Abstract
Franklin and Eli Blanchard of Farmington, Michigan enlisted in Company K of the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment to serve the Union Army during the Civil War. One hundred and fifty of their letters from when they were serving are located at the California Department of Parks and Recreation State Museum Resource Center. This thesis contains a history of the Blanchards and of the 24th Michigan regiment, a review of epistolary customs used during the time, and an overview of the methods used to transcribe and digitize the letters. The appendix includes the transcriptions in chronological arrangement with a few annotations for historical context.