Steely Archives

Introduction

Size: .25 lf or 14 letters

Span Dates: 1861-1862, 1864-1865

Accession Number: NKU2011-002

Creator: Reasoner, Cyrus, [1826]-1908

Acquisition History: Purchased from Dennis M. Keesee by Special Collections, NKU.

Custodial History: Dennis M. Keesee, Civil War collector, purchased collection from the estate of a female Civil War collector that he knew.

Summary: This collection contains thirteen original letters written during the American Civil War (1861-1865) by Cyrus Reasoner, Lieutenant, Company A (1861-1862), Captain Company H (1862), 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Colonel 160th Regiment, Ohio National Guard (1864). It also contains one original letter by his daughter Sarah E. Reasoner to her father Cyrus Reasoner.

Access and Use

Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions: There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation: [Box, Folder], Cyrus Reasoner Civil War Correspondence, Eva G. Farris Special Collections, Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University.

Related Materials: See also Cyrus Reasoner Correspondence, http://steely.nku.edu/digital_collections for digital images of letters.

George Remus materials, Delhi Historical Society, 468 Anderson Ferry Road, Cincinnati OH 45238

Processing Information: processed by Anne Ryckbost, July 2011

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Access Points

Subject(s):

Family--Ohio--Social conditions.

Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

New Concord (Ohio)--Social life and customs.

Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Skirmish, Martinsburg, 1864.

Soldiers--United States- -Correspondence.

Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Transportation--1861-1865.

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 160th (1864)

United States. Army. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Regiment, 15th (1861-1862).Company A.

United States. Army. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Regiment, 15th (1862). Company H.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Correspondence.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Union--Infantry

Person(s):

Reasoner, Cyrus c.1826-1908.

Reasoner, Lizza

Geographic Location(s):

Camp Andrew Johnson (Tennessee)

Camp Jackson’s Ford (Alabama)

Camp Nevin (Kentucky)

Camp Wood (Kentucky)

Maryland Heights (Maryland)

Shenandoah Valley (Virginia)

United States--Alabama

United States--Kentucky--Hart County

United States--Kentucky--Hardin County

United States--Mississippi

United States--Ohio- -Muskingum County--New Concord

United States--Tennessee

United States--Virginia

United States--West Virginia--Martinsburg

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Scope and Content

This collection contains thirteen original personal letters written by Cyrus Reasoner. Twelve of the letters are addressed to Lizza Reasoner, his wife, and one is addressed to his brother. The letters discuss Cyrus Reasoner's experiences as an infantry officer in the Federal Army during the Civil War. Letters from 1861-1862 describe the movement of the 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry through Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. Reasoner includes descriptions of camp life such as the work of an African- American camp cook, food, transportation, and fighting engagements. He describes the passage of the bodies of Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer and Colonel Bailie Peyton through camp. Reasoner advises Lizza on monetary affairs, social situations, and his health. His letter on September 7, 1862 discusses his resignation from the Federal Army on July 10 and the rumors surrounding his decision. There are no letters in the collection from 1863. Letters from 1864 contain descriptions of troop movement and skirmishes around Harper’s Ferry, Maryland Heights, and Martinsburg (West Virginia). The collection also includes a handwritten letter (1865) from Reasoner’s daughter, Sarah E., to Cyrus Reasoner in which she asks him to see Abraham Lincoln’s funeral cortege.

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Biographical Sketch

Cyrus Reasoner [c.1826-1908] was from New Concord, Muskingum County, Ohio. On Sept. 9, 1861, he joined the Federal Army as First Lieutenant, 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company A. He was appointed Captain of Company H of the 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry on April 25, 1862. He resigned on July 10, 1862 and returned to civilian life in New Concord by September 1862. On May 2, 1864, he returned to the Federal Army as Colonel of the 160th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out of service with the regiment on September 7, 1864.

Source: Cope, Alexis. The Fifteenth Ohio Volunteers and Its Campaigns: War of 1861-65. 1916. Reprint, Columbus, Ohio: The General’s Books.

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Container Listing

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