Sam House Letter
Sam House wrote this letter to his sister, Ellen, in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 8, 1862. In it, he discusses scarce food, quinine pills, guarding an old bridge, and the weather. House also mentions General Price and the old Scarecrow that they hope to catch. House closes his letter by replying to news of family members.
Dates
- 1862 September 8
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
Sam House wrote this letter to his sister, Ellen, in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 8, 1862. In it, he discusses scarce food, quinine pills, guarding an old bridge, and the weather. House also mentions General Price and the old Scarecrow that they hope to catch. House closes his letter by replying to news of family members.
Biographical/Historical Note
Samuel House was born to Samuel Crawford and Frances Budden (Renshaw) House in Savannah, Georgia in 1837. He was one of six children, including Frances Renshaw Fannie (House) O'Conner (1832-1923), William McLean (1834-1884), Ellen Renshaw (House) Fletcher (1843-1907), John Moore (1844-1865), and Charles Frank (1848-1854). The family moved to Marietta, Georgia in hopes of improving Frances (Renshaw) House's health in 1848 and Sam and Will House continued on to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1857. Sam later moved to Memphis, but the rest of the family joined Will in Knoxville in 1859.
Sam House enlisted the 1st Tennessee Heavy Artillery on August 21, 1861. He was captured near Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 but was exchanged later in the year. Although he had signed an oath prohibiting him from taking up arms against the United States, House returned to duty and was captured again on August 23, 1864 at Fort Morgan and sent to Elmira, New York. He was paroled and sent to the James River for exchange on March 10, 1865. After the war ended, House relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee where he died in 1890.
Arrangement
This collection consists of a single folder.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository