| Before the war, Sylvester McElheney, a plasterer, lived with his wife Harriet in Fannett Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In the last years of the war, Sylvester left his wife and home and enlisted in the army. He served as a private in the 208th Pennsylvania from September 1864 until his death April 1865. Harriet survived her husband and remained in Fannett after the war. |
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Sylvester and Harriet McElheney: 1860 Census | 1870 Census | Military Service
Sylvester McElheney's letters (1864-1865) to his wife, Harriet, during his time in military reveal their struggle to maintain close ties while he was away in Virginia. His writings also provide a Union soldier's perspective on Virginia society and on the burning of Virginia homes in retaliation for the burning of Chambersburg. Two letters from Jacob Shearer and Frances Pleasants inform Harriet McElheney of her husband's wounding and eventual death in the service.
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In this letter, Frances Pleasants writes to Harriet McElheney on May 10, 1865, about her husband's death. He describes Sylvester McElheney's last days in a Philadelphia hospital. McElheney's mental capacity suffered at the end, but Pleasants reassures McElheney that the hospital staff treated him very kindly.
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