http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/316307444

Diaries and Letters of Electus Backus

The 31-page diary by Electus Backus covers his time traveling from San Antonio to El Paso, Texas in 1850 and 1851. In the diary he talks about Bishop John Lamy, Lorenzo Sitgreaves, Dr. S. W. Woodhouse, members of the Sitgreaves Expedition, as well as the bad weather and the landscape and inhabitants of Texas. He also discusses his journey from El Paso to Albuquerque. There is one diary page by Backus in June 1848 while he was taking part in the Mexican War in Puebla, Mexico, the site where Santa Ana executed Mexía; he mentions meeting General Stephen Kearny. There is also one page of a diary by Backus from 1860 while he was living in El Paso. There are also several letters and statements regarding Backus' protest against and disagreement with a letter by the Secretary of War, Charles Conrad, stating that he was commissioned to Major of the 3rd U.S. Infantry on October 10, 1850; Backus believed it was June 10 instead. This material includes letters by Backus to Adjutant General Roger Jones and Senator Jefferson Davis, who was on the Committee of Military Affairs, along with a statement of facts by Backus. There is also a copy of a letter by Backus to Colonel Samuel Cooper in August 1860 about his commission date. Also included is a 5-page manuscript by Hugh Brady about his brother, Samuel Brady, Indian fighter of western Pennsylvania (the draft is in Backus' handwriting - Hugh Brady was Backus' father-in-law). There is also one letter by Electus Backus, Sr., to his brother Andrew in New York. This letter was written while he was with the US Army in New Orleans in 1809.

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