Weddell family papers

The Weddell family papers consist of correspondence written to William Weddell during the Civil War.

The young men of Webster Township, Wood County, Ohio were close in age to each other and many were related. When William Weddell was mustered out of the 21st O.V.I. his relatives and comrades still serving kept him informed of general events and their own situations by mail. The fates of these men in service is typical of the war experience.

The campaigns undertaken by the 21st Regiment O.V.I. included Stone River, Tenn., Chickamauga (where two of the Shanks brothers were killed), and Atlanta, Georgia (where James Inman died). The 86th O.V.I. assisted in the capture of Morgan's Raiders in July of 1863 (recounted in a letter fragment by George Weddell), and fought at Cumberland Gap through the fall of that year. The 144th O.V.I. saw duty at Baltimore, Annapolis, Monocacy Junction, and Berryville, Va. (where the detachment had sixty men captured, including George Weddell and John Dunipace.)

This collection is a valuable source for its glimpses into the activities of the men serving in the Civil War from Wood County units. While the people involved were all from a core group of families from Webster Township, the collection has interest aside from the personalities of the individual participants, with descriptions of camp life, battles, and general views of the war.