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Kander Announces Program about the Letters of a Civil War Union Regimental Surgeon

For immediate release: June 11, 2015
Contact: Laura Swinford, (573) 522-2592

 

Jefferson City, Mo.—Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander today announced a program highlighting the experiences of Union Regimental Surgeon Dr. Thomas S. Hawley. The program will be held at the Missouri State Archives, a division of his office, on Thursday, June 18, 2015, at 7 p.m. Civil War historian Dennis Belcher will speak about his new book, “This Terrible Struggle for Life”: The Civil War Letters of a Union Regimental Surgeon.

This Terrible Struggle for Life offers a rare insight into the history of the Civil War in the western theater through the eyes of a regimental surgeon. The newly graduated Dr. Thomas S. Hawley served in one of the premier fighting regiments of the Union Army, the 11th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. The collection of letters details his four-and-a-half-year career in the Army through firsthand accounts of the various campaigns and his numerous duties. They also chronicle his interactions with captured Confederate soldiers, his encounters with pro-Southern and pro-Northern civilians in areas occupied by the Union Army, his experiences with freed slaves and other daily events in the war. Notable among the letters is his record of the early Civil War in Missouri, the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Tupelo and the Battle of Nashville.

Please join us as Civil War historian Dennis Belcher shares details from Dr. Hawley’s illuminating letters about the war in the West.

The Missouri State Archives is the official repository for state documents of permanent historic value, and is located at 600 West Main Street in Jefferson City. All programs at the Archives are free of charge and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on this and other programming at the Archives, contact Emily Luker, (573) 526-5296 or emily.luker@sos.mo.gov.