Biographical/historical information

Jacob S. Kiester (1837-1864) was a native of Pennsylvania, who prior to the Civil War was a laborer, sawyer, teamster, and farm worker in Iowa and Wisconsin. He enlisted in the Union army and rose to the rank of sergeant prior to his capture in the battle of Plymouth, N.C., 20 April 1864, and his subsequent death in a military prison at Florence, S.C., 23 November 1864. Sgt. Kiester was a participant in the Peninsular Campaign, the Seven Days Battles (Fair Oaks and Seven Pines, Harrison's Landing, Savage Station) and several minor engagements near Franklin, Va., and Kinston and Goldsboro, N.C.

Scope and arrangement

Sergeant Kiester's comments in letters to his family include several that are of interest in relation to warfare innovations introduced during the Civil War. Notable are comments concerning anti-personnel land mines and a rocket battery, both of Confederate origin; a balloon ascent by General McClellan at Yorktown; and the ironclad Monitor (1862).

Other comments include complaints over Abraham Lincoln's supposed preoccupation with emancipation as a war goal rather than preservation of the Union, the $300 exemption price for draftees, the removal of General Burnside, and the involvement of Generals Meigs and McClellan in Burnside's military reverses.

On the soldier's level, Sgt. Kiester's letters comment on the destruction of standing crops in Virginia, the demolition of Hampton, Va., cowardice in battle, the conduct of Black troops, voting for election of officers, and the shift from Austrian muskets to U.S.-made Springfield rifles by Kiester's regiment, the 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteers. The unpopularity of a new commanding officer and enlistment bounties also are mentioned.

Battles and skirmishes described in some detail include Williamsburg, Savage Station, and Franklin, Va., and Kinston, N.C. Numerous regiments are mentioned, especially those from Pennsylvania and New England.

Other letters enumerate supplies and clothing wanted for winter bivouac, and in the sole letter written from the Confederate prison in which he died, Sgt. Kiester appeals for funds.

Prior to military service, the correspondence comments on wages and prices on the Soo Canal in Wisconsin; and "hard times," prices, horse thieves, and lynch mobs at Ft. Dodge, Iowa (1854-1858).

Administrative information

Custodial History

December 3, 1968, 61 items, typescripts and photocopies; Correspondence (1854-1864), muster rolls (1862-1865) and enlistment record. Gift of Dr. William White, Greenville, N.C. Originals in possession of Mrs. Emma Louise Holtz, Harrisville, PA.

Processing information

Processed by T. Sloan, December 1968

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration

Key terms

Personal Names

Kiester, Jacob Shaffer, 1835-1864

Corporate Names

United States. Army--African American troops
United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 103rd (1861-1865)

Topical

Enslaved persons--Emancipation--United States
Kinston, 1st Battle of, Kinston, N.C., 1862
Peninsular Campaign, 1862
Wages--Iowa
Wages--Wisconsin

Places

Fort Dodge (Iowa)--Social life and customs--19th century
Iowa--Commerce
Kinston (N.C.)--History, Military--19th century
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Equipment and supplies
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Wisconsin--Commerce

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