The original letters are in the Akers Memorial Library, Eddyville, Wapello Co., IA. The transcriptions are by Mike Burton, a great grandson of Alexander T. Sackett.
I have included a time line for the 8th Reg., Iowa Cavalry below and linked the letters to the locations they were written from. At the end of each letter I have a list of the family members I have identified among the people he mentioned. [All of the letters without notes]
Because of the fact that he gives some of the same information
more than once, one might be tempted to think Alexander was rather forgetful.
However, when we realize that he was not getting all the letters his wife
Cornelia wrote to him and that not all of his letters were getting home
to her; then we can understand the repetition. He started numbering
his letters so that she could know if one had failed to arrive. He
started with #1 on January 3, 1864 and the last numbered letter we have
is #13 on April 24, 1864 and we have only 6 of those 13 letters.
- Thurmon King
Organized at Davenport September 30, 1863.
[letters Sept 10, 1863 and
Oct
13 1863 at Camp Roberts]
Moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., October 17-22, thence to
Nashville, Tenn., November 14-16.
Attached to Defenses of Nashville & Northwestern
Railroad, Dept. of the Cumberland, to March, 1864.
[letters Nov 20, 1863; Dec
27, 1863; Jan 3, 1864; Jan
15, 1864]
1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army Cumberland,
and to November, 1864.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division
Mississippi, to June, 1865.
Dept. of Georgia to August, 1865.
SERVICE.--Guard and garrison duty and operating against
guerrillas at Waverly and
points west of Nashville until March, 1864.
Moved to Nashville, Tenn., March 13-17, thence to Chattanooga
and Cleveland, Tenn., April 1-15.
[letters Mar 30, 1864; Mar
31, 1864; Apr 8, 1864; Apr
24, 1864; Apr 28, 1864]
Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May to September.
Varnell's Station May 7.
Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 8-13.
Tilton May 13.
Battle of Resaca May 14-15.
Near Cassville May 19.
Stilesborough May 23.
Burnt Hickory May 24.
Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles
about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5.
Near Burned Church May 26.
Ackworth June 3-4.
[letters Jun 8, 1864; Jun
11, 1864]
Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain
June 9-July 2.
Lost Mountain June 15-17.
[letters Jun 20, 1864; Jun
26, 1864]
Assault on Kenesaw June 27.
Nickajack Creek July 2-5.
Chattahoochie River July 6-17.
[last letter Jul 10, 1864]
McCook's Raid on Atlanta & West Point Railroad July
27-31.
Lovejoy Station July 29.
Clear Creek and near Newnan July 30. [Alexander and
part of his company captured]
At Kingston, Ga., until Sept. 17.
Pursuit of Wheeler Sept. 1-8.
Moved to Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, thence to Franklin,
Tenn. Pursuit of Forest September 25-October 10.
Pulaski September 27.
Florence, Ala., October 6-7.
Muscle Shoals near Florence October 30.
Near Shoal Creek October 31.
Nashville Campaign November-December.
Shoal Creek near Florence November 5-6 and 9.
On line of Shoal Creek November 16-20.
Fouche Springs November 23.
Campbellsville November 24.
Front of Columbia November 24-27.
Franklin November 30.
Battle of Nashville December 15-16.
Lynnville December 24-25.
Pulaski December 25-26.
Expedition into Mississippi January 5-21, 1865.
Wilson's Raid to Macon, Ga., March 22-May 1.
[Alexander lost at sea when the Steamer Gen. Lyon
burned and sank off Cape Hattaras, NC; Mar 31/Apr 1, 1865]
Northport near Tuscaloosa April 3.
Occupation of Tuscaloosa April 4.
Occupation of Talladega April 22.
Munford's Station April 23.
Rejoined Wilson at Macon May 1.
Duty at Macon and in Georgia until August.
Mustered out August 13, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 15 Enlisted men killed and
mortally wounded and 3 Officers
and 176 Enlisted men by disease. Total 194.