In May of 2011, the Delaware Public Archives received a donation of American Civil War documents consisting of approximately 65 original letters written between 1862 and 1864 from Stephen Taylor Buckson, of Leipsic, to his wife Harriett. In his letters, Stephen asks for information about family and friends while discussing the different places his unit had been, the terrible casualties suffered by the Union forces, the deteriorating condition of the Confederate Army, and his feelings of loss and isolation.

Stephen Buckson enlisted in Wilmington in 1862 and eventually reached the rank of First Sergeant in the Fourth Regiment of Delaware Volunteers. He was killed during an attack on the Confederate defenses near Petersburg, Virginia, on June 18, 1864.

Stephen Buckson's letters to his wife were kept for many years as a scrap-book of memories by family members. The letters were transcribed during the 20th Century and over the years official service records and other materials were added. This online collection includes the letters themselves and the typed transcriptions by family members, scanned to PDF.

The Buckson Papers, the transcriptions, and other documents related to his military service are available in the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Center at the Delaware Public Archives.

• + Handwritten Letters to His Wife
  November 23, 1862 - July 23, 1863 | August 3, 1863 - June 19, 1864
• + Handwritten Letters to His Wife, with transcripts
  November 23, 1862 - July 23, 1863 | August 3, 1863 - June 19, 1864
• + All transcripts of Stephen Buckson's Letters to His Wife