A Civil War Soldier in the Wild Cat Regiment documents the Civil War experience of Captain Tilton C. Reynolds, a member of the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. Comprising 164 library items, or 359 digital images, this online presentation includes correspondence, photographs, and other materials dating between 1861 and 1865. The letters feature details of the regiment's movements, accounts of military engagements, and descriptions of the daily life of soldiers and their views of the war. Forty-six of the letters are also made available in transcription.
This collection offers a look into the lives of a Union soldier and his family during the Civil War. The selected letters lend insight into the wartime dynamics of the Reynolds family. Their words reveal how family members in Reynolds's regiment looked after him, announced his capture, and gave advice. The letters also describe the daily life of a Union soldier, touching on such topics as food, clothing and shelter, health, and punishment. Finally, the selected correspondence provides a unique perspective on the Civil War. Soldiers' feelings and views on slavery and the election of 1864 can be found here. Correspondents also wrote of news about specific events of the war, as in Reynolds's account of President Lincoln.