Brent C Barnes

Civil War Letters of Sidney Harrison Lee Brent C Barnes

Sidney Harrison Lee was born on June 24, 1825 in Arlington, Indiana. He enlisted in the Union Army in January 1864 and served in Company E, 17th Infantry Regiment Indiana under General James H. Wilson during "Wilson's Raid", the last organized campaign of the Civil War. The letters he wrote to his wife Ann Eliza chronicle spring campaigns through Alabama and Georgia in 1864 and 1865. Lee was a blacksmith and farmer; his letters include extensive detail on crops, farms, and the communities through which he passed. There is "solgering" of course; as an expert horseman, Lee served primarily as a scout and skirmisher during the campaigns. Although he came to love the South, his experiences are reflected in a growing indignation with the condition of poor and enslaved people he encountered. Lee moved his family to Alabama after the war, where he was a successful and honored community leader before his life was tragically ended.