Leonard H. Eicholtz Civil War letter
Scope and Content
This collection contains a letter sent from Leonard H. Eicholtz to Washington Townsend. Eicholtz discusses his change in base from Saint Mary's to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and explains that he is "engaged in the Construction Corps, rebuilding bridges and track in the rear of Sherman's Army." He discusses his work rebuilding a 600 foot long and seventy-five foot high bridge in six days. Eicholtz notes that Sherman has Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston on the run and predicts that the battle for Atlanta will begin along the banks of the Chattahoochee River because there is no better defensible ground in the area.
Dates
- 1864 June 27
Creator
- Eicholtz, Leonard H. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.
Administrative/Biographical History
Leonard Henry Eicholtz (1827-1911) was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He joined the engineers of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852 and the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad Company in 1854. During the Civil War, Eicholtz was Assistant Engineer of Military Railways in the Military Division of the Mississippi under General William T. Sherman. Eicholtz reconstructed bridges and railroads in the wake of Sherman's advance to Atlanta, Georgia. By the time he was engaged in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, he had been promoted to chief engineer. Eicholtz was hired by the Kansas Pacific Railway Company in 1866. In 1868, he became superintendent of bridge building for the Union Pacific Railway Company, where he stayed until 1869. He was then made the superintendent of construction and chief engineer for the Denver Pacific Railway Company and built a line from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Denver, Colorado. In 1878, he was named director of the First National Bank in Denver, a position he held until his death. Eicholtz married Ellen Inslee Smith in 1871 and they had five children: four daughters and one son. Additional biographical information about Leonard H. Eicholtz has not been determined.
Extent
1 folder(s)
Language
English
Existence and Location of Copies
A transcription of the Leonard H. Eicholtz letter is included in this collection.
General
America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia received support from a Digitizing Historical Records grant awarded to the Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Digital Library of Georgia by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Description Control
This collection was re-processed in 2012.
- Title
- Leonard H. Eicholtz Civil War letter
- Author
- Paul Crater
- Date
- June 2012
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared According To Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository