Beginning in 1874, he served for twenty years as a superintendent of works at the Newton Wagon Company in Batavia, Illinois. He died on March 7, 1916, and is buried at West Batavia Cemetery in Batavia, Illinois.

Jason R. Prindle (1844 – 1900), of Batavia, Illinois, served as a Sergeant in the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Company D. He enlisted in September 1861 at age 19, in the same regiment as his brothers James P. Prindle and Legore Prindle, and his brother-in-law D. C. Newton. He re-enlisted in December 1863. Jason R. Prindle took part in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (Battle of Shiloh), the battle of Fort Donelson, the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Corinth, the Atlanta campaign, and Sherman’s March to the Sea. He was mustered out in July 1865. After the war, he lived in Chicago and Evanston. He died on October 9, 1900, is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Legore Prindle (1846 – 1862), of Batavia, Illinois, served as a Private in the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Company D. He enlisted in September 1861 at age 15, in the same regiment as his brothers James P. Prindle and Jason R. Prindle, and his brother-in-law D. C. Newton. (Although his enlistment records indicate that Legore Prindle enlisted at age 18, U.S. Census records confirm that he was only 15 years old at the time of his enlistment.) At the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (Battle of Shiloh), he contracted typhoid fever. He died of typhoid fever on May 11, 1862, at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, and is buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Legore Prindle’s gravestone, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri (digitally enhanced photo)

Letters of Legore Prindle, Jason R. Prindle, James P. Prindle. Helen Newton, and Mary M. Prindle Newton This collection contains letters written by soldiers Legore Prindle, Jason R. Prindle, and James P. Prindle, and by other members of the Prindle family of Batavia, Illinois. It includes letters written by Legore Prindle and Jason R. Prindle to their sister Mary M. Prindle Newton (1835 – 1913) of Batavia, Illinois; letters written by James P. Prindle to his sister; letters written by Helen Newton (1840 – 1916) of Batavia, Illinois, to Legore Prindle; and letters written by Mary M. Prindle to her brother James P. Prindle. Letters written by Legore Prindle, Jason R. Prindle, Helen Newton, Mary M. Prindle Newton, and James P. Prindle (September 1861 to July 1863)