Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

MSS 15155 Leukhardt Family letters, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, University of Virginia Library.

Provenance

Purchased, 11 February 2011.

Biographical Note

Gottfried Leukhardt was a captain on a sailing ship, carrying freight and lumber from New York to Europe. When the Civil War started, he enlisted in the U.S. Artillery and later was made Captain of the First New York Light Artillery. He served during the entire war from 1861 to 1865. Captain Leukhardt's letters to his wife, Louise (Louisa), described the conditions under which he was living and fighting. In a letter dated July 6, 1862, he detailed the events of the onset of their fight in the Seven Day Battle which commenced June 27, 1862 in the area of the Chickahominy River east of Richmond. During the four years that he served, he consistently wrote of his desire to return home.

Louise also corresponded with their son, Andrew, who, like his father and brother, fought for the Union. The record shows him as a Drummer. Six or more of these letters are from Andrew in 1864-1865 who was with Union troups (sic) in Bermuda Hundred, Manchester and "Verrina" (Varina) Virginia. On November 3, 1864 his mother wrote to tell him Washington had notified her that his father had been wounded and captured. Captain Leukhardt died one month before the end of the war in 1865. There is reference to another son-(possibly Gottlieb?)- and, also, a cousin who apparently was fighting for the South as Louise writes of having forgiven him. (Biography description written by dealer)

Scope and Contents

Leukhardt family letters (1862-1865; 0.25 cubic feet) consist of letters from Captain Gottfried Leukhardt and his family while he and his son Andrew are fighting for the Union army from 1862 to 1865. They mention several important battles including the Seven Days Battle (Malvern Hill 1862) and Bermuda Hundred, Manchester and Varina, Virginia (1864). General George B. McClellan and General Fitz John Porter are also mentioned. There are different spellings of their names, including Andrew Likard, Gottlieb Leuckhardtt, and Louise Leuckhardtt

Arrangement

The letters are arranged in chronological order.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Soldiers -- United States -- Correspondence
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives