Civil War Letters
William Moore Parkinson, a Union soldier in the Civil War, enlisted as a Sergeant in the 11th Illinois Infantry, Company C. He served in Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. In 1863, he helped recruit and train a company of African American troops and served as Captain of the 8th Louisiana Infantry, Company B, Regiment of African Descent. He drilled the company in the areas of Lake Providence and Milliken's Bend, Louisiana. On July 13, 1863, he died at Milliken's Bend after a brief illness.
Born September 18, 1832, in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, he was the son of Hugh Parkinson and Janet Garner Moore. He married Sarah Ann Cunningham, daughter of Matthew Cunningham and Mary (Polly) Boggs, on November 16, 1854, in Jefferson County, Illinois. They had two children: Zettie (Zetty) Parkinson, born February 28, 1858, and Oscar Vernon Parkinson, born June 25, 1861, in Centralia, Illinois.
Following are letters written by Parkinson to his wife and family from the time of his enlistment until his death. Included are letters by fellow officers, his wife, and his brother-in-law, Samuel Wylie Cunningham, of the 22nd Illinois Infantry. 