Manuscripts Division
William L. Clements Library
University of Michigan

Finding aid for
Cruikshank-Dawley Papers, 1841-1890

James S. Schoff Civil War Collection

Finding aid created by
Philip Heslip, September 2009

Summary Information

Title: Cruikshank-Dawley papers
Creator: Cruikshank, Louisa Dawley, 1828-1908
Inclusive dates: 1841-1890
Extent: 57 items
Abstract:

This collection holds the personal letters of Louisa Dawley Cruikshank of Oneida, New York, and includes letters from her husband, Henry Cruikshank, while he was traveling in California and serving in military during the Civil War.

Language: The material is in English
Repository: William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan

909 S. University Ave.
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1190
Phone: 734-764-2347
Web Site: www.clements.umich.edu

Access and Use

Acquisition Information:

2005. M-4414.

Access Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Copyright:

Copyright status is unknown

Processing Information:

Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.

Preferred Citation:

Cruikshank-Dawley papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically with undated items at the end.

Biography

Henry Cruikshank was born near Oneida, New York, in 1830. He married Louisa Townsend Dawley (1828-1908) on January 1, 1857; they had at least three children: William [R.] Cruikshank (1857-1862), Adelbert J. Cruikshank (b.1866), and Burdeete S. Cruikshank (b.1869). Though Louisa lived her whole life in Central New York, Henry spent a few years in California in the early 1860s, before joining the 50th New York Infantry as a cook. He was moved to Co. C of the 50th New York Engineers and served at the Brigade hospital outside Washington.

Henry Cruikshank died on October 4, 1906, and Louisa Cruikshank died November 19, 1908. Both are buried in Grilley Cemetery, Oneida, New York.

Collection Scope and Content Note

The Cruikshank-Dawley papers is comprised of 57 letters between Henry Cruikshank and his wife, Louisa Dawley Cruikshank, from before and during the Civil War. The earliest set of letters is addressed to Miss Wealthy A. Dawley and from William Segun and from Louisa Dawley. These discuss general news and family life. Other pre-Civil War letters include letters to Louisa from her sisters, three love letters from Thomas Ormiston, and three letters from her aunt. Henry Cruikshank received a letter from a friend, who wrote about difficult travels on a steamship, and a letter from his sister Mary, who mentioned killing woodchucks and snakes.

A set of five letters document Henry's travels in California. He wrote from New York City in 1860 just before he set sail for California. Upon arrival, he buys a claim and a cabin for $180 and notes that "California is a hard land for a poor man to live in...there is lots of old Californians here would be glad to get a way from here" (May 26, 1861). Henry has more success by July, as he "got 1,400 dollars out of pile of dirt we washed out, was two months three weeks of work." In other letters, he wrote of coming to "near blows" with drunk railroad workers.

The bulk of the Civil War letters are from Henry to his wife Louisa, though some letters are addressed to his sister Louisa and other family members. In nearly every letter, Henry voiced his unhappiness with being in the army and mentioned his desire to come home. He complained of insufficient protection from the cold, a lack of food, and not being paid. He was particularly unhappy that all the soldiers were fighting for was to free the slaves, and he complained that, in the south, they "live better and have better houses to live in than half the white folk in York State...it makes me so mad some times that I have a good mind to run away and let them go to the devil and would not care if the rebs took Washington" (July 5, 1863). He wrote of being shot in a skirmish just before the Battle of Fredericksburg and of sickness in the army, including an outbreak of smallpox in Washington and, toward the end of 1863, an outbreak of the mumps. In general, Crukshank was critical of the management of the Union army and was relentlessly pessimistic about the outcome of the war.

The most recent letter in the collection was from Henry's son in Camden, New York.

Subject Terms

Subjects:

• California--Gold discoveries.
• Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va., 1862.
• United States. Army. New York Engineers Regiment, 50th (1861-1865)
• United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 50th (1861-1865)
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Contributors:

• Cruikshank, Henry, 1830-1906.
• Ormiston, Thomas.
• Segun, William.

Genre Terms:

• Letters (correspondence)

Contents List

Container / Location		Title
Box   79, Schoff Civil War Soldiers' Letters		Cruikshank-Dawley papers [series]:
Folder   13		December 18, 1841-April 29, 1849
Folder   14		October 30, 1849-January 4, 1854
Folder   15		June 24, 1855-November 26, 1861
Folder   16		April 10, 1862-March 6, 1863
Folder   17		March 22-July 5, 1863
Folder   18		August 26-December 20, 1863
Folder   19		December 27, 1863-March 13, 1864
Folder   20		March 30, 1864-September 7, 18[9]0 +  Undated
Folder   21		Undated Letters

Additional Descriptive Data

Related Materials

The Charles E. Snyder papers also document the 50th Regiment of the New York Engineers.