I Seat Myself to Write You a Few Lines:
Civil War and Homestead Letters from Thomas Lucas and Family

Table of Contents



Dedication iii
List of Illustrations vi
Maps vii
Acknowledgments ix
Editing Note x
Preface xi
Section I -- Thomas Lucas: Civil War Soldier 1

  • Cavalry Chains of Command and Regimental Structure [page 2]
  • Glossary [page 3]
  • Introduction [page 5]
  • Chapter 1 -- Going to War: August 1861-March 1862 [page 11]
  • Chapter 2 -- From the Rappahannock to the Shenandoah: March - June 1862 [page 69]
  • Chapter 3 -- In the Army of Virginia: July - August 1862 [page 95]
  • Chapter 4 -- Interlude and Advance: September - December 1862 [page 107]
  • Chapter 5 -- Winter Along the Rappahannock: January - April 1863 [page 123]
  • Chapter 6 -- The Gettysburg Campaign: May - July 1863 [page 147]
  • Chapter 7 -- Picket and Skirmish in Northern Virginia: August - December 1863 [page 165]
  • Chapter 8 -- Winter in Warrenton: January - April 1864 [page 193]
  • Chapter 9 -- A Hard Summer on Horseback: April - September 1864 [page 221]
  • Update on comrades of Thomas Lucas [page 241]
  • Letters from Comrades [page 242]

    Section II -- Thomas Lucas and Family: From Home Town to Homestead [page 247]
  • Introduction [page 249]
  • Chapter 1 -- Peace and Tragedy in the Home Town: September 1864 - October 1885 [page 251]
  • Chapter 2 -- A New Life: Homestead on the Prairie: October 1885 - December 1887 [page 273]
  • Chapter 3 -- Wedding Bells and Babies: January 1888 - July 1895 [page 301]
  • Chapter 4 -- Raising families on the Prairie: August 1895 - 1909 [page 345]
  • Chapter 5 -- Enjoying the Golden Years: 1910 - 1954 [page 359]

    Section III: Family and Friends [page 393]
    Biographies
  • Sudie L. Crawford [page 393]
  • Charles Alford Gregg [page 393]
  • Ellis Franklin Gregg ("Frank") [page 393]
  • James Kerr Gregg [page 394]
  • Jesse Armstrong Gregg [page 396]
  • Victoria Hammond [page 396]
  • Letty Jane Kerr [page 396]
  • Anna Swan Lucas [page 397]
  • Charles Swan Lucas [page 398]
  • Charles Wayne Lucas ("Stub") [page 399]
  • Elizabeth Kerr Lucas ("Libby") [page 399]
  • Emma Lincoln Lucas [page 401]
  • Jonas Emery Lucas [page 403]
  • Lucy Lucas [page 404]
  • Permelia Rogers Lucas ("Millie") [page 405]
  • Sarah Lucas ("Sade") [page 406]
  • Susan Luetta Lucas ("Lulu") [page 406]
  • Thomas Lucas [page 407]
  • Thomas Martin Lucas [page 409]
  • Ruth Martin [page 410]
    Family Tree [page 411]
    Bibliography [page 417]
    Appendix: The Letters -- History and Editing Notes [page 419]
    Index [page 427]


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