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Francis Crayton Sturtevant papers, 1861-1913 (majority within 1861-1890)

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Summary

Creator:
Sturtevant family
Abstract:
The Sturtevant papers are made up of letters written by Francis Crayton Sturtevant, a musician in the 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, to his family during and following the Civil War. The collection also includes Francis' incoming correspondence after the war.
Extent:
70 items
Language:
English
Sponsor:
James S. Schoff Civil War Collection
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Rob S. Cox, June 1993

Background

Scope and Content:

The Sturtevant papers contain 29 Civil War-date letters written by Francis Crayton Sturtevant to his mother (Mrs. C.F. Sturtevant), his sisters Ann or Eveline, or generally to his family. The collection also contains 9 post-war letters written to Hattie Ellis, Crayton's fiancé/wife; 5 letters from Hattie to Crayton; 8 letters from members of the Sturtevant family to Crayton; and 10 miscellaneous items relating to Sturtevant's sons, Harry, Albert, and Francis.

The Civil War letters reflect Sturtevant's perceptiveness and talent as a writer, as well as his strong ideological commitment to the war. Although his reasons for enlistment are somewhat obscure and his early departure from the war stands out, Sturtevant never displayed any doubt that his service was his patriotic duty. His letters are valuable for reconstructing life in the defenses of Harpers' Ferry in the fall and winter months of 1861-62, as well as the events of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. His letters are of added value in being written from the unusual perspective of a musician, and are filled with depictions of the lives of musicians, who were not always subject to the same level of hardship or the same rigors of average soldiers. Sturtevant's letters provide several descriptions of practicing, playing, working on musical formations, and competing with other bands, and they also give an idea of the effect that the music had on his audience of soldiers and civilians.

Sturtevant was also a soldier, and his letters contain fine descriptions of hard marches and battles, particularly leading up and during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. The accounts of Jackson's assault on Hancock, and of the battles of Kernstown and Winchester stand out as among the best letters in the collection.

The post-war material includes an eloquent letter addressed to Sturtevant's future mother-in-law, in which he defends his impending marriage to Hattie against his in-laws' opposition. Sturtevant argued that there can be no loss to Hattie or her family by the union, but only gain due to the genuineness of their love for each other. Also included is a powerful letter, grieving over the loss of his mother, who had died in his arms (1874 September 22).

Biographical / Historical:

Sturtevant, Francis Crayton

Rank: Musician

Regiment: 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment (1861-1865)

Service: 1861 July 23-1862 August 16

Francis Crayton Sturtevant was born into a large family in Hartland, Vermont, in about 1840. At the outbreak of the Civil War, most of his brothers and sisters -- there were at least six of them -- were living in eastern Vermont, though one of Crayton's brothers had moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and a sister, Caroline, had married a man from Macon, Georgia, and after May, 1861, was cut off from all communication. Caroline eventually managed to return safely to Vermont in 1864.

Early in the summer of 1861, Crayton joined his brother, Robert, in Hartford, but found it difficult to make a living wage or even full-time employment. "[A]shamed of walking up street every day" in front of his many friends, he enlisted as a clarinetist in the band of the 5th Connecticut Infantry on July 23rd, much against the wishes of his mother. Within two weeks, the regiment was rushed to western Maryland, and ordered into defensive positions overlooking Harpers' Ferry. After participating in a small skirmish at Point of Rocks, Maryland, in late December, 1861, the regiment was drawn into its first major engagement in January, 1862, when Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson launched an attack on Union emplacements at Hancock, Maryland. According to Sturtevant, only the stern defiance of Frederick West Lander enabled the federal forces to hold out against superior numbers and preserve the city.

During the spring and summer of 1862, the 5th Connecticut played an important role in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, seeing action at Kernstown, Winchester, and Cedar Mountain. Throughout his enlistment, Sturtevant showed himself to be a highly motivated, occasionally avid, soldier. While he thought highly of the colonel of his regiment, Orris S. Ferry, and of the other staff officers, Crayton was openly contemptuous of his immediate commanding officer, Lt. Thomas Worsley, whom he considered to be both a laggard and bully. Regardless of his commitment to the cause, Sturtevant clearly wished to leave the service, and when military bands were discharged by Congressional order on August 16th, 1862, shortly before Cedar Mountain, Sturtevant returned home to Vermont.

In about 1863, Sturtevant entered the coffee, tea, and spice trade in Hartford, Connecticut. Following a brief partnership with his brother, Albert, he entered into a partnership with Brigham Payne that lasted until at least 1877. Thereafter, Sturtevant is listed in Hartford city directories as working with other tea and coffee firms, as managing his own firm, or, in the late 1880's, as being employed in "egg food." When seeking to establish himself in his career, Sturtevant traveled continuously through New England on business, most frequently to Vermont. During this period, he met and courted Hattie Ellis (d. 1905), of Hartford, despite the strong opposition of Hattie's parents, who apparently considered Sturtevant to be "beneath" Hattie and of insufficient means. Although Mrs. Ellis advised Hattie against the marriage, and stated that the couple's future would be "a life of trouble with a loss of freedom and of all rights and privileges" for Hattie (1869 September 19), the couple married in November, 1869. They had at least four children, Harry C. (1870-1890), Francis R., Albert Morey and a daughter, Florence M., all of whom appear to have been brilliant. Harry died as he was preparing to enter Trinity College, Hartford, for his freshman year, while Albert was salutatorian at Trinity with the class of 1898 before receiving his A.M. (1901) and Ph.D. (1905) at Harvard. He was an instructor in German at Harvard, 1903-1907. Francis Raymond received degrees at Trinity (1901) and Harvard (1902), and a Bachelor of Divinity at Harvard (1906). He was installed as minister at the Unitarian Channing Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1906, and at the First Congregational Society in Taunton in 1911. A newspaper clipping in the collection indicates that Florence was "prominent in Hartford musical circles."

Acquisition Information:
1991, 1994. M-2662a21, M-3099.1 .
Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Francis Crayton Sturtevant Papers, James S. Schoff Civil War Collection, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan