Written on front: W.F. Reeves
Written on verso: Camp Douglas, U.T., Jan. 24th / 66. Received Feb. the 17th, 1866.
Walter Francis Reeves was my great-great grandfather. He was born in Ohio, near Kent, Oct. 13, 1838, the youngest child of Walter Francis Reeves and Martha (Gee) Reeves. His Dad was a vet of the War of 1812 and died when Walter the 2nd was very young.
Even so, since Walter the 2nd shared his father's name, he was known as "Frank."
The Reeves family moved to Michigan. The early 1860s was something of whirl for Frank. He married Lydia Melissa Upham in 1861. Became a father in 1862. And then joined the Union Army at the very end of 1863.
Frank was one of Custer's Wolverines, being a private in the 5th Michigan Cavalry (Co. G). He took part in many battles, including the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Five Forks, and Appomattox. In some of these battles, Frank might've been shooting at relatives of mine on my Dad's side who were serving in the Confederate Army.
My grandmother, who remembered him well, told me Frank used to call U.S. Grant "a drunken butcher." Although he was proud he served his country, he carried very bitter memories of the War. It never ceases to astound me that I heard opinions of a Union vet only second hand, and know quite a bit about his personality from people who remembered him. Our history is closer than we think.
After marching in the Grand Review, Frank didn't get to go home to Michigan. Instead they transferred him into the 1st Michigan Calvary and sent him out West in places like Fort Leavenworth, Fort Laramie, and as shown in this tintype, Fort Douglas, Utah Territory. He did take part in some battles with the Native Americans, including at Willow Springs, Dakota Territory, Aug. 12, 1865.
Frank was honorably discharged at Salt Lake City on Mar. 10, 1866. So far as I know, at that time he had been the farthest West of any of my ancestors. He would return.
