Primary Source • Civil War Correspondence

Elias Riggs Monfort to Maggie Monfort

July 27, 1862

This three-page letter contains Elias Riggs Monfort's observations of enslaved people reaching Union lines and his statement that Black people in camp imagined Ohio as “a heaven.” The complete surviving manuscript pages are reproduced below.

With thanks to Hanover College Archives

Reproduced with permission of Hanover College. Credit: Hanover College Archives, Elias Riggs Monfort Papers. The project is grateful to Jennifer Duplaga and the staff of Duggan Library for preserving these papers and making them available to researchers.

Page 1 of Elias Riggs Monfort letter dated July 27 1862 — Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of Elias Riggs Monfort letter dated July 27 1862 — Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of Elias Riggs Monfort letter dated July 27 1862 — Page 3 of 3. This page contains the “Ohio is a heaven” passage.

Citation

Elias Riggs Monfort to Maggie Monfort, July 27, 1862, Elias Riggs Monfort Papers, MSS 166, Hanover College Archives, Duggan Library, Hanover College.

View the Monfort Civil War letters at Hanover College →