Correspondence, writings, and official military documents of Civil War 1st Lieutenant Edgar McLean, 1859-1868.

All correspondence is incoming from relatives and friends to Edgar McLean. During this time Sarah F. McLean (and most of the other relatives) lived in Jersey and Macoupin counties in Illinois. There is some correspondence from McLean’s cousin, James S. Jennings, who served with the 137th Indiana Infantry. The correspondence mostly details local weddings and deaths and family news. Some of the correspondence deals with local military news (the gathering of Rebel prisoners, local actions towards the peace movement) as well as family financial matters, family and neighborhood sicknesses and outbreaks, and Sarah McLean’s interest in and respect for clairvoyants. There are also a few pieces of poetry and verse, as well as a number of official military documents that mostly detail the return of and accounting for equipment after the war.