Michigan in the Civil War

Browse by Name: Parker, Silas L.

Parker, Silas L.

One letter (Oct. 16, 1862) was written to his parents from a camp near Crab Orchard, Ky. They had been marching or fighting every day for a month. One battle took place near Perryville, with General Sheridan in command of the division. Loomis' Battery was engaged by 24 Rebel cannons in a cross fire, "but the Michiganders were too much for them all." He gives a graphic description of the battle in which "regiments came out with less than half the numbers they went in with . . . the grandest sight I have ever witnessed." A second letter, dated Jan. 10, 1863 (photocopy only) describes how he was wounded at Stones River. The collection also contains photocopies of background documents and scanned images (jpeg) of the letters. Parker, of Coldwater, Mich., enlisted in Company C, 1st Michigan Infantry, as musician, April 24, 1861; re-entered service in Company B, 44th Illinois Infantry as sergeant, August 21, 1861; promoted to second lieutenant, April 7, 1862, and captain of Company B, August 15, 1862. He died January 19, 1863 of wounds received in action at Stones River, Tenn.