Dr. Joseph Rutherford Papers

The Dr. Joseph Rutherford Collection contains letters written by Dr. Rutherford during the Civil War (1862-1865). These letters were written to his wife and family. Dr. Joseph C. Rutherford wrote faithfully to his wife Hannah from the time of his appointment as assistant surgeon of the Tenth Vermont Infantry in August 1862 to his mustering out as surgeon of the Seventeenth Vermont Infantry in July 1865. He informed her of his medical duties, his relations with the soldiers and officers, and news about soldiers from the Newport, Vermont area. Rutherford's letters convey a strong sense of pride in his work, but increasing frustration over his failure to win promotion, particularly after the severe battles of 1864. He finally received a commission as surgeon of the Seventeenth Vermont in March 1865. Rutherford described the battle of Orange Grove (November 27, 1863) and Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign, but only one letter (May 17, 1864) survives from the nearly continuous fighting of May and June, 1864. Many of the letters contain advice to Mrs. Rutherford on financial matters and the treatment of their children's illnesses. Rutherford also expressed strong opinions about copperheads, traitors, and Southerners. The collection includes three letters from Edward Belville (d. 1864) of Derby, Vermont, a private in the Eighth Vermont Infantry. One of these (July 16, 1863) gives an account of the assault on Port Hudson, in which Belville was wounded.

The collection also contains a vast amount of letters written to Hannah Chase Rutherford, the doctor's wife. Several of the letters were written by her brother Lucien B. Chase, a lawyer in Tennessee. He wrote of his practice and the difference between life in Vermont and Tennessee. There are a few letters in the collection which were written by Mrs. Rutherford to her husband. She discussed what it was like to raise children and keep her home in order while her husband was serving in the Union Army. The remaining letters were from relatives and dealt with family events, health, and farm life.