Lansing Porter Family Papers, 1861-1863, 1906

Description

Captain Lansing Porter served in the 75th New York Infantry out of Auburn, New York. He was first stationed at Santa Rosa island but soon moved to Fort Pickens on Pensacola Bay, Florida. His military career brought him under the command of General Godfrey Weitzel once the 75th was moved to Camp Kearney in Louisiana, allowing him to travel up the Mississippi River through New Orleans, Donaldsonville, Napoleonville, Labadieville, and eventually making camp in Thibodeaux, Louisiana. He received a leave of absence in March of 1863.

From January of 1861 to March of 1863, Lansing and his wife Elizabeth wrote a series of letters to one another while Lansing was away at war. Elizabeth wrote primarily of issues of the home in Auburn, New York, while Lansing wrote of his experiences fighting in the South. The couple had three children, Libbie, Annie, and Lansing, who lived at home with their mother. The children periodically wrote letters to their father.