"Army of the Cumberland," 1904
Civil War
<p>This poster is one in the eight great Union Armies poster/map series published by the National Tribune Co. Washington, D.C. in 1904. The Army of the Cumberland poster includes the basic dates and facts (its constitution, commanders, strength, principal battles, and the field of operations), the map of the field of operations, and the portraits of the army commanders. The signature on the poster reads, "This is to Certify, Jos. Littlefield served in the Army of the Cumberland having been a member of the Company C 102<sup>nd</sup> Regiment Illinois Infantry 20<sup>th</sup> Army Corps. (Signed) The National Tribune."</p>
<p>Founded in 1877 in Washington, D.C. by a pension claims agent George E. Lemon the <em>National Tribune</em> was one of the most influential veterans' publications in the United States, promoting the interests of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). One of the more populous Civil War veterans' organizations, the GAR was founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. The <em>National Tribune</em> functioned as a GAR newsletter where veterans could connect and share memories. The series of the eight great Union Armies posters started in 1904, and apparently the newspaper sent it by request to soldiers, signed with their name and regiment.</p>
<p>Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 the recipient of this poster Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911.</p>
<p>After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was.</p>
<p>The poster comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson.</p>
<p>For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHarvest?feature=watch">History Harvest YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
National Tribune Co.
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
National Tribune Co.
1904
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Joseph Littlefield's Funeral Card
<p>Printed funeral cards like this one were distributed among family and friends to invite them to the ceremony and last rites. These cards are a valuable source for dates in a family history. </p>
<p>Joseph Littlefield lived a long and eventful life. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840, Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911.</p>
<p>After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization of the Union Civil War veterans founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died.</p>
<p>This card comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson.</p>
<p>For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHarvest?feature=watch">History Harvest YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
1911
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Joseph Littlefield's Memorial Card
<p>The family of the deceased distributed printed memorial cards like this to people at the funeral as a remembrance of the deceased. They often featured appropriate verse and imagery.</p>
<p>Joseph Littlefield lived a long and eventful life. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840, Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911.</p>
<p>After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization of the Union Civil War veterans founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died.</p>
<p>The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson.</p>
<p>For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHarvest?feature=watch">History Harvest YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
1911 circa
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Joseph Littlefield at the Grand Army of the Republic Reunion
Civil War
<p>Joseph Littlefield, pictured here sitting in the front row, second from the left was a member of the Prairieville Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapter while he homesteaded in the Clear Creek area and always travelling to the veterans' meetings and reunions, like the one memorialized here. In this photograph he is wearing his GAR badge, a five-point star made of bronze of cannons captured in the Civil War battles and connected with the clasp by the American flag.</p>
<p>The Grand Army of the Republic was one of the more populous Civil War veterans' organizations, founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. At its height in the 1880s and 1890s GAR was a powerful instrument of establishing veterans' pensions and other benefits, and lobbying nationalist and regionalist agenda in politics.</p>
<p>Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911.</p>
<p>The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson.</p>
<p>For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHarvest?feature=watch">History Harvest YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sources:</p>
<p>Wallace Evan Davies, <em>Patriotism on Parade: The story of Veterans' and Hereditary Organizations in America, 1783-1900</em> (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955).</p>
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
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Terri and Dave Mabon Share Joseph Littlefield's Story
Civil War
<p>Terri and Dave Mabon share the story of Dave Mabon's great-grandfather with the History Harvest graduate student assistant Leslie Working and the photographs and documents from their collection.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kiaLBt-5cN0" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHarvest?feature=watch">History Harvest YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
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Terri and Dave Mabon Sharing Memories of the Civil War in the Family History
Civil War
Terri and Dave Mabon shared their Civil War remembrance documents (a commemorative record of the Army of the Cumberland and the mailing package for it), and UNL History Harvest assistant Leslie Working discussed the veterans' relationships and communities after the Civil War. <iframe src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/GJ_wHsNJdjg " frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe> You can find this and other stories on the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
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