Gift of Mr. Thomas Lilley, April 1969.
The collection is open for research.
Use of materials from this collection beyond the
exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S.
Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is
required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library,
MSS 219, David Lilley letters, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Access to digitized versions of the David Lilley Letters is available at the
Processed by Tim Murray and Wendy Van Wyck, 1990-1991; completed January 1994 by Kelly Baum. Encoded by Asher Jackson, February 2007.
David N. Lilley (1842-1887), a Newark, Delaware, resident for most of his life, served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Lilley was born in 1842 in Cecil County, Maryland. He was one of twelve children in a family that moved near Newark, Delaware, when he was quite young. Lilley attended school in Newark briefly but gave up his studies in order to help support the rest of the family. Initially, he worked for his father as a well digger and quarry man; later he was employed at the Dean Woolen Mills.
In 1861, at the age of 19, Lilley enlisted in the Union Army, joining Company "C," 2nd Regiment, Delaware Volunteers. After training, he was assigned to the Blue and Elk Rangers, a local unit that was involved in many significant military engagements in both Maryland and Virginia. Lilley's letters to his older sister Annie Lilley, recount these wartime experiences. After being discharged in 1864, David Lilley returned to Newark where his mother, sister Annie, and other members of his immediate family still lived.
On February 15, 1887, David Lilley was the victim of a railroad accident which later required that his foot be surgically amputated. He died on February 24, 1887, from the resulting complications of lockjaw and blood poisoning.
This collection of Civil War letters consists of thirty-seven letters written between 1861 and 1864 by David N. Lilley to his older sister, Annie Lilley, who lived in Newark, Delaware.
In these letters David Lilley frequently asks Annie to relay information to other family members, especially his brother Alfred Lilley. There is one additional letter, dated May 11, 1863, written to Lilley's mother. The letters originated from places such as Camp Brandywine, Camp Andrews in Baltimore, and Falmouth, Virginia, chronicling Lilley's experiences during the Civil War. Lilley recounted anecdotes and social events from the camps where he was stationed, described military battles (including Fair Oaks and Chancellorsville), and related the harsh conditions that soldiers endured. He also discussed the relationship between "rebel" and Union soldiers and, in the letter written to his mother, recalled a visit from Abraham Lincoln.
Lilley's letters document the soldier's state of mind: Lilley was alternately content and optimistic or depressed and uncertain of his continued survival. Because of variations in handwriting, grammar, and style, it appears that Lilley may have had other soldiers write a few of the letters on his behalf. A number of the letters are also written on patriotic stationery.
The letters are arranged in chronological order.
MSS 218 Edward A. Fulton collection
MSS 295 Thomas M. Reynolds letters to Louisa J. Seward
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Brandywine near Wilmington, Delaware. Includes a brief note to Alfred Lilley.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Brandywine near Wilmington, Delaware.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Brandywine near Wilmington, Delaware.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Brandywine near Wilmington, Delaware.
Autograph letter signed.
Autograph letter signed. From Winter Quarters at Camp Wilkes, Accomac County, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Andrews, Baltimore, Maryland.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Andrews, Baltimore, Maryland.
Autograph letter signed.
Autograph letter signed. From White House, Virginia. Letter written in a different hand.
Autograph letter signed. From Fair Oaks [Seven Pines] Battlefield.
Autograph letter signed. From a battlefield near the James River in Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Harrisons Landing on the James River in Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Harrisons Landing on the James River in Virginia. Letter written in a different hand.
Autograph letter signed. From Harrisons Landing on the James River in Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Harpers Ferry.
Autograph letter signed. From Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Brandy Station, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Falmouth, Virginia. Written by the hand of Corporal Rennard Allison.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Falmouth, Virginia. Mentions a visit from President Abraham Lincoln. Includes a recounting of Lilley's experiences during the battle of Chancellorsville.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Falmouth, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Morrisville, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Morrisville, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Morrisville, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From the Second Regiment Delaware Volunteers Headquarters camp near Rappidan Station, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From the Second Regiment Delaware Volunteers Headquarters camp near Rappidan Station, Virginia. Includes "a bit of our dear old flag" that David Lilley enclosed along with the letter.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp south of the Rappahannock River.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Brandy Station, Virginia. Letter written in a different hand.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Brandy Station, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near City Point, Virginia.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Brandywine near Wilmington, Delaware.
Autograph letter signed. From a camp near Easton, Maryland.
Autograph letter signed. From Camp Andrews, Baltimore, Maryland.
Autograph letter signed. From Harrisons Landing on the James River in Virginia.