James M. Stookey enlisted in 1861 and served with the 59th Illinois Infantry, rising from captain to acting major before taking command of the 80th Illinois Infantry by 1864. He fought at Perryville, Stones River, and through Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, including Resaca and Kennesaw Mountain. His wartime letters to his brother Daniel, written between 1861 and 1865, survive as a published Civil War memoir. Stookey lived until 1880.