Charles E. Foote Papers
This collection comprises papers from the 1860s, consisting of twenty letters, an album of thirteen photographs, three newspapers, and sixteen military documents including ordnance and quartermaster forms, duty documents, and equipment lists, all collected by Charles E. Foote, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The letters were written by Foote between January 1864 and November 1865 to his young fiancée, Kate La Rue, who was living in their hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Foote writes about his military duties, living conditions, national news as well as news from friends and family, and discusses his love for La Rue and their future together. He includes his views of the war and abolition, the South, and U.S. politics. In his letter dated April 22nd, 1865, Foote writes in detail about the reactions in Chattanooga of soldiers and citizens alike to the news of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The final five letters were written in the aftermath of the war’s end. The sixteen album photographs are mostly unidentified except for Colonel Charles M. Lum of the 10th Michigan Infantry, who had briefly served with Foote in the 1st Michgan Infantry, and Foote’s daughter Adah at six months old, but most are likely from the 1860s and early 1870s.
Dates
- 1845 April 9-1898, undated
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested 5 days in advance. See www.lib.utk.edu/special 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. Please see www.lib.utk.edu/special for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (1 half box, 1 oversize box) ; 28 x 22 x 1.75 (oversize)
Abstract
This collection comprises papers from the 1860s, consisting of twenty letters, an album of thirteen photographs, three newspapers, and sixteen military documents including ordnance and quartermaster forms, duty documents, and equipment lists, all collected by Charles E. Foote, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The letters were written by Foote between January 1864 and November 1865 to his young fiancée, Kate La Rue, who was living in their hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Foote writes about his military duties, living conditions, national news as well as news from friends and family, and discusses his love for La Rue and their future together. He includes his views of the war and abolition, the South, and U.S. politics. In his letter dated April 22nd, 1865, Foote writes in detail about the reactions in Chattanooga of soldiers and citizens alike to the news of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The final five letters were written in the aftermath of the war’s end. The sixteen album photographs are mostly unidentified except for Colonel Charles M. Lum of the 10th Michigan Infantry, who had briefly served with Foote in the 1st Michgan Infantry, and Foote’s daughter Adah at six months old, but most are likely from the 1860s and early 1870s.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Emery Foote was born May 17, 1842 in Saline, Michigan, to George and Mary Ann Gillette Foote.
He enlisted in the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment, the state’s only regiment with a three month enlistment. The next year, Foote again enlisted, this time in the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment, Company H for three years. Much of his time in the army was spent in Chattanooga, Tennessee, posted to the Military Prison located on Market Street. He was injured at the Battle of Chickamauga, but continued to serve until the end of the war, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. Foote left the army on June 26, 1865, just two months after the official end of the Civil War. he briefly enrolled in Commercial college courses in Albion, Michigan, before returning to Ypsilanti for good.
In April of 1866, Charles Foote married Catharine “Kate” La Rue, and the couple had five children, Warren, Guy, Adah, Edward, and Frederic, although Edward died at the age of five from diphtheria. Foote worked at various times as a tobacco agent, a merchant, and a life insurance agent. The couple lived most of their married life in Ypsilanti, MI, but briefly moved to Indianapolis, IN, and then to Los Angeles, CA near their surviving children. Foote served for a time as a Commander of the Detroit Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, am organization for former Civil War soldiers.
Charles Emery Foote died September 1907 in Los Angeles, California, and is buried in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery next to his wife Kate.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in six folders in one half box and one oversize box.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Special Collections purchased this collection in 2007.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository