Albert W. Barber Papers (c.00282)

This collection contains Civil War letters from Albert W. Barber to his family while serving with Company F, 18th Michigan Infantry, in Kentucky and Tennessee. In the letters, primarily written to his mother, he talks about camp life, his friends, officers of the regiment, and particularly about the weather. In addition, Albert talks about town life, particularly in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee, and about the prices of perishable goods. The letters also express his hostility toward African Americans, and especially toward the idea of African Americans serving in the Union army. Albert Barber (son of Homan Barber and Harriet Mason) was born in 1844 in Wright, Michigan. Barber enlisted in Company F, 18th Infantry Regiment Michigan on 26 Aug 1862. He was the brother of William Lickly's wife; William's brother James Lickly also served in the 18th Michigan. Barber was captured by Confederate forces at the Battle of Athens on September 24, 1864. Records shared from the National Archives indicate he was captured September 24, 1864 at the Battle of Athens and died of disease on September 30, 1864 at Cherokee Station, Alabama enroute to the Cahaba Prison.