Chauncey Hill, St. Charles Civil War Soldier: Epilogue

By Craig Hilmer

For the last several weeks The St. Charles Press has run a series of articles centered on the Civil War letters of Chauncey J. Hill to his young wife, Sarah Downing Hill. The Hills were residents of Saratoga in 1864, just starting their own farming operation when Hill was called up to serve the Union in the War Between the States. The Hills corresponded regularly from February 1864 to June of 1864 when Hill was captured at Brice’s Crossroad, Mississippi.

The marker for Chauncey Hill’s grave stands near Andersonville in Mississippi.  Photo by Kevin Frye

Chauncey Hill: Part 8

By Craig Hilmer

Chauncey J. Hill, in 1864, was a 26 year old farmer just married to 20 year old Sarah Downing. Both had family who farmed in the Saratoga area and were themselves just setting up their own household and farm when Chauncey was called up to offer his services to the Minnesota 9th Regiment, Company K for battle in the Civil War.

He and Sarah corresponded during the war and those letters were maintained by family until they were donated to the Minnesota Historical Society in the 1960s.  The Press has run seven weeks of these letters to date. This is the final installment of the letters

Private Hill, in our series, finally sees battle at Brice’s Crossroads, Mississippi. Sarah struggles to deal with not hearing from Chauncey, even as she learns that she is pregnant with his child.