Richard Blake letters
Overview
Richard Blake was a sutler, or civilian provisioner, at Fort Wallace, Kansas, during the 1860s. He wrote several letters to relatives about life on the army post. Included with the letters were seven photographs made by a visitor to Fort Wallace, Dr. William A. Bell, who was the photographer for the Kansas Pacific Railway Expedition.
Dates
- Creation: 1867 - 1868
Creator
- Blake, Richard, active 1867-1868 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Extent
10 folders (3 letters + 7 photographs)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The photographs are of buildings at Fort Wallace; William Comstock, who was a scout and interpreter for Native American tribes nearby; Richard Blake; and of the mutilated body of Sergeant Wyllyams as it was found after a battle with Cheyenne on June 26, 1867.
The photograph of William Comstock, who by age 21 had gained a reputation as a frontierman, guide, scout, and Native American interpreter, was made shortly before his death. Comstock served as a scout at Pond Creek Station and Fort Wallace, then was called to Fort Riley in June 1867 by General George Custer to be a scout for Gerneral Hancock's Indian Expedition of 1867. He was killed by Cheyenne in August 1868 after leaving Black Kettle's Cheyenne camp on the Soloman River.
Physical Location
RH MS P32
Physical Location
RH MS-P P32
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, Walter R. Benjamin, July, 1963.
Subject
- Custer, George A. (George Armstrong), 1839-1876 (Person)
- Comstock, William, 1847?-1868 -- Photographs (Person)
- United States. Army -- Military life (Organization)
Geographic
- Title
- Guide to the Richard Blake Collection
- Subtitle
- Richard Blake letters
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by lgg 1972. Finding aid encoded by rw 2008. Finding aid revised by nb, 1991; mrm, 2009; mwh, 2021.
- Date
- 2008
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/3924914697
- Preferred citation
-
Richard Blake letters, Kansas Collection, RH MS P32, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository