Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
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Cataloging Information
Processed by:
Paul Brockman
15 April 1991 and 3 December 1991
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 manuscript box and 1 small manuscript box (.75 linear feet)
COLLECTION DATES: 1859-1865
PROVENANCE: Mark Sutton, Carmel, Indiana, 5 April 1991 and 1 August 1991, Robert M. Taylor, Jr., Indianapolis, Indiana, May 1992
RESTRICTIONS: None
COPYRIGHT: Held by Indiana Historical Society
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FIINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION NUMBERS: 91.0334, 91.0628, 92.0527
Lucius P. Chapin was a resident of Putnam County, Indiana. On 11 August 1862, he was mustered into the Union Army as a member of Company M of the 4th Indiana Cavalry (77th Regiment). He served as the company quartermaster sergeant and was mustered out on 29 June 1865 as a first sergeant. After the war Chapin became an attorney in Greencastle, Indiana. He later served as the city's mayor (1876-1880) and postmaster (1898-1902). He was the husband of Ruby Alice Osborn Chapin (1838-1907).
Sources:
Terrell, Report of W.H.H. Terrell, Adjutant General, Indiana, vol. 6, p. 265
Biographical Historical Record of Putnam County, Indiana, pp. 301 318
Weik, History of Putnam County, p. 175
The papers consist of 238 letters, the majority of which were written between Lucius P. Chapin and his wife, Alice, during the former's service in the Union Army during the Civil War, 1862-1865. Lucius Chapin wrote from camps in Indiana; Henderson and Caseyville, Kentucky; Hospital No. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee; several camps in Georgia; and Waterloo, Alabama. Alice wrote from home in Putnam County, Indiana, as well as from her travels in Iowa and Utica (N.Y.?). Among the topics interchanged between the couple include the death and mourning of their son in September, 1862; life at home; family news; love and loneliness; financial worries and the diffiulties of one person in maintaining a household; religous belief; military engagements; the incompetency of an officer 22 December 1862 (refers to Capt. Jonas Seely who "resigned" his commission); Lucius' illness and his stay at a military hospital in Nashville, July-November, 1863; and the death of Coy Chapin (Lucius' brother) at Nashville on 7 April 1863.
There are also letters to Lucius and Alice from relatives including his brother, John, serving with General Rosecrans (1863), his in-law, J.W. Osborn, in Terre Haute (1862), his sister Ella Chapin, and a letter from Lucius to his cousin Nellie (1864). Most of the subjects in these letters concern family members and health.
BOX 1: Papers, 1859-1863
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Correspondence, 1859-August, 1862
2 Correspondence, September, 1862
3 Correspondence, October, 1862
4 Correspondence, Nov., 1862-Dec., 1862
5 Correspondence, Jan., 1863-Feb., 1863
6 Correspondence, March, 1863
7 Correspondence, April, 1863-May, 1863
8 Correspondence, June, 1863-July, 1863
9 Correspondence, Aug., 1863-Oct., 1863
10 Correspondence, Nov., 1863-Dec., 1863
BOX 2: Papers, 1864-1865
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Correspondence, Jan., 1864-May, 1864
2 Correspondence, June, 1864-July, 1864
3 Correspondence, Aug., 1864-Nov., 1864
4 Correspondence, Jan., 1865-April, 1865
5 Correspondence, May, 1865-Nov., 1865
6 Correspondence, n.d.
MAIN ENTRY: Chapin, Lucius P., fl. 1830-1902
SUBJECT ENTRIES: United States. Army. Indiana Cavalry Regiment, 4th (1862-1865)
Soliders--Indiana--Putnam County--Family relationships
Husband and wife--Indiana--Putnam County
Love-letters
Children--Indiana--Putnam County--Death
Women and war--Indiana--Putnam County
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Indiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Hospitals
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Religious aspects
Putnam County (Ind.)
END