Summary Information
Willian Norman Perry Papers
1862-1895
WVM Mss 61
1.4 linear ft. (2 archives boxes and 12 oversize folders).
Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)
Papers of William Norman Perry, a sergeant in Company D, 22nd Wisconsin Infantry and later 1st Lieutenant in Company K, 44th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War. Letters that he wrote home to his wife, Amie, make up the majority of the collection. The letters are numerous and informative, covering the usual troop movements and conditions faced by soldiers, but also touching upon a prisoner of war experience, hospital stays, and the assassination of Abraham Lincolinear Also included are various rolls and reports collected by Perry through his role as an officer with the 44th Wisconsin. These documents provide an interesting look at the inner workings of a Union Civil War company. Ephemeral items include a handwritten list of members of the company who kept their government-issued guns and a petition to raise funds to buy a new base drum for the regiment. Personal service records give some details about Perry's service, focusing on his commission with the 44th Wisconsin. Scattered papers from his post-war life in South Dakota mostly focus on his pursuit of a government pension.
English
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Biography/History
William Norman Perry was born circa 1825. He married Amie Sayles prior to the beginning of the Civil War and settled in Delavan, Wisconsin. On August 13, 1862 he enlisted into Company D of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. After training at Camp Utley in Racine, Wisconsin the regiment moved out to Kentucky, where it chased Confederate forces throughout the state and into Tennessee, participating in light skirmishes. Perry quickly achieved the rank of sergeant.
On March 25, 1863 the 22nd Wisconsin took part in a battle at Brentwood, Tennessee and the entire regiment surrendered to Confederate forces. Due to the prisoner exchange policies in place, Perry and his fellow soldiers only spent seventeen days as prisoners before being released and sent to St. Louis to re-equip. The regiment was then deployed to Nashville and Murfeesboro. In the spring of 1864 Perry began suffering back problems and was sent to various Union hospitals to seek treatment. He ended up at Harvey Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin in June 1864. In October Perry, still in Madison, received a commission as a first lieutenant in Company F of the 44th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. With that unit, he moved out to Nashville and took part in the battle there (December 14-16, 1864). They remained in Nashville through March 1865 before transferring to Paducah, Kentucky. They stayed there until August, and Perry was mustered out with his company on August 28, 1865.
After the war, Perry and his family moved to Nebraska and Iowa before settling in Mitchell, South Dakota. There he served as chief architect for the South Dakota Soldier's Home and was a member of Ransom Post No. 6 of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). Perry passed away on November 3, 1894 in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of William Norman Perry are divided into three series: Correspondence, Military Papers, and Veteran Papers.
Correspondence (1862-1865) consists mostly of the letters that Perry wrote home to his wife while serving in the Civil War. Beginning while he was still training with the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry at Camp Utley, he generally wrote at least one letter per week to his wife, often signing them Norman. In the letters, he described the movements of his regiment, the conditions they faced, and the duties he performed. A letter written on April 9, 1863 describes his seventeen-day experience as a prisoner of war as horrendous. Letters in the summer of 1864 follow his progress through Union hospitals as he sought treatment for a back injury and reassured his wife that he was not seriously wounded. A gap in the letters from July to October 1864 is due to his placement at Harvey Hospital in Madison and later his transfer and promotion to the 44th Wisconsin Infantry. The letters take up again in November as Perry moved out with his new regiment. An April 17, 1865 letter describes the stunned sadness of his men at the news of the Lincoln assassination. Two letters from Amie to Perry show the other side of the correspondence. Amie desperately pleads with Perry to let her know why he has been in the hospitals so long in one of the letters.
Military Papers (1863-1870) contain largely administrative forms that Perry collected through his role as 1st lieutenant with Company F, 44th Wisconsin Infantry. Muster rolls, quartermaster and ordnance reports, and other completed forms give an interesting insight into the materials needed to keep a company of roughly 100 soldiers in fighting shape. The muster rolls contain the most information about men in the company while the rest of the forms tend to deal with an individual or a small group of men. A hand written company gun list shows the men in the company who kept their government issued guns. A letter circulated among the men of the regiment seeks to raise money to buy a base drum to replace the one they lost. Also included are Perry's personal service records, such as his commission as an officer in the 44th Wisconsin and his individual muster-in roll with the same.
Veteran Papers (1876-1895) include a scattered assortment of papers generated during Perry's post-war life in South Dakota. Pension papers document his attempts to receive money from the government for his service. An affidavit reveals that Perry served as architect for the South Dakota Soldier's Home. The other materials relate to the death of his wife in 1892 and his own death in 1894.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Gwendolyn P. Duffy, Troy, OH, 1995. Accession Number: TR0333 and A95.054. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).
Preliminary inventory by Mark Van Ells, circa 1995. Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.
Contents List
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Series: Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
1
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From William Norman Perry, 1862-1863
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Box
1
Folder
2-17
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To Amie Perry (wife), 1862-1865
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Subseries: To William Norman Perry
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Box
1
Folder
18
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From Amie (wife), 1862-1864
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Box
1
Folder
19
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From others, 1862-1864
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Series: Military Papers
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Ov
9
Folder
7
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Absentee reports, 1865
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Ov
9
Folder
8
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Abstract of articles transferred, 1865
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Box
1
Folder
20
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Abstract of materials expended, 1865
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Box
1
Folder
21-22
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Clothing, Camp, and Garrison reports, 1865
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Ov
11
Folder
1
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Oversized, 1865
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Box
1
Folder
23
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Company gun list, circa 1865
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Ov
11
Folder
2
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Deceased soldiers report, 1865
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Box
1
Folder
24
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Hospital records, 1863-1865
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Ov
9
Folder
9
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Inventory and inspection reports, 1865
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Ov
11
Folder
3
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Monthly reports, 1865
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Box
3
Folder
1-2
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Muster rolls, 1864-1865
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Box
1
Folder
25-26
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Ordnance reports, 1865
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Ov
6
Folder
14
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Oversized, 1865
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Ov
12
Folder
1
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Pay and clothing report, 1865
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Personal service records, 1864-1865
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Ov
6
Folder
15
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Commission, 1864
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Ephemera, 1865
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Ov
9
Folder
10
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Muster-in roll, 1864
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Special orders, 1865
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Box
2
Folder
4-6
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Quartermaster reports, 1864-1865, 1870
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Regimental base drum fund raiser, 1865
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Transportation reports, 1865
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Series: Veteran Papers
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Affidavit re: South Dakota Soldiers' Home, 1891
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Box
2
Folder
10
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Coroner's certificate, 1894
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Box
2
Folder
11
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G.A.R. resolutions, 1892, 1894
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Box
2
Folder
12
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Pension papers, 1876-1878, 1890-1895
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