Book Description

This collection of 267 personal letters will introduce you to Oliver, Eleanor & Marietta Boizard and their friends. You will journey with the Boizards to Florida during the Seminole Indian War where Eleanor works as a laundress at Fort Myers while Oliver's Army unit is building a road through the swamp near Lake Okeechobee. From there Oliver's Army unit moves to Fort Leavenworth and Fort Ridgely in the Nebraska Territory. In 1861 when the American Civil War begins, Oliver is stationed in Newport Barracks, Kentucky. At the expiration of his enlistment in February 1864, Oliver moves to Chicago. Due to health reasons, his wife and daughter move to Glen Arbor, Michigan. From 1864-1870 Oliver and Eleanor write to each other and occasionally visit. Oliver works to support his family. You will read about Indians, military outposts, Civil War Battles, General Grant, Sherman's march and the assassination of President Lincoln. You will also discover the cost of many everyday items during the mid-1800's.