William Lancaster - American Civil War Soldier

This virtual museum contains an extensive collection of letters that William wrote to his wife, Maggie, throughout the War while serving in the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army. These invaluable letters not only give an excellent account of the life of a soldier and the War itself, but also show the effects of that War on a young 19th Century married couple.

In addition to the letters written by William, the museum also includes a historical context, several original photographs, biographical sketches of William, his wife Maggie and daughter Lizzie, a few letters written to William (the only preserved letter out of the hundreds of letters that Maggie wrote to William, a letter by his father), several letters written to Maggie by William's fellow officers after his death, and a number of documents, including William and Maggie's marriage certificate, interactions between Maggie and William, and recovery and burial of William's body.

All of the original letters, photographs, memorabilia and documents that were used to create this virtual museum have been passed down and are presently in the possession of William’s great, great grandchildren.

Given the extensive use of large graphic files, it is recommended that a high-speed Internet connection be used to view this site. Javascript must be enabled for navigational purposes and to view pages of the letters other than the first page.

Expanded versions of photographs are generally available by clicking on the small version.