The Nugen Boys of Iowa

The Letters of William H. NugenEdited by Cheryl Ann Nugent& Tamara Rebekah EbertSeven family members left their Iowa farm to join the Union Campaign. William H. Nugen carried the stigma of an unidentified "situation" to the battlefields. His letters portray a young man likeable and then a side which may be indicative of the situation back home. He indicates his cousins who are serving in the same regiment treat "him fair".Surprisingly, the letters reveal compassion for the southern people, their situation, and their poor farm land. The letters divulge his homesickness, feeling of abandonment, and his political views. William attempted to "remotely manage" the affairs of home. He provided "brotherly advice" on caring for his blind horse, verifying his sister received new songs he had sent home, relaying the events surrounding the death and burial of his cousin's husband. The letters' span his three years of service in the civil war. He served honorably, and the letters reveal the metamorphosis from an insecure young man into a confident man of the world.