Horace Killam Correspondence
Collection — Container: MS 3967
Call Number: MS 3967
Scope and Contents
This collection of thirty-five letters documents Horace Killam’s experiences in both battle and as a prisoner of war. In addition, it details the Killam family’s experience of sending a family member to war. Primary correspondents include Killam’s mother Catherine Killam, father Oliver Killam, brothers Charlie and Henry Killam, and aunts, cousins, and friends. Killam’s first letter home was composed on stationery intended for soldiers and printed with the ballad “Brave Boys Are They.”
Horace Killam, a farmer from Boxford, Massachusetts, enlisted for service in the Union Army at the age of 18. He was mustered into service on April 21, 1864 as part of “K” Company in the 59th Massachusetts Infantry. He fought in the Battle of Spotsylvania, where although he suffered only minor wounds, his family was informed of his death. Killam, already very ill, proceeded with his regiment to the North Anna River where they were surrounded by Confederate forces. He was captured and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia where he was finally able to write to his family. Among the subjects he wrote about were theft, poor living conditions, and a lack of food. He was eventually moved to a parole camp in Annapolis, Maryland and on October 4, 1864 Killam died of typhoid and malarial fever. His nurse, Susan Phillips, and a close friend, Henry Bartlett, continued to correspond with Killam’s mother after his death.
Horace Killam, a farmer from Boxford, Massachusetts, enlisted for service in the Union Army at the age of 18. He was mustered into service on April 21, 1864 as part of “K” Company in the 59th Massachusetts Infantry. He fought in the Battle of Spotsylvania, where although he suffered only minor wounds, his family was informed of his death. Killam, already very ill, proceeded with his regiment to the North Anna River where they were surrounded by Confederate forces. He was captured and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia where he was finally able to write to his family. Among the subjects he wrote about were theft, poor living conditions, and a lack of food. He was eventually moved to a parole camp in Annapolis, Maryland and on October 4, 1864 Killam died of typhoid and malarial fever. His nurse, Susan Phillips, and a close friend, Henry Bartlett, continued to correspond with Killam’s mother after his death.
Dates
- 1864
Creator
- Killam, Horace (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Items in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. In most cases, the Boston Public Library does not hold the copyright to the items in our collections. It is the sole responsibility of the user to make their own determination about what types of usage might be permissible under U.S. and international copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Chronology:
1846 - Horace Killam born in Boxford, Massachusetts.
1864 - Enlists as a Private in the Union Army. Joins “K” Company, 59th Massachusetts Infantry. Receives wounds at the Battle of Spotsylvania and presumed dead by his family. Fights in the Battle of North Anna and is captured. Transferred from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia to a parole camp in Annapolis, Maryland to await exchange. Dies at noon in the parole camp hospital of typhoid and malarial fever.
Note written by Laura Hoff
1846 - Horace Killam born in Boxford, Massachusetts.
1864 - Enlists as a Private in the Union Army. Joins “K” Company, 59th Massachusetts Infantry. Receives wounds at the Battle of Spotsylvania and presumed dead by his family. Fights in the Battle of North Anna and is captured. Transferred from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia to a parole camp in Annapolis, Maryland to await exchange. Dies at noon in the parole camp hospital of typhoid and malarial fever.
Note written by Laura Hoff
Extent
35.00 Items
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Method of Acquisition
Purchased from Early American History Auctions, Inc. in 2007.
Processing Information
Finding aid written by Laura Hoff, October 2009.
Processing Information
This electronic finding aid is transcribed from legacy data. In many cases, transcriptions were not verified against collection materials at the time of transcription. As a result, this finding aid could be incomplete and might only reflect a partial understanding of the material.
Statement on harmful description
Archival description reflects the biases of time periods and cultures in which it was created and may include direct quotations or descriptions that use inappropriate or harmful language. Creator provided descriptions may be maintained in order to preserve the context in which the collection was created and/or used. Legacy description and potentially offensive content may be made available online until a collection can be reprocessed because the access that they provide to primary source materials is uniquely valuable to the research community at large. Our efforts to repair outdated descriptions and to describe our collections more equitably are iterative and ongoing.
Creator
- Killam, Horace (Person)
- Title
- Horace Killam Correspondence
- Date
- 10/21/2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
About this library
Part of the Boston Public Library Archives & Special Collections Repository
