| Admin/Biog History |
TAPLIN, Osman B. - Pvt., Company E, 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
Osman was born circa 1840 at Vermont. He resided at Oshkosh, Winnebago County when he enlisted there on Apr. 21, 1861. An unmarried lumberman, he stood over 5'8" tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a florid complexion. He was assigned as above and was wounded severely in the side at Antietam, Maryland on Sept. 17, 1862. Osman died of his wounds on Sept. 24, 1862.
Jane S. Taplin was the wife of Lowell G. Taplin. They were born in Vermont and married there circa 1840. The couple had two children: Osman B., born circa 1841 and Carrie L., born circa 1843. In 1860 the family was living in Oshkosh in the 1st Ward. Lowell was working as a carpenter. Her son Osman died from wounds received during the Civil War. She died September 4, 1892 in Oshkosh.
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| Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
| Classification |
Archives |
| Collection |
Civil War Small Collections |
| Dates of Accumulation |
September 20, 1861 |
| Abstract |
Letter and envelope addressed to Lowell G. Taplin from Osman B. Taplin, Company E, 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. It is written on a letterhead engraved with the US Capitol.
Camp Advance
Sep. 20, 1861
Dear Father,
I received your letter, but delayed answering it until I should send home some money. Yesterday I sent $25 by express which you will receive by presenting the enclosed order to C. Hall. Don't take anything but gold. We are all well here at present and have been engaged in copping and digging for the last 2 weeks. We are getting first rate fare and enjoy ourselves first rate. You ought to see us go into a piece of timber. It beats and logging I've heard tell of. We cut 80 acres of heavy timber in half a day last week. The Bloody 2nd are Tigers at anything they undertake. Yesterday 10 of us went out after cattle. We brought in 58 head, all sesech. There was about a hundred rebel cavalry watching us, but they did not dare to pitch in. If they had, few would have got back home, for we had 200 cavalry hid behind some woods watching for a chance to cut them off if they attacked. We also got 2 wagons and a stud horse. We will have beef for some time. I have found a good many men that I used to know in Newbury in the 3rd Vermont, which is camped near us. Among them Charles Bagley, and a son of Jake Bagley one of the Johnsons and others in all about 20. They have got a first rate regt. Al Bagley has got back from Mass. His wound has healed up and he is about as good as new. There is not much news to write, everything being quiet and nothing going on but strengthening the defenses of the city. I don't know of anything further to write and I will close. Write soon and oblige
Yours
O.B. Taplin |
| Event |
Civil War |
| Legal Status |
Oshkosh Public Museum |
| Notes |
TAPLIN, Osman B. - Pvt., Company E, 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
Osman was born circa 1840 at Vermont. He resided at Oshkosh, Winnebago County when he enlisted there on Apr. 21, 1861. An unmarried lumberman, he stood over 5'8" tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a florid complexion. He was assigned as above and was wounded severely in the side at Antietam, Maryland on Sept. 17, 1862. Osman died of his wounds on Sept. 24, 1862.
DAVIDS, John B. - Sgt., Company E, 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
John was born circa 1841 at Illinois. He was a son of Alexander from a previous sketch and a brother of William from a following sketch. John was a single farmer residing at Oshkosh, Winnebago County when he enlisted there on Apr. 21, 1861. Standing just over 6' tall, he had gray eyes, brown hair and a dark complexion. He was assigned as above and was promoted to Corporal and then Sergeant in that company on Dec. 16, 1862. John was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1863. He was mustered out on Feb. 2, 1865 at Madison, Dane County, Wis-consin. John was listed in the 1899 article by Col. Harshaw as residing at Portland, Oregon.
TAYLOR, William P. - Pvt., Company E, 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
William was born in 1831 at Fredrickton, New Brunswick, Canada. He resided at Oshkosh, Winnebago County when he enlisted at Madison, Dane County on May 18, 1861. An unmarried joiner, William stood just over 5'6" tall with gray eyes, brown hair and a florid complexion. He was assigned as a fifer in the above company and was taken prisoner in the first battle at Bull Run, Virginia. He served in the office of the Wisconsin Soldier's Aid Society in Washington for the rest of his enlistment. William was mustered out on June 28, 1864 at the end of his term of enlistment. During the great Oshkosh fire on July 14, 1874, while helping a widow remove a heavy chest from a second floor apartment before the flames reached there, he suddenly dropped the chest and sat down in great pain. He was eventually taken back to his room at the Adams House by a doctor, where he died that same evening. Although single, William left a great legacy in this area. He was generous to a fault and helped anyone who truly needed it whenever he could. As a large testament to his friendship, mourners numbering in the thousands attended the solemn procession. The citizens of Oshkosh provided a monument for his grave in Oshkosh at Riverside Cemetery, Block 11. His grave was decorated by the local GAR post in May 1882.
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| Object ID |
SC411.5.17.3 |
| Object Name |
Letter |
| People |
Taplin, Osman B.
Taplin, Lowell G. |
| Subjects |
Civil War
2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
Iron Brigade
Battlefields
Death
Casualties
Military hospitals
Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society
Religion |
| Title |
Letter from Osman Taplin to his father. |
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