Scope and Content Note
The papers of Henry Walker (d. 1864) span the years 1861-1864 and consist primarily of correspondence between Henry Walker, a Union soldier who served in the 117th Regiment, New York State Volunteers, during the Civil War, and his family in Forest Port, Oneida County, New York. Walker's letters begin with his travels from New York to Washington, D.C., in August 1862 and continue until June 1864 when he wrote from a convalescent camp. The final letter, dated July 1864, is from an army chaplain notifying the family of Walker's death from illness. The subject matter covered in Walker's letters relates to family finances and includes discussions of enlistment bounties and his mending shoes for extra money. The earliest letters, dated 1861, are to Walker from his son, Albert, who was serving in the Union army in Washington, D.C.