Processed by
Emily Castle
January 2006
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 manuscript box, 2 cased images |
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COLLECTION |
1860–1861 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Early American History Auctions, Inc., La Jolla, CA, January 2000 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
2000.0279 |
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NOTES: |
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Robert De Forest Lee was born about 1838 in Pennsylvania and raised in Morris County, New Jersey, where his family lived in Morristown and Littleton. Sometime before March 1860 he immigrated to Ogden, Henry County, Indiana, to work in collaboration with his uncle D.O. Benjamin of Indianapolis in the lumber business.
Both Robert and his cousin Theodore Benjamin volunteered for service in the spring of 1861 at Indianapolis. At first Robert was accepted into the cavalry under Captain Moreau, but on 24 April was let go by Adjutant General Lew Wallace as being redundant. Four months later, on 5 September, he successfully volunteered at Knightstown, Indiana, for three years service in the volunteer cavalry, again under Captain Moreau. On 18 October he mustered into I Company, Indiana Third Cavalry. The village of Ogden gave him a horse and so he and the other mounted volunteers rode from Knightstown to Camp Fremont for training.
At the end of November the company left Indianapolis to join the Department of the Ohio. After taking the Louisville and Nashville railroad sixty miles into Kentucky, they joined General McCook at Camp Nevin near the newly secessionist General Buckner. Robert and his company rode thirty-five miles to Buckner’s farm on the Green River to destroy any property that would give sustenance to the rebels.
Lee’s military career and life were cut short only a few weeks later when he died in a hospital in Louisville. There is some dispute as to the cause of death and actual date. According to the company Muster Roll for 18 October to 31 December 1861, he died of typhoid fever on 28 December; according to the company Muster-out Roll of October 1864 he died of pneumonia on 31 December.
Sources:
Materials in collection.
This collection is the record of a short military career, less than four months, which gives a portrait of volunteer service in the first year of the war when supplies and men were plentiful. The fourteen letters in the collection are arranged in chronological order. Five of the letters are from Lee’s family living in New Jersey, one from his uncle in Indianapolis about the lumber business, and three from his cousin Theodore when he was in the army and Lee was not. There are also four letters from Lee about his training and his interaction with Buckner’s position. In addition, are copies of his company’s muster rolls, biographical information, partial transcripts of the letters, and two daguerreotype cased images of Lee as a boy and young adult.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Typed transcripts of letters, n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Letter from cousin S.W. Tuttle to Lee in Ogden, 5 Mar. 1860 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Military Discharge, 23 Apr. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Letter from cousin Theodore at Camp Morton, 28 Apr. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Letter from cousin Theodore at Camp Morton, 3 May 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Letter from cousin Theodore at Camp Morton, 11 May 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Letter from uncle D.O. Benjamin in Indianapolis, 24 May 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Letter from sister and mother in Littleton, New Jersey, 18 June 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Letter to family in Morristown, New Jersey, re: enlistment in the army, 25 Sept. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Letter from brother Clarence in Littleton, New Jersey, 25 Oct. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Letter to sister Emily in Littleton, New Jersey, written at Camp Fremont, 7 Nov. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Letter to mother in Littleton, New Jersey, written at Camp Nevin, Kentucky, 25 Nov. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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Letter to sister Emily in Littleton, New Jersey, written at Camp Jenkins, 27 Nov. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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Letter from sister Emily, 8 Dec. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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Letter from mother, 9 Dec. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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Letter from cousin Ferdinand Benjamin in Ogden, Indiana, 15 Dec. 1861 |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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Muster Rolls (photocopies), 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 17 |
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Biographical information (photocopies), n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 18 |
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Robert D.F. Lee as a child, Daguerreotype, ca. 1840s |
Cased Images: Box 1 |
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Robert D.F. Lee as a young adult, Daguerreotype, ca. 1850s |
Cased Images: Box 2 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0865).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.